In Brief - 2002-08-22

  • 2002-08-22
New player

Mobile telephone company Vertelson Halduse OU will start operations in Estonia by year's end, making it the fourth mobile operator on the market, the Eesti Paevaleht daily reported Aug. 19.

"The business plan is ready, strategic investors have been found, the gut feeling says at this point with more confidence than before that it's working," said Peep Poldsamm, member of Vertelson's board.

Poldsamm said Vertelson would offer new services not available in Estonia but would not elaborate. The company plans to rent space from an existing operator rather than build a network of its own.

EMT, with roughly a 55 percent market share, is the Estonian mobile leader, followed by Radiolinja and Tele2, with about 20 percent of the market. (Baltic News Service)

Insurance tender

Two international insurance firms are involved in a state procurement tender for insuring the reconstructino of Estonia's Narva Elektrijaamad power plants.

Erki Peegel, spokesman for the state power utility Eesti Energia, said AIG Europe SA and MAP Syndicate Ltd. had passed the qualification round of the tender. The former belongs to American International Group while the latter operates at Lloyds of London.

Narva Elektrijaamad will sign insurance contracts with the winning bidder against risks from terrorist attacks and termination of business contracts in connection with reconstruction projects. The winner will be announced in September. (BNS)

Profits down

The Latvian Shipping Compay, or LASCO, earned profits of $4.18 million in the first half of the year, a $16.7 million drop year on year.

Operational profits also fell by $13.6 million in the first six months of 2002. LASCO's annual profit in 2001 was $20.8 million.

The reduction was due to a global economic slowdown and stagnation in individual regions, company officials said.

As of June 30, 2002, LASCO had a total of 57 vessels in its fleet. Audited profit for 2001 was $26.1 million, an improvement over the $20.5 million in 2000. (BNS)

Farming respite

The Latvian Agricultural Organization said it will ask the government for finical support to compensate farmers for losses incurred during the summer's dry weather.

Board Chairman Valters Bruss said a commission will be established to evaluate damages from drought and how farmers can best be compensated.

The organization will urge the government to allocate money from contingency funds rather than through direct farming subsidies, he said.

Bruss said almost all arable land in eastern Latvia had been burnt out by hot weather that had wrecked potato and sugar beet crops. (BNS)

Bottoms up

Lithuanian alcoholic and soft drinks expoerts soared by 120 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same figure in the same period last year.

Total drink exports reached 20.8 million litas (6 million euros) in the first six months of the year, with carbonated and natural mineral water and flavor additives and sweeteners accounting for the bulk of exports (10 million litas).

Malt beer exports rose seven times to 5.7 million litas while sparkling wine exports rose three times to 200,000 litas. (BNS)

Pension hike

The state-run social insurance fund Sodra will recommend Lithuania raise the basic monthly pension from 142 litas (42 eouros) to 145 litas (40 to 42 euros) beginning Sept. 1.

A proposal to increase the average monthly insured income rate by 18 litas to 904 litas beginning next month has already been rejected.

According to fund statistics, Sodra's revenues exceeded expenditurs by 26.6 million litas in the first seven months of 2002. (BNS)

Retailer drops Colgate

VP Market, operator of Lithuania's largest retail chain, announced plans to stop selling goods from Colgate-Palmolive, one of the world's largest corporations.

Officials at VP Market, which operates 153 stores across the Baltic country, said it decided not to renew an agreement with the U.S. firm.

"The position of the company is as follows: it advertises a lot on TV, therefore it is convinced that consumers will buy its products irrespective of prices and quality," said Ignas Staskevicius, VP Market executive director. "It makes more economic sense for us to sell products of other companies."

Colgate-Palmolive declined to comment.

VP Market statistics say Colgate-Palmolive had 15 percent of space on the Lithuanian retailer's shelves and its sales account for 10 percent of the total in the categories of toothpaste, shampoo, soap and other health and hygiene items.

Colgate-Palmolive's New York office declined comment, but the firm's managing director for the Baltic states, Jeffrey Metz, said there would be no further discussions on Colgate-Palmolive's operations in Lithuania's top retail chain. (BNS)