Nyheter

2012

MTG signs agreement to acquire LNT TV group in Latvia

Riga January9 (MTG website) - Modern Times Group MTG AB ('MTG'), the international entertainment broadcasting group, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of AS Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija (‘LNT’) in Latvia for an undisclosed cash consideration. LNT is the second largest free-TV operator in Latvia, and broadcasts national channel LNT, Russian language channel TV5 and entertainment channel LMK. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Latvian Competition Council.

LNT generated revenues of less than EUR 7 million, and an EBITDA loss for the first nine months of 2011. Launched in 1996 and headquartered in Riga, LNT broadcasts a broad range of locally produced and internationally acquired entertainment content, as well as news coverage and movies.

MTG’s existing free-TV operations in Latvia comprise the TV3, 3+ and TV6 channels.

Upon completion of the transaction, MTG will assume full operational control of the business and consolidate LNT’s results in its accounts. The results will be reported within the Viasat Broadcasting business area as part of the Group’s Baltic activities in the Free-TV Emerging Markets operating segment.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “MTG is a growth company and we consistently seek opportunities to build our existing market positions and establish new ones. LNT is such an opportunity and would be an excellent fit with our existing operations in Latvia and across the region. LNT’s channel portfolio complements our own offering, which we have developed over the past 14 years, and this transaction would enable us to provide viewers with an even greater variety and quality of Latvian and Russian language programming. With one of our two play-out facilities now located in Riga, we are committed to continuing to invest in Latvia and the Baltic region as the advertising markets stabilise and return to growth.”

2011

Application process for the Swedish Business Awards in Latvia 2011 has started.

Riga, August 20, 2011

The Embassy of Sweden and the Swedish Trade Council together with the founding partner Swedbank have established the annual Swedish Business Awards event to highlight Swedish - Latvian relations and inspire to even greater achievements. With these Awards we want to encourage entrepreneurship, social responsibility and sustainability. The event serves as a platform for discussions and a source for new ideas and contacts.

We invite companies and organizations in Latvia to nominate notable activities or achievements in any of the three categories:

- ‘’Sustainable Growth of the Year’’,

- ‘’Corporate Social Responsibility’’ initiative,

- ‘’Young Entrepreneur of the Year’’.

You can nominate your organization, suggest a partner or any other entity active in Latvia that you believe is worth being nominated.

Please send your applications by the 14th of September, 2011.

Application forms are available on www.SwedishBusinessAwards.com  

Latvia has successfully returned to international markets by issuing 10-year eurobonds - Finance Ministry

RIGA, June 10 (LETA) - On June 9, Latvia successfully issued 10-year eurobonds worth USD 500 million (LVL 240.5 million) with annual interest rate of 5.25 percent, which is lower than in March 2008 when Latvia last issued eurobonds - 5.5 percent, LETA was informed by the Finance Ministry's spokeswoman Baiba Melnace.

Finance Minister Andris Vilks (Unity) believes that the successful bond issue indicates that the international financial markets, investors in particular, highly appreciate Latvia's achievements in economic and financial stabilization.

Vilks believes that yesterday's bond issue will create the basis for refinancing of the international loan on public financial and capital markets in the near future. Therefore, in order to maintain the international financial markets' trust and ensure beneficial loan terms, Latvia must continue to successfully implement the economic stabilization program, emphasized the minister.

Melnace informed that from June 2 to June 6, Vilks and representatives of the Finance Ministry, the State Treasury and the Bank of Latvia met with investors in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston to inform about the current macroeconomic situation in the country, the implemented structural reforms and measures to stabilize the fiscal situation.

Melnace said the investors were highly interested in purchasing Latvia's bonds, and the demand for the bonds significantly exceeded the amount offered.

The issue was part of medium-term borrowing strategy and agreement between the Latvian government, Bank of Latvia, Financial and Capital Market Commission and the international loan program partners, according to which, Latvia will return to the international financial markets and no longer require additional funding from the program.

"Moody's" upgrades Latvia's rating outlook

RIGA, June 7 (NOZARE.LV) - Yesterday, the international credit rating agency "Moody's Investors Service" raised Latvia's rating outlook from stable to positive and rated the country at "Baa3", "Nozare.lv" was informed by the Finance Ministry.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) explains that "Moody's" decision to upgrade Latvia's rating outlook indicates that Latvia has managed to overcome the financial crisis, and the international community is convinced about the country's financial stability.

"I am sure that we can expect positive decisions from other international credit rating agencies as well, which will boost attraction of investments to Latvia," emphasized the premier.

"Moody's" decision also indicates that Latvia is on the right track to economic recovery, therefore the country must proceed with it and join the eurozone in 2014.

"At the moment, my main task is to ensure that political instability caused by the president's proposal to dissolve parliament does not have any significant impact on Latvia's return to international financial markets," stressed Dombrovskis.

Finance Minister Andris Vilks (Unity) explains that the upgrade of Latvia's rating outlook is an important and awaited signal for state securities and private sector investors, and it will contribute to attraction of investments to Latvia's economy.

"Moody's" assessment is highly important for Latvia's economic development potential, since it indicates that the agency appreciates the government's achievements so far.

