Latvia is ready to start selling off stakes in state-owned companies as soon as next year as the government seeks to expand its capital markets and accelerate economic growth.
The Baltic nation plans to embark on the first such asset sales in more than two decades to boost its stock market capitalisation to 9 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027.
Data on the status of companies should be collated by the middle of August, with a clearer timetable for the next moves ready by the end of the year, according to Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens.
“The fact is our capital market is very small, it is practically non-existent,” Mr Aseradens said in an interview in Riga. “We are not even a frontier market.”
In May, the Finance Ministry unveiled a road map, highlighting how at 3 per cent of GDP in 2021, the Baltic nation’s market capitalisation was dwarfed by a European Union average of 54 per cent. Neighbouring countries Estonia and Lithuania were at 17.4 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively.
The authorities in the nation of about 1.8 million plan to set up a special fund to help private companies that want to raise financing, while expanding the capital markets will give local pension funds and retail clients a place to invest as well as attracting foreign buyers, Mr Aseradens said.
Air Baltic Corp has said it plans an initial public offering by the end of 2024 and the country’s gas storage company is also considering selling a stake. Even state-owned electricity company Latvenergo could be partially listed, depending on the results of a legal audit, since its privatisation is forbidden by law.
“In our opinion, it is not a privatisation, it is a partial listing on the stock exchange,” Mr Aseradens said.
The Finance Ministry last month upgraded its forecast for the economy to grow 1 per cent this year compared with a previous flatline projection. However, Latvia has lagged behind its Baltic neighbours in closing the gap with the EU average on a gross-domestic-product, per-capita basis.
A discussion of immigration has long been taboo in Latvia, but that may be finally changing. Resolving a lack of labour may potentially add 0.8 per cent to GDP, according to the minister.
Measures under discussion include targeted immigration, as well as upgrading the university system to attract more foreign students and staff, Mr Aseradens said. Military sector and IT exports must also be developed, he said.
“We are not happy that we lag behind the other Baltic states in terms of economic growth,” Mr Aseradens said. “The government asked us to change this situation and we came out with this idea.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
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Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
