Company briefs - 2013-05-30

The Indian-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (IBCC) opened its representative office in the city of Gurgao, in India, reports ELTA. “This is the first Lithuanian business representation in India, thus we hope that soon its work will deliver tangible results and increase market accessibility for Lithuanian products in India,” said Lithuanian ambassador to India Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa. This office will take care of marketing procedures and industrial development between India and Lithuania. As well, this office will represent the interests of Lithuanian companies in India and take care of customer searches and promotion of the Lithuania’s image in India. IBCC Director Gediminas Citukas presented the first projects from the office, including the presentation of Lithuanian chocolate to India’s wholesalers, on May 18-21.

The Estonian government rejected on May 23 a bill initiated by the opposition Center Party that wished to restrict the advertising of energy drinks, similar to that of advertising of alcohol, reports Public Broadcasting. The bill’s authors said that due to the negative effect on health, the amendments to the advertising law were meant for advertising targeted at young people. The government approved of the Economy Ministry’s proposal not to support the bill in its current form. The ministry estimated that in order to restrict advertising of a group of goods, more thorough analysis is needed and if the research indicates harmful effects of energy drinks, advertising restrictions alone will not be enough, as different measures should be used.

The Mustjala parish council approved last week the detailed development plan of expanding the fields of operation of the Port of Saaremaa, which will enable it to service cargo ships in the port that was initially built for cruise ships, reports Saarte Haal. Port of Tallinn commercial direction head Ahto Ader told Saarte Haal that the company is in negotiations over a contract with the first bigger client and expressed hope that cargo handling could be launched already in six months. Ader said that the port could handle 100,000 tons of goods a year, but won’t reach that level in just one season. The port, in Kudema bay on Estonia’s largest island Saaremaa, was opened for cruise ship traffic in the summer of 2006, but the cruise ship business has not been at the level it was initially hoped for. The state-owned Port of Tallinn that manages the Saaremaa port has also wanted to handle cargo in the port for years, but so far environmentalists and locals had blocked the plan.