"However, if we want to improve Latvia's credit rating already in the near future, the government must agree on specific and qualitative budget consolidation measures," added Vilks.

"Moody's" points out that the change of Latvia's outlook was prompted by the country's economic recovery and positive medium-term growth prospects, the consolidation of its public finances, and progress towards meeting the criteria for the country's entry into the euro area.

"Moody's" notes the recent rise in political uncertainty surrounding the president's proposal to dissolve parliament. The agency does not expect this turbulence to significantly undermine the economic recovery or the government's broad policy framework. If, however, as a result of political developments, the Latvian government were to become less committed to the consolidation of the public finances then "Moody's" would consider moving the outlook on Latvia's ratings back to stable

Sweden based car maker Volvo sets up a financial services subsidiary in Latvia

RIGA, May 16 (BNS) - The Sweden based car manufacturing group Volvo has set up a subsidiary, VFS Latvia, to provide financing to customers willing to buy Volvo products.

VFS Latvia spokeswoman Dace Rostoka told BNS that the newly-founded company would provide financing to customers to buy Volvo products on sale in Latvia.

According to the information from the Latvian business register database, VFS Latvia has been entered in the Commercial Register on May 9, 2011. The company’s share capital is 735,000 lats (EUR 1.046 mln), and its sole owner is Sweden’s Volvo.

There are three members on the VFS Latvia board – board chairman Thomas Andrew Macdonald and two board members, Carl Johan Hoff and Malgorzata Joanna Kulis.

In Latvia, Volvo Truck Latvia sells new and second-hand Volvo trucks and buses, Musa Motors Riga and Signals sell new and second-hand Volvo passenger cars and Swecon sells the construction and road building machinery made by Volvo.

Volvo Truck Latvia, fully owned by Sweden’s Volvo Truck Corporation, was entered in the Latvian Commercial Register in 1996.

Swedish Interspiro AB to expand production facility in Liepaja, Latvia

Riga, April 12 (Dienas Bizness and BNN)- It is planned to merge three Interspiro production facilities into a single factory based in Latvia. The production transfer from United States and Sweden to Liepaja, where one of the three Interspiro facilities already operates, is likely to take place by the end of November 2011.

The company will maintain service centres and spare parts warehouses around the world; however, the central warehouse will be located in Liepaja, SIA Interspiro Production Head Sandris Gusts reveals to the newspaper Dienas Bizness.

The reason for such a decision is the effort to maintain competitive prices and improve services.

Interspiro AB has 70 years of experience as a groundbreaking innovator
of respiratory protection for non-breathable environments. It develops, manufactures and markets respiratory and auxiliary equipment for firefighting, work in hazardous environments and professional diving.

Swedish Ratos buys Sanoma's cinemas in Baltics & Finland

Riga, March 21 - Swedish investment company Ratos is buying 25 cinemas in Finland and the Baltics for 116m EUR from the Finnish media group Sanoma which makes a kill of 50m EUR on the deal. It needs ap-proval from the competition watchdogs in Latvia and Finland, however.

The net sales of Sanoma's cinemas were 88.8m EUR in 2010, while the operational gains stood at 8.4m EUR. Through the deal Ratos gets the shares in Finnkino Oy and the daughter companies SIA Forum Cinemas in Latvia, AS Forum Cinemas in Es-tonia and UAB Forum Cinemas in Lithuania to-gether with three properties in Latvia and Finland. The activities in the three countries employ 620 staff.

The Latvian company Forum Cinemas runs the cinema Citadele with 14 halls and 3,016 seats in central Riga and is the country's largest distributor of Hollywood films. The company has rights from 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios. SIA Forum Cinemas has 120 employees.

Ratos is a private investment company which specialises in purchases of midsize and large com-panies in Northern Europe. Sanoma explains the sale by concentrating its business to media and education for private indi-viduals and corporate clients. The Sanoma media group is active in 20 countries in Europe with 20,000 employees. The group saw combined sales in 2010 of 2.8bn EUR, but sees that the business will shrink due to competition from file sharing on the internet.

Fredrik Reinfeldt and Carl Bildt visited Latvia 

Swedish prime minister emphasizes Nordic-Latvian cooperation opportunities

RIGA, Feb 18 (LETA) - It is necessary to make use of Nordic-Latvian cooperation potential, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said after a meeting with Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis in Riga.

Reinfeldt noted successful cooperation between Latvia and Sweden, and emphasized that Latvia is a serious and reliable partner. Reinfeldt went on to say that Sweden understands Latvia's current situation because it faced similar economic problems and painful decisions in the 1990s.

Reinfeldt highly appreciated what Latvia has done so far to overcome the crisis.

The prime ministers also discussed the implementation of the international loan program for Latvia, energy issues and the future priorities of Latvian agriculture policy.

During the meeting Dombrovskis confirmed that Latvia is interested in Sweden's investments in export-capable sectors with high value added, because so far Swedish investments mainly went into the financial and commercial sectors.

