Company briefs - 2004-01-29

The Danish company Diana Lys Hald announced that it would begin manufacturing candles, both hand- and machine-made, in Ventspils. Chairman of the Latvian subsidiary Lars Olsen said that the company intended to invest 300,000 lats (447,000 euros) and that some 90 percent of output would be exported, with the rest to be sold in the Baltics. The new production line in the Latvian port city will provide 120 jobs.

Latvia's Public Utilities Regulatory Committee has granted a license to the daily Diena to deliver express parcels and letters throughout Latvia. The paper said it did not intend to compete with Latvijas Pasts (Latvia Post) but would use the license, good for one year, to deliver papers and periodicals.

Rossignol, the world's leading manufacturer of ski equipment, may buy the ski division of Viisnurk, the Estonian sports equipment producer that makes cross-country skis. Bruno Dusser, head of the Nordic area branch of Rossignol, neither confirmed nor denied the report. Viisnurk, which is about to carry out a restructuring program to strengthen the company's position, announced last week that it plans to sell its ski plant within six months. As part of the restructuring program, the company will attempt to sell off its construction materials and sporting goods division and study the future of the glue-board factory and sawmill. The outgoing chairman of the management board, Tiit Arro, will be replaced by Toivo Kuldmae.

Estonia's Minister for Economic Affairs and Communications Meelis Atonen said that he saw neither the need nor the possibility to provide funding for Eesti Energia, the national power company. Atonen said that subsidizing the company or providing loan guarantees would not help the company, which is stable enough without such state support. Any aid, he said, was bound to leave the wrong impression with the next phase of the energy market liberalization planned for 2008.

Kimmels Riga said it planned to export about 20 percent of its output to Great Britain. Janis Duklavs, company CEO, said the company had plans to deliver more than 1.66 million liters of beer to the U.K. in accordance with a cooperation agreement between Baltic Food & Beverages, a daughter company of Kimmels Riga, and Aldinga U.K., which will provide a 100 percent advance payment for the brew. Initially Kimmels beer will be sold in small networks of stores, trying to break in large retail networks as well.

The Olympic Casino Group said it intended to invest 21 million kroons (1.3 million euros) in establishing a coinless gaming lounge, the first of its kind in Europe, at the new Ulemiste shopping center that will open in March. An Olympic spokesperson said it would use the newest coinless operating system of IGT, the leading producer of gaming machines, software and casino equipment. The new system will replace coins and banknotes with an electronic card issued to the customer upon entry into the casino. The cards will register all the stakes made by the customer at gaming machines as well as the sums won.

The board of Latvian Shipping (Latvijas Kugnieciba) has decided to postpone sale of three tanker-type Panamax ships indefinitely, which the company was hoping to pull off in order to finance the purchase of new ice-class tankers. A company official said that the decision was based on analysis of international financial markets.