* Bank of Estonia President Andres Lipstok has told Parliament that if Ain Hanschmidt’s activities at Uhispank were proven to be unethical, he would censure the former banker.
* Galvex, the U.S.-owned steel galvanizing plant in the Muuga port, has brought in professional management consultants to reinvigorate the company. It’s the largest foreign investment to date in Estonia, and could possibly lead to business with a foreign strategic investor. The Eesti Paevaleht reported this week that ownership of Galvex is now firmly in the hands of a group of investment banks, including Germany’s Hypovereinsbank, after the company failed to meet payments on loans. According to the paper, the syndicate immediately sold its equity stake, along with the debts, to Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.
* A major regional conference on rail tariffs in Tallinn passed fruitfully, with Russian rail officials promising to lower tariffs for shipments on Russian territory and several companies inking an agreement to develop container shipments.
Rene Varek, marketing director of Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway), called the tariff conference an absolute success.
* U.S. investigators have identified a technical malfunction as a possible cause of the Copterline helicopter accident in August, Finland’s STT news agency reported. The aircraft crashed into the Bay of Tallinn with 14 people on board. There were no survivors.
The investigators spotted a fault in one of the three flight control panels that operated the Sikorsky S-76C+ aircraft. The wreckage was salvaged from the bottom of the sea.
* Official confirmation of the Tallinn municipal poll has been postponed due to MP Igor Grazin’s legal protest, putting off a decision on who will become the capital’s new mayor.
Grazin (above), who had been a candidate for the City Council as a member of the Reform Party, originally wanted results from the Kristiine borough cancelled, but the National Electoral Committee refused his request.
* State prosecutors have begun looking into several suspicious real estate transactions at Kalev that may have caused significant financial loss to shareholders of the country’s largest chocolate factory.
* Tallink and Sea Containers, owner of Finland’s Silja Line, have reportedly reached an agreement allowing Tallink to buy its smaller competitor.
Source : Baltic Times
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