21.11.18 ... The Economic Development Committee on Tuesday received an overview on visiidid.ee, a website dedicated to planning business visits and sharing information whose active implementation will allow Estonian business diplomacy to be boosted to a new level altogether.
21.11.18 ... International money transfer platform Transferwise has opened a euro account with the Bank of Lithuania, thus gaining direct access to the instant euro payments system.
20.11.18 ... According to information released by Statistics Estonia on Tuesday morning, last month, the producer price index (PPI) of industrial output increased by 0.3% compared to September 2018 and 2.8% compared to October 2017.
19.11.18 ... The Estonian Competition Authority on Monday rejected a complaint by Eleon Group, an energy company owned by Andres and Oleg Sõnajalg, which contested the authority's decision to allow the merger of renewable energy producer Nelja Energia and the Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia.
16.11.18 ... Rival politicians have subjected Social Democratic Party (SDE) chairman Jevgeni Ossinovski to a hail of criticism following his disapproval of the Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia a day before an energy company belonging to his father, Oleg Ossinovski, halted the consolidation of Eesti Energia and the recently acquired renewable energy company Nelja Energia, daily Postimees said.
16.11.18 ... Following on the heels of an announcement last week that it was shutting down three regular routes from Tallinn, Estonian national airline Nordic Aviation Group AS, operating under the Nordica brand, announced that it will be cutting eight routes from the Estonian capital next summer, daily Postimees reports.
15.11.18 ... According to data released by the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 1,282 live births were registered in Estonia in October, 615 girls and 667 boys. This is up year-on-year (y-o-y) from 1,141, though less than the number of deaths for October at 1,367, making October the first month in six for deaths to exceed births.
15.11.18 ... The European Court of Justice on Thursday dismissed Estonia's appeal against the court's decision to dismiss the country's action against the European Commission for the cancellation of a €34.3 million sugar penalty.
14.11.18 ... Estonia has reached the end of its labour supply amongst the unemployed, according to the finance ministry.
14.11.18 ... According to Taavi Veskimägi, CEO of the Estonian state-owned transmission system operator (TSO) Elering, the current low price of electricity does not allow for investments.
14.11.18 ... In the third quarter of 2018, the unemployment rate remained low, similar to that of economic boom years at 5.2%, while the employment rate exceeded that of boom years at 68.2%, as did the labour force participation rate at 72%. Employment of older persons, meanwhile, hit a record high.
13.11.18 ... Around 7% of employees in Estonia voluntarily changed jobs every quarter so far this year, according to Bank of Estonia economist Rasmus Kattai.
13.11.18 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) is in Germany, where he has already presented an overview of the business landscape and prognosis to a group of German entrepreneurs considering, or already, investing in Estonia.
12.11.18 ... The number of registered unemployed in Estonia totalled 29,759 at the end of October, making up 4.6% of the total workforce from age 16 to the retirement age.
12.11.18 ... The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) has accumulated a considerable reserve, but if the rate of unemployment were to increase as quickly as it did during the previous economic crisis, its resources would last for roughly three years, the National Audit Office said on Monday.
12.11.18 ... In the third quarter of 2018, the number of Finnish tourists to visit Estonia was down to a level last seen in 2008. By contrast, despite the exceptionally warm summer, the number of foreign trips taken by Estonians increased.
10.11.18 ... Listed Estonian shipper Tallink acquired 142,500 of its own shares between 2 and 8 November. The company is getting ready to get listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.
09.11.18 ... It started as a relatively straightforward road link, developing Tallinn's neglected harbour area (see map) and easing traffic congestion between the City Centre and Kadriorg districts, yet the Reidi Road project seems ill-starred from the outset.
09.11.18 ... When it comes to Estonia, the direct impact of the US' import tariffs currently in effect is not very large, but with the addition of new tariffs, the impact may now directly impact the Estonian economy, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Rene Tammist (SDE) said on Friday.
09.11.18 ... The European Commission decided on Thursday to send a reasoned opinion to Estonia and a letter of formal notice to Denmark for the countries' failure to completely transpose the European Union's 4th Money Laundering Directive into national law. The Ministry of Finance said that Estonia has applied the directive, and that it will respond to the Commission within the next two months.
09.11.18 ... Just across the train tracks from Ülemiste Centre, Tallinn now has another large shopping centre. The T1 Mall opened its doors on Friday morning. Apart from shops, it also includes a food court and a cinema.
09.11.18 ... According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2018 exports and imports of goods increased by 11% each compared to September of the previous year. An increase in the trade of mineral products such fuel additives and motor spirits contributed the most.
09.11.18 ... Flag carrier Nordica is closing three of its routes: the airline's flights to Amsterdam, St. Petersburg and Oslo are no longer profitable. The company is also laying off nine of its staff in Tallinn.
09.11.18 ... Investment company Est-For Invest, set up by several players in Estonia's forestry industry to build a new large pulp mill that would have represented the biggest-ever single investment in Estonia's history, said on Thursday that following the decision of the government to terminate its designated spatial plan for the mill, they will "wait for an improvement in the investment climate."
08.11.18 ... The Estonian government on Thursday decided to terminate the procedure for a national designated spatial plan for the establishment of a large pulp mill by the company Est-For Invest.
08.11.18 ... The Estonian economy is expected to grow at a rate of 3.5% this year, Swedbank said in its fresh Economic Outlook, leaving its economic growth forecast unchanged from the estimate offered in its previous outlook.
