The most loved brand in the Baltic States is the Swedish banking group, Swedbank, according to the Baltic Brand Forum 2025 survey, The Baltic Times reports. Lithuanian supermarket chain Maxima ranked second, followed by Estonia’s state-owned logistics group, Omniva, and German supermarket chain Lidl. The top four ranking remained unchanged from 2024. US technology company…
Estonian fashion retailer Baltika Group has ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy, BNS reports. The group will lay off all of its 120 employees in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Baltika pointed to a prolonged difficult financial situation and unfavourable market conditions in the Baltic States. The group’s parent company, European Lingerie Group (ELG), will continue to…
The Estonian Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) will end the African swine fever (ASF) emergency situation, PTA director general Raimo Heinam announced, ERR reports. He said that all pigs at farms hit by ASF have been culled and initial disinfection has been completed. Efforts to control the disease and to improve biosecurity procedures will continue,…
The three Baltic States must agree on a new financing model for the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, which manages the Rail Baltica railway project, CEO Marko Kivila and CFO Ojars Daugavietis stressed, LETA reports. Kivila noted that RB Rail’s budget remains largely unchanged in 2025, and that the company has therefore halted hiring and…
MPs from two parties in Estonia’s current coalition government have drafted a bill to cut the gambling tax, ERR reports. The group of MPs from the Estonian Reform Party and Estonia 200 proposed cutting the gambling tax by 0.5 percentage points every year to 4% by 2029. They argued that the tax cut could, in…
Estonia’s state-owned energy group, Eesti Energia, will merge all of its electricity business into its fully-owned subsidiary, Enefit, as of 2026, ERR reports. The group will merge its Enefit entities in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as well. The new Enefit will serve more than 560,000 retail customers in four countries. Eesti Energia says that the…
Lithuania’s largest cities are beginning the heating season earlier than usual in 2025 due to colder temperatures and poor weather forecasts, LRT reports. Vilnius switched on central heating on 1 October 2025, while Kaunas will start its heating season on 2 October 2025 and Klaipeda on 6 October 2025, BNS reported. Siauliai and Panevezys will…
The supervisory board of Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), has appointed Raitis Nespors as the company’s new board chairman for a five-year term, LSM reports. Nespors served as member of Vivi’s management board in 2021-2024. Also, the supervisory board appointed Zane Abolina as a new member to Vivi’s board. Marcis Kaulins continues…
The taxable value of real estate property in Lithuania has increased by 90% since the beginning of 2021, according to an assessment by the Centre of Registers, BNS reports. The tax value of residential property has roughly doubled, while the value of other real estate has increased by 60-100% over five years. Property values have…