Economy Digest, 21 October: Jūrmala Villa Sale, Housing and EV Support, New Subsea Cable
Latvian business news on 21 October: a historic villa in Jūrmala sold for 6.8 million euros, support for energy efficiency and electric cars is planned, and a new subsea communications cable will link Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
The Latvian news site Delfi Bizness published its roundup of the main business and economic developments in Latvia and worldwide on Wednesday, 21 October. The digest covers property deals, planned state support for residents, infrastructure projects and security issues.
Support for housing and cars
The digest looks at support that residents could receive in the coming years. For energy-efficiency upgrades, including windows, insulation and replacing the heating system, up to 20,000 euros is mentioned for a private house and up to 15,000 euros for an apartment. For buying an electric car, the figures are up to 15,000 euros for a new vehicle and up to 13,000 euros for a used one.
Deals and construction
In Jūrmala, a historic villa with ten rooms, eight bathrooms, a swimming pool, a spa area and a wine cellar was sold for 6.8 million euros. In Riga, a company linked to the retailer Jysk has bought a plot of land. Seven large-calibre wartime shells were found in the construction area of the main route of Rail Baltica, the railway project linking the Baltic states with Europe.
Region and energy
A new subsea communications cable will be built between Sweden, Estonia and Finland. Latvenergo has secured enough natural gas for the coming heating season, while significant price fluctuations are possible on the Latvian electricity market in winter. Germany's imports from Russia have fallen considerably since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Other news
Estonia's financial regulator is demanding that one of the banks improve its work processes. The European Commission has opened a formal procedure to assess the conduct of Booking.com. Data of Lithuanian travellers has been stolen, and critical vulnerabilities have been found in PHP software. A waste container planning calculator that helps cut costs has also been created.
