Estonia’s GDP totalled EUR 9.42bn at current prices in the the second quarter of 2023, which was up 5.1% from the same period of 2022, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Real GDP fell by 2.9% over a year, however. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, seasonally adjusted real GDP decreased by…
New electric trains in Latvia will not start carrying passengers before November 2023, state-owned passenger train operator Pasazieru Vilciens (PV) announced, LSM reports. Initially, the trains were supposed to be running in January 2023. Representatives of Czechia’s Skoda Group explained that the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine had disrupted the production and delivery…
Estonia’s electricity distribution system operator, Elektrilevi, plans to double investments in its networks to EUR 1bn over the next five years, ERR reports. Also, the state will invest around EUR 13mn in making the electricity infrastructure on the islands of Hiiumaa, Muhu, and Saaremaa more weather resistant. Elektrilevi will invest EUR 4mn to replace over…
Estonia should prioritise trade with free democratic societies, where the political risk is smallest, Estonian MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/Renew Europe), deputy chairman of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, argues. Writing in an opinion piece for ERR, Paet criticised Estonia’s state-run export promotion agency, Enterprise Estonia, for advocating closer economic ties with Vietnam, which has…
The Lithuanian parcel locker operator, Omniva LT, has started the construction of a parcel sorting terminal in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone, Baltic News Network reports. The company plans to invest over EUR 40mn in the facility and sorting technology. Omniva LT expects construction to be completed in the second quarter of 2024. The terminal will…
Lithuania’s Modus Asset Management has secured EUR 58mn of debt financing from Poland’s BNP Paribas Bank Polska and PKO Bank Polski, The Baltic Times reports. Modus Asset Management’s Modus Poland Solar Fund I will use the funds to finance the acquisition of a 93 MW solar farm portfolio in Poland. The fund now owns over…
Residents of Bauska municipality in southern Latvia are worried about plans to build a large wind farm in Lithuania near the Skaistkalne sinkhole zone, LSM reports. Anita Rozentale, editor of the regional newspaper, Bauskas Dzive, said that the wind farm would be located only 1.2 km from the sinkhole area. There is a sinkhole zone…
The Lithuanian government has allocated EUR 276mn from borrowed funds for military mobility and infrastructure projects in 2023, BNS reports. Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said that the Defence Ministry would invest EUR 148mn and the Ministry of Transport and Communications another EUR 128mn in the first year of the investment programme. Total investments in military…
Lithuania’s national startup ecosystem facilitator, Startup Lithuania, will host Startup Fair 2023 in Vilnius on 7 September 2023, Startup Lithuania reports. More international investors are expected to attend the event. In total, over 60 speakers are expected to give presentations and participate in the discussions. Also, 40-50 startups will compete for participation in the acceleration…