Baltic Business News

Estonia’s capital city Tallinn wins the Netexplo Smart Cities Prize 2020

Tallinn was at the forefront of the Netexplo Smart Cities Award 2020 in the “Digital Transformation” category. The prize is intended to honour places that have distinguished themselves from other cities through innovation in the areas of intelligence, sustainability and integration. The prize is organised by UNESCO and the Netexplo Observatory and will be awarded on 18-19 March 2020. A total of 10 cities in different categories caught the eye and will receive awards.

Agreement on Railway Identification in Latvia concluded

The first phase of the electrification project, which will contribute to safety, capacity and environmental friendliness among other things, is planned for the DaugavpilsKrustpils, Rezekne-Krustpils and KrustpilsRiga railway lines until the end of 2023. The Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA) has concluded an agreement with the Latvian State Railway Company Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDz, Latvian Railways) to grant more than €318 million from the European Union’s Cohesion Fund for the development of the electrical railway infrastructure.

The new car market in Lithuania rises by around 42%

About 24,630 new cars were registered in Lithuania in January - September 2019. This is about 42% more than in the same period last year. The data is based on the data from the state car registration company Regitra. The top rider among the new cars is Fiat with 1,492 new registrations, followed by Toyota with 528 and Volkswagen with 499 registrations. BMW took first place in the premium class with 86 registrations.

Klaipedos Nafta plans to buy LNG ships

The company plans to purchase the Independence floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which Klaipedos Nafta currently leases from the Norwegian Hoegh LNG or another ship until the end of 2024. The co-contract between Kleipedos Nafta and LNG will expire at the end of 2024. A final decision on the acquisition is expected by the end of 2022. It has been announced that a sum of between €121 and €160 million will have to be raised for this purpose.

Chinese invest in Riga

The €15 million centre for gene sequencing was opened in the Marupe district of Riga, reports db.lv. This is an investment from the Chinese company MGI Latvia, which belongs to the BGI Group. The new centre will employ at least 80 biomedical specialists and produce gene sequencing equipment for export to the EU, Africa and the Middle East. The reasons given for the investment in Latvia were low bureaucracy and a good investment climate.

Estonian students at the very top of PISA study

The 15-year-old students from Estonia made it to the first place of the PISA study in Europe in the reading, mathematics and science categories. Worldwide, they came fifth in reading, eighth in mathematics and fourth in sciences. According to the PISA report, the Estonian education system is one of the most effective and resilient systems. Compared to other countries, Estonia has a high level of academic ability, despite adverse socio-economic factors.

Joint offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga The two Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia are jointly planning an offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Riga. This will contribute to securing the electricity grids. It is particularly important that the Baltic Sea region pursues goals together and that a common renewable energy source is achieved through this project. Both ministers of the respective countries, Taavi Aas and Ralfs Nemiro, agreed that the project had to be advanced as quickly as possible and decided to take the next step, the most important basis for cooperation.

A futuristic station for Tallinn As you can see from the picture, the Estonian capital Tallinn will soon be quite futuristic. A new railway station is planned in Tallinn’s Ülemiste district, which will serve as an international hub for rail, bus and air transport for local residents and tourists as a link in the form of a bridge. With this modern design, the new station stands in full contrast to Tallinn’s medieval old town. The new station will serve as a starting point for the 870 km railway line known as “Rail Baltica”. The designs for the Tallinn station were submitted by the London-based architect Zaha Hadid, among others, who secured first place with these designs. The office had already achieved first place in 2017 when it came to the development of the port.

Elcogen wins the European Business Award The Estonian company Elcogen has been named the winner of this year’s European Business Award in the “Innovation” category. Elcogen is the world’s most advanced manufacturer of ceramic anodesupported solid oxide cells and stacks. Their products enable industrial companies to offer a clean power generation and storage solution for the mass market.

Vinted supplies first Tech Unicorn for Lithuania Vinted was founded in 2008 by Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskas. At that time, the two founders simply wanted to get rid of their used clothes. Today, Vinted is a huge online retailer that is available in several countries and finds particularly high demand in France, Germany, Belgium and Spain. The Lithuanian tech startup is the first so-called Unicorn of the Baltic states, with a total value of more than one billion US dollars. Vinted currently employs more than 300 people.

Tilde wins Export and Innovation Award

This year’s Export and Innovation Award, organized annually by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA), which recognizes companies in Latvia that are most successful in the field of exports and innovative products, went to language technology company Tilde. The company is a member of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the title of Export Champion 2019.

Leesys opens production factory in Lithuania Leesys (Leipzig Electronic Systems), one of the largest German electronics companies with many years of experience in the automotive industry, will open a new factory in Lithuania. Dr. Arnd Karden, CEO of Leesys, was particularly impressed by the level of the specialists, the openness to technical progress and the support of the investment agency Invest Lithuania. Leesys opted for the Panevėžys Free Economic Zone (FEZ) for its work in Lithuania.