Latvia: Government plans to list state-owned companies on stock exchange

The Latvian government will discuss the listing of state-owned companies and municipal enterprises on the stock exchange in January 2024, LSM reports. The first company to be listed will be national air carrier airBaltic. Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens said that the list would include other companies as well. Enterprises that may be listed include telecommunications operators Tet and LMT, wind farm developer Latvijas Veja Parki, and Riga’s heating supplier Rigas Siltums. The Ministry of Finance said that the goal was to increase the value of Latvian company shares on the stock exchange from 3% to 9% of GDP by 2027. The ministry assured that the listed companies would remain under state or municipal control. Also, current law stipulates that several major state-owned and strategic infrastructure companies cannot be listed on the stock exchange.