Lithuania: State takes ownership of Klaipeda LNG terminal carrier

Lithuania’s state-owned company, KN Energies, has acquired the LNG carrier, Independence, from Norway’s Höegh Evi (former Höegh LNG) for EUR 138mn, BNS reports. The handover ceremony was attended by the presidents of all three Baltic States and Poland. The floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), which serves as Lithuania’s LNG terminal, arrived at the port of…

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Lithuania: Employers now more welcoming towards returning expats

Employers in Lithuania are more favourable than before towards Lithuanian emigrants who are returning, according to a survey of 512 companies and organisations by the Lithuanian Public Employment Service (UzT), LRT reports. The survey showed that 42% of companies in Lithuania suffer from a shortage of skilled labour. More than half of Lithuanian employers now…

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Lithuania: Ship with Russian chemicals barred from Klaipeda: PM

Lithuania will not allow a Maltese-flagged ship carrying ammonium nitrate from Russia to dock at the port of Klaipeda for repairs, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced, BNS reports. The vessel requested permission to enter the port to unload its cargo of 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate and carry out repairs by a company in Klaipeda….

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Baltic: airBaltic to open several new routes in summer 2025

Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, will open flights to several new destinations from the three Baltic capitals in summer 2025, including five from Tallinn, four from Riga, and seven from Vilnius, LRT reports. The company will offer flights from Tallinn to Tirana in Albania, to Hamburg in Germany, to Reykjavik in Iceland, and to Barcelona…

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Lithuania: President asks parliament to repeal cluster bomb ban

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has formally proposed that the parliament, the Seimas, denounce the Convention on Cluster Munitions, BNS reports. The Office of the President argued that current international legal restrictions limited Lithuania’s defence capabilities and reduced the effectiveness of deterrence. Lithuania and Norway are the only NATO member states sharing a border with Russia…

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Lithuania: Permanent population up 1% in 2023: statistics

Lithuania’s permanent population totalled 2,886,500 people in the beginning of 2024, which was 29,000 (1%) more than in the same period of 2023, according to the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reports. Around 22,000 permanent residents emigrated from Lithuania in 2023, which was up 44% from 15,300 in 2022. Some 12,000 foreigners and 10,000 Lithuanian…

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Baltic: Blackstone plans to sell Luminor Bank in 2024: report

US investment company Blackstone plans to sell Baltic-based Luminor Bank, according to Bloomberg, LETA reports. Blackstone expects to sell the bank for around EUR 1.9bn and to conclude the deal in 2024. Peter Priisalm, head of Avaron Investments, suggested that one potential buyer could be Polish insurance group PZU, while Valeria Kiisk, partner at Redgate…

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Latvia: Hong Kong investor buys full control of Food Union Group

Hong Kong-based investment firm PAG Private Equity will acquire full control of Latvia’s Food Union Group, which produces ice cream and other frozen foods, LSM reports. PAG expects to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2024. Food Union will continue under present management and business structure. PAG has been an investor in Food…

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