Companies in the Baltic States issued an all-time record of EUR 6.68bn in bonds in 2025, which was an increase of more than double from 2024, The Baltic Times reported. The volume of local bonds issued totalled EUR 1.37bn, which was up 42% over a year. The number of Baltic companies issuing bonds reached a…
A consortium led by US-based JPMorgan will advise on the Latvian state’s buyout of Swedish telecommunications group Telia’s shares in the Latvian telecommunications companies, Tet and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), BNS reports. Under the agreement, the consortium, which besides JPMorgan includes A&O Shearman, Deloitte, Hardiman Telecommunications, TEGOS, and WALLESS, will advise Latvia’s state-owned energy group, Latvenergo,…
Russia continued to pose the most significant threat to Latvia’s national security in 2025, according to the State Security Service’s (VDD) new report, BNS reports. VDD pointed to Russia’s actions to damage infrastructure, aggressive intelligence activities, and psychological operations to influence public opinion in Latvia. VDD expects Russia to continue its “intensive, systematic, and aggressive…
The number of housing transactions in Latvia increased by around 20% in the first three quarters of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, according to real estate agency Latio, LETA reported. The data showed that it took an average of 47 days to sell a home at market price in December 2025, which…
Latvia’s Riga Regional Court has overturned a lower court ruling in a bribery case involving the state-owned railway company, Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDz), BNS reports. The court found LDz’s former CEO, Ugis Magonis, and Estonian businessman Oleg Ossinovski guilty of bribery, sentencing Magonis to 2.5 years in prison and Ossinovski to a fine of EUR 151,700….
French risk management company Coface’s ranking of the 50 largest companies by turnover in the Baltic States in 2024 includes 28 companies in Lithuania, 15 in Estonia, and 7 in Latvia, LETA reports. The top five companies are all from Lithuania: retail holding group Vilniaus Prekyba with a consolidated turnover of EUR 8.02bn in 2024,…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved amendments raising the excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and sweetened beverages as of 2026, BNS reports. The aim is to reduce the consumption of products that are harmful to the environment and health, LSM reports. The excise duty on strong alcoholic beverages will rise as of…
A rail link to the Latvian capital, Riga, is planned to be built in the second phase of the Rail Baltica railway project, Marko Kivila, CEO of the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, told LETA. He noted that the Baltic States had not agreed on a timetable for the second phase yet. There would be…
Smuggler balloons from Belarus disrupted flights at Lithuania’s Vilnius International Airport (VIA) overnight on 4 October 2025, LRT reports. The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) reported that 25 meteorological balloons, most likely carrying smuggled cigarettes, entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. State-run airport operator Lietuvos Oro Uostai (LTOU) suspended flights at VIA at around 10pm on…