OFF THE WIRE

WORRIES ABOUT WILLIAMS: Lithuanian politicians have expressed concern about the share price of U.S. company Williams, the parent of Williams International, operator of the Lithuanian oil group Mazeikiu Nafta. "No doubt, it is a matter of great concern. This can tell on the Lithuanian economy," Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas said at a news conference. Reuters reported that the value of Williams stocks plummeted by 22 percent to $18.78 on Jan. 29 and to $18 the following day. At one point Williams stocks sank to $14.90, but later rebounded. The prime minister said the government had almost finalized a draft of a Mazeikiu Nafta action plan, which lays out the state's obligations and commitments. "Catastrophe is not looming. But the government will do everything to recover 1.15 billion litas ($375 million) that have been lent to the company," he said. Kestutis Glaveckas, leader of the opposition Center Union, said at a news conference on Jan.31 that Mazeikiu Nafta, which is operated and one-third owned by Williams International, should be declared bankrupt, as its financial liabilities are twice as large as its authorized capital. Agreements with Williams should be torn up and the company's restructuring should be started, he said. On Jan. 29 Mazeikiu Nafta announced an unaudited loss of 277.2 million litas for the year 2001, up by 55 percent from the figure in 2000.

LIGHT EXPORTS RIDE HIGH: Lithuanian light industry continues to grow despite little protection of the domestic market or promotion of exports. The Lithuanian Association of Clothing and Textile Companies said clothing and textile exports rose by 7.1 percent in 2001 year-on-year and accounted for 19 percent of the country's total exports. The balance of trade in light industrial goods remained in Lithuania's favor and amounted to 750 million litas ($187.5 million). Exports to the EU accounted for 83 percent of light industrial exports, Lithuania's main trade partners being Britain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the United States and Italy. The Lithuanian Association of Clothing and Textile Companies' 170 members include such names as Utenos Trikotazas, Linas, Alytaus Tekstile, Audimas and Audejas. Together the companies employ around 60,000 people.

FEWER FOREIGN WORKERS: The Lithuanian government on Jan. 30 approved proposals from the Welfare and Labor Ministry to reduce the number of foreigners allowed to work in Lithuania to just 1,000 this year, a drop of 300 on the previous year. In a written statement the government said the quota was based on analysis of the Lithuanian labor market and its projected needs, as well as the fact that since last month EU citizens no longer need permission to work in Lithuania. Last year Lithuania issued 599 work permits to foreigners, of which 176 were extensions of existing permits. Six requests for permission to work in the country were rejected on grounds that the applicants' services were not needed in the Lithuanian labor market. As in previous years engineers accounted for the largest number of work permits issued last year, receiving 99 permits in all, followed by cooks (94 permits), economists (33) and teachers (31). Only the number of ship builders, welders and foreign language teachers declined. The largest national group receiving permits were Chinese, 103 of whom were given permits, followed by Ukrainians (69), U.S. citizens (66), Russians (51), Belarusians (50) and Danes (27). The proportion of those with work permits who were citizens of the EU declined in 2001 to 22 percent of the total from 31 percent the previous year.

CHIPPY ESTONIA: Chip card transactions have come to Estonia after the first transaction occurred at the Apollo bookstore under the supervision of VISA International, Uhispank, Hansapank, Sampo Bank and the Estonian banks' bank card center. With the arrival of the new generation bank cards Hansapank and Uhispank are set to become the first banks in Central and East Europe to install cash dispensers that accept VISA chip cards. The cards allow customers to input their PIN code when making purchases in shops in the same way as they would when withdrawing money from a cash machine.

EXPORTERS RELIEVED: The Estonian Parliament has adopted an amendment to the value added tax bill which makes it possible once again for firms to export to Russia through the country's free economic zones in such away as to minimize the damage done by Russia's recent doubling of its import tariffs. A similar arrangement broke down at the end of last year. The Reform Party's Meelis Atonen said he hoped the bill would come into force by about Feb. 10. Estonian canneries came to a virtual stand still after being told they could no longer relabel their exports at lower prices once they reached the zones, making them liable for lower tariffs upon entering Russia.

LIQUID CURRENCY: The replacement of the currencies of 12 EU countries by the euro has not particularly affected turnovers at Estonia's currency exchange offices in Estonia, according to some of the firms involved. January's results were better than expected as many transactions were still being made with the soon-to-be defunct currencies, said Kuno Raak, manager of the Tavid company. "We anticipated a 30 percent decline, but the drop was smaller, largely due to a substantial rise in the dollar exchange rate," said Raak explained. But the one firm to observe a drop in turnover owing to the arrival of the euro was Monex, which manages currency transactions on behalf of Hansapank. Monex's turnover last month was almost 10 percent down on January 2001, said Hansapank spokeswoman Kristiina Tamberg. There has been considerable interest in the new money, with 500 euro notes being especially in demand. Veiko Soe, currency dealer for Eurex, said the turnover seemed at first to weaken but had stabilized by the end of January.