The largest ever Latvian trade mission to the US concluded its visit on 26 September 2024, LSM reported. Economy Minister Viktors Valainis said that three major cooperation agreements were signed during the visit. Also, talks started on investments in sustainable energy, biomedicine, and infrastructure development, he added. Earlier, Valainis expected the trade mission to bring…
Several ministries in Estonia have criticised the Ministry of Climate’s proposed new climate law, ERR reports. The ministries argued that the bill’s structure and purpose were unclear, and that the bill failed to define the rights and obligations under the proposed law. Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets and Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta said that the bill…
More than 60 Latvian companies are taking part in a large trade mission to the US led by President Edgars Rinkevics, Labs of Latvia reports. Around 80% of the companies represent the service sector. The delegation will visit three cities — Houston, San Francisco, and Denver — over 16-24 September 2024. Economy Minister Viktors Valainis…
US electric car maker Tesla has opened its first pop-up store in Lithuania, BNS reports. The store is located at the Akropolis shopping mall in Vilnius. The company plans to open a permanent store and service centre in Vilnius in early 2025, Invest Lithuania reported. Tesla’s Dutch arm, Tesla International, established a subsidiary in Lithuania…
Latvia’s banking association, Finance Latvia Association (FNA), opposes a proposed windfall tax on local banks, LETA reports. The association argued that the tax was “disproportionate, short-sighted, and nontransparent.” FNA warned that the tax would have negative long-term consequences, hampering Latvia’s growth, competitiveness, and attractiveness for private investment. The tax would oblige the financial sector to…
The Estonian government has agreed to provide EUR 160mn of state support for large-scale export-oriented investments in Estonia over 2025-2028, ERR reports. Economy and Industry Minister Erkki Keldo said that the support mechanism was aimed at regaining Estonia’s competitiveness in attracting investors to knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy. The scheme will be managed by the…
Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, Karolis Zemaitis, visited Taiwan on 3-6 September 2024, ELTA reported. During his visit, the minister met with officials at Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and Ministry of Economic Affairs as well as with potential investors. He had meetings with representatives of several local banks and major companies in…
German airline Lufthansa may invest in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, according to Bloomberg, LETA reports. Sources said that negotiations on the deal were still at an early stage. Earlier, German news agency dpa cited Lufthansa’s CEO, Jens Ritter, who said that the company was interested in another airline operating its shorter routes, LSM reported….
Lithuania’s Economy Minister, Ausrine Armonaite, rejected the idea of introducing new taxes to fund increased defence spending, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Armonaite insisted that additional money for defence should come from borrowed funds or through economic growth instead. Also, the government should use unused funds of state institutions, she said….