Company briefs - 2013-04-25

Latvia’s Saeima on April 18 passed amendments to the Construction Law in the third and final reading, which stipulates shortening the period of time during which a construction permit may be contested, reports LETA. The maximum period that a construction permit may be contested in the courts will be one month. If additional evaluation is necessary, this period could be extended, but the total period for review will not exceed two months. Currently, reviews of such cases may continue from one month to over a year. The amendments also stipulate that companies which receive construction permits will have to inform owners of land parcels in the vicinity of the prospective construction site within three days, as well as post relevant information near the construction site. The amendments are to come into force on June 1.

IDScan Biometrics, a British-owned company and European leader in the recognition and scanning of identity documents using a variety of electronic devices, is planning to open an R&D unit in Lithuania, reports Invest Lithuania. All R&D operations will be carried out by researchers from Lithuanian institutions of higher education. The estimated investment in the establishment of the new center will equal 600,000 euros. The center’s 10 researchers will develop new biometric algorithms for products intended for authenticating IDs of all types and preventing document forgery. “Encouraged by the high professional level of the country’s researchers and its attractive business environment, we decided to establish this unit in Lithuania,” Tamlyn Thompson, head of IDScan Biometrics. The R&D unit will work primarily with researchers from Kaunas University of Technology and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.

Estonian news portal Buduaar.ru carried out a poll which revealed that 33 percent of women do their shopping at large trade centers, reports limon.ee. Shoppers choose shopping malls due to the proximity of shops and a wide variety of goods. According to results of the poll, 22 percent do shopping on the Internet; 13 percent do purchases in boutiques and shops which trade expensive quality clothes; eight percent of shoppers buy clothes rarely. The Estonian portal found that five percent of shoppers buy clothes in second-hand shops, looking for unusual clothes; four percent go abroad and shop during sales, as well as in person, at designer boutiques. A smaller number - three percent of participants of the survey - take part in auctions such as Okidoki and B-turg, another three percent order goods via catalogues and two percent prefer markets.