08.11.18 ... Inflation this year will exceed 3%, but is expected to slow next year as a result of slowing energy price increases as well as the fact that excise duties on alcohol likely won't increase further, senior analyst at Swedbank, Liis Elmik said.
07.11.18 ... The Estonian Competition Authority granted Enefit Green, the renewable energy arm of the Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia, permission to complete its acquisition of Nelja Energia.
07.11.18 ... According to Statistics Estonia, the change of the consumer price index in October 2018 was 0.5% compared to September and 4.4% compared to October of the previous year. Goods were 3.7% and services 5.7% more expensive compared to October 2017, while regulated prices of goods and services increased by 9.1%, and non-regulated prices by 3.1%.
07.11.18 ... Proposed changes of the Ship Flag and Ship Registers Act as well as the Income Tax Act aim to bring up to 300 large cargo vessels under the Estonian flag over the next seven years. There is currently not a single large freighter sailing under the Estonian flag, the last one having been unregistered after tax exemptions were rescinded in 2014.
06.11.18 ... At their annual roundtable meeting on Saturday, Representatives of the chambers of notaries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania focused on challenges related to the prevention of money laundering as well as exchanged experiences related to the practices of oversight in each country.
06.11.18 ... The back and forth over the termination of the spatial plan for the planned €1 billion pulp mill to be built by Est-For Invest will continue as Minister of Public Administration Janek Mäggi (Centre) said that it is difficult to adopt a final stance on what kind of proposal the Ministry of Finance will submit to the government, regional daily Tartu Postimees reported on Tuesday.
06.11.18 ... Estonia is the first country in the euro area where a bank has been stripped of its activity license at the request of a financial supervision authority for breaking anti-money laundering rules, Chairman of the Board of the Financial Supervision Authority (FSA) Kilvar Kessler said at a debate in the Riigikogu about the prevention of money laundering on Tuesday.
06.11.18 ... According to Statistics Estonia, in September 2018 domestic and foreign tourists who stayed in Estonian hotels and other establishments numbered 276,000, which is 2% lower than in September 2017. The number of both domestic and foreign tourists decreased.
06.11.18 ... Port operator Tallinna Sadam is planning to build a new pedestrian bridge between Tallinn's A and D ferry terminals. Its design is likely to make the bridge itself a tourist attraction, but now preparations for the construction of this latest fancy addition to Tallinn's image are delayed, as a company in the area is fighting the project in court.
05.11.18 ... The National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu on Monday expressed its support of Estonia's participation in the World Expo in Dubai in 2020, where companies belonging to the Estonian Defence Industry Association (EDIA) as well as other innovative Estonian companies are interested in participating.
05.11.18 ... Giving up oil shale would cost Estonia up to €1 billion per year and 13,000 jobs in Ida-Viru County as well as lead to higher electricity prices.
05.11.18 ... Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) announced on Monday that its supervisory board has appointed Corey Plummer its new CEO, replacing Madis Jääger. Jääger ran the company for seven years.
04.11.18 ... The Estonian state-owned electricity distribution network operator Elektrilevi recently won the public competition to support the spread of high-speed internet in Estonia. As the state's allocated €20 million will only be enough to bring the high-speed network to 40,000 of 100,000 planned buildings, the company will invest tens of millions of their own into the project as well.
04.11.18 ... As a result of the ongoing money laundering scandal in which the Estonian branch of Danske Bank is embroiled, the Nordic bank's Norwegian branch has spent more time explaining things to existing customers than finding new ones, Trond Mellingsæter, head of Danske's Norwegian branch, told Norway's E24.
03.11.18 ... Speaking at an economics conference on Friday, former Prime Minister and current Vice-President of the European Commission Andrus Ansip (Reform/ALDE) said that while the governments led by him prepared for the 2008 crisis by accumulating reserves, the current government is not doing the same.
02.11.18 ... A decision by the Supreme Court of Estonia has amended the current procedure for the recovery of tax arrears. According to the amended procedure, the compulsory enforcement of tax arrears can no longer take more than five years.
02.11.18 ... Following a June announcement that it would continue flying between the capitals of Estonia and the UK through the autumn and winter seasons, British Airways has announced that it will be discontinuing direct flights between Tallinn Airport and London's Heathrow Airport next April.
02.11.18 ... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered its forecast for Estonia's economic growth this year by 0.2% to 3.6%, citing poor corporate investment.
01.11.18 ... The Estonian labour market has an increasing need for people with specific skills and knowledge, and companies are also moving to regions with a strong talent base, it appears from the "Labour Market 2035" report published by the Foresight Centre, a think tank at the Riigikogu.
01.11.18 ... Listed Estonian shipper AS Tallink Grupp announced on Thursday that it intends to list its shares on Nasdaq Helsinki, otherwise known as the Helsinki Stock Exchange (HSE) and is aiming for the commencement of trading on or around 3 December.
01.11.18 ... In the third quarter of 2018, the total number of passengers carried by ships belonging to AS Tallink Grupp and its subsidiaries increased by 1.2% on year to 2.9 million, according to the group's unaudited financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2018.
01.11.18 ... Estonian ride-hailing platform Taxify is launching its service in the northeastern border city of Narva on Thursday, and is considering expanding to the nearby towns of Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi as well.
31.10.18 ... Estonia fell four places to 16th in the World Bank Group's flagship publication Doing Business 2019, which analyses and ranks business environments globally.
31.10.18 ... The Estonian Competition Authority is to decide within a week whether the Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia will be allowed to acquire renewable energy company Nelja Energia.
