Baltic States: Lithuanian economy is performing significantly better than that of Latvia or especially Estonia

Lithuania’s economy is bubbling promisingly, Latvia’s is stagnating and Estonia’s is struggling in a prolonged downturn. Both major Lithuanian commercial banks, Swedbank and SEB, have ticked up Lithuania’s forecast for the year, boosting confidence that the economy is on the right track. Swedbank is projecting a GDP increase of 2.2% and SEB is predicting a…

Baltic States: Fibenol picks Valmiera as potential biorefinery site

Estonian biotech company Fibenol has begun feasibility and environmental impact studies at the Valmiera industrial park, to determine its suitability for the potential establishment of a biorefinery, the company has announced. Following the public tender, a construction rights agreement was signed on August 27 between subsidiary Fibenol Latvia Ltd and local government in Valmiera, around…

Baltic States: insufficient railway development level limits connections with Europe

All three Baltic States have poorly developed railway system. On top of that, the countries’ railway infrastructure is very poorly connected to other countries, as concluded in the monthly “Connection Failed” study by Greenpeace. The study analysed existing and potentially direct railway connections between the biggest European cities as compared to air connections. In total,…