Dombrovskis also added that there is a great potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the area of wood-working, engineering, information technologies, "green technologies", transit and logistics. The Swedish companies are already working in Latvia in sectors with high added value, for instance, "Hansa Electronics", "Leax Baltix", SEB unified service center and others.

Dombrovskis said that Sweden is one of the most important partners of Latvia for economic cooperation. According to the information provided by the Central Statistics Bureau, in first three quarters of 2010 Sweden was the fifth largest export market for Latvian goods and the ninth largest import partner. During this period, the total trade turnover of Latvia and Sweden amounted to EUR 466.8 million, thus Sweden is in sixth place among largest foreign trade partners of Latvia.

On January 12, 2011, the accumulated investment from Sweden into the equity capital of Latvian companies stood at LVL 286.43 million, and there were 639 Swedish-Latvian joint ventures registered in the Register of Enterprises.

The agenda included bilateral relations and trade, the economic situation in Europe and current EU affairs.

Reinfeldt's speech at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga available on http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/14238/a/161416

2010

Swedish Business Awards in Latvia 2010

On November 24, 2010 winners of the Swedish Business Awards 2010 in Latvia were announced. The prize ceremony together with a conference focused on creativity and entrepreneurship took place at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. The event was co-organized by Embassy of Sweden, Swedish Trade Council and Swedbank.

This year’s keynote speaker was Mr Fredrik Härén – founder of The Interesting Organization (www.interesting.org), “Speaker of the Year 2007” in Sweden and the author of “The Idea Book.

The winner in the category Corporate Social Responsibility:
• Krasu Serviss SIA and Vairak Saules SIA – “Education, training and employment of pupils from ‘Dzivesprieks’ vocational school in Aizupe (Tukums district)”

Nomination sponsors: - Swedish International Development cooperation Agency’s (SIDA) Baltic Sea unit - Swedish Institute (Svenska Institutet) managment programme

The winner in the category Fastest growing Swedish owned company in Latvia:
• Gateway Baltic SIA – export consultancy services
Nomination sponsor – Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia

The winner in the category Young Entrepreneur:
• INTEA (Interaktīvās Tehnoloģijas Apmācībai) SIA - company providing interactive e-learning services

Nomination sponsor – Swedbank 

The conference was attended by approximately 200 guests – Latvian and Swedish entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, representatives from public sector.

For more information please visit http://www.swedishbusinessawards.com  

Swedish investor acquires controlling stake in Latvia's SIA Premium Medical

RIGA, Oct 25, BNS 

Swedish investor Thomas Lindeborg has acquired a controlling stake in the Latvian healthcare company Premium Medical, clinic's spokeswoman Maija Dulle-Sunina told BNS.

Lindeborg has acquired 67 percent of stake in Premium Medical. Dulle-Sunina said the Swedish investor appreciated the clinic's growth potential in Latvia and other EU countries and believed that this was a good time to make investments in the Baltic market.

Lindeberg said in a statement that the current investment environment in the Baltics was very perspective, and there was a massive growth potential for various businesses, particularly in the healthcare sector, since the state-provided healthcare system was essentially non-functioning. Compared to countries in Scandinavia and Western Europe the average price level for medical services is low, but experts in Latvia are highly qualified, and their salaries are much more competitive than in the above countries, the investor said.

"The company benefits from cooperation with Lindeborg much more than just financially -- his international business experience and broad vision is invaluable for the company to reach its goals. The key direction for Premium Medical is to extend its operations outside Latvia and the Baltics, ensuring our clients the highest quality services, which are provided by the best experts in the sector. Despite the country's economic situation, over the past few years our company has managed not only to maintain our current loyal clients but also to attract new clients, which undeniably proves that the company's strategy is sustainable," said Signe Dauskane-Platace, head of Premium Medical.

Lindeborg's private capital investment company Nordic & Baltic Property Group has been established for investments in the Baltic region. So far he has mostly been investing in Scandinavia and Russia.

According to the Latvian business register, Premium Medical closed 2009 with a turnover of 419,000 lats (EUR 596,000) and a loss of 399,000 lats.

So far the owners of Premium Medical were ZGI Fonds with 49 percent of the stake and individuals Leonids Platacis with 25 percent and Signe Dauskane-Platace with 25 percent.

Premium Medical was established in 2007, and its share capital is 100,000 lats.

(EUR 1 = LVL 0.7028)

Source: BNS news agency  http://news.bns.lv

Sweden's Anders Lofberg becomes new owner of Latvia's Melna Kafija coffee co

Övriga nyheter från Lettland och Baltikum

Dienas bizness - Lettlands ledande affärstidning
http://www.db.lv/   Nyheter från Lettland
http://www.news2biz.com/

Baltic Business News - affärsnyheter
http://www.balticbusinessnews.com/ eng

Diena - Lettlands ledande dagstidning
http://www.diena.lv/  

Lavijas Avize - En av Lettlands största dagstidningar
http://www.la.lv  

Riga Stock Exchange
http://www.lv.omxgroup.com/ eng

Baltic Times - Nyheter från Baltikum (en gång i veckan)
http://www.baltictimes.com/ eng

Nyhetsbyrå Baltic News Service
http://bnsnews.bns.lv/ eng