Estonian Air to replace new Bombardiers with Brazilian aircraft

Estonian national carrier Estonian Air has received permission from the ministry of economy to replace the new Bombardiers that the airline acquired recently with cheaper planes made by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.

It has been only a year when Estonian Air was handed over three new Bombardier aircraft. The airline needed new planes badly since it was in the process of removing the Saab turboprops from service and closing the lease of Boeing aircraft.

The airline also announced that it was negotiating purchase of three other Bombardier aircraft. However, when the Canadian manufacturer who knew that the airline was in dire need of new aircraft started to set demands, most of which were unacceptable, the airline’s management with the approval of the economic minister Juhan Parts started to look around for an alternative.

It found it in Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer that was able to offer a much wider choice of aircraft. Embraer is the world’s fourth largest aircraft manufacturer, one place behind Bombardier. Embraer, however is world leader in the segment of regional aviation and this is what makes it so interesting for Estonian Air.

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Two million people live in Latvia, 190 000 have emigrated

On 18 January, the Latvian statistics bureau Centrala statistikas parvalde released the preliminary results of the 2011 national census. It shows that 2 067 887 people lived in Latvia at the time of the census, thus still slightly making it above the 2m mark.

From the last census in 2000, the number has shrunk by 309,000 or 13%. 119,000 have been lost due to the negative birth rate and another 190,000 due to emigration. 1.3m or 64% are of working age, 14.1% below the working age and 21.8% above it.

Source: BBN

Risk fund leaves investors with nothing

Buyers of units of Gild Arbitrage, Estonia’s first risk fund, are likely to lose all of their investment since the units are worthy nothing and the fund’s liabilities exceed its assets which include a few lots in Armenia that may or may not have gold or copper reserves.

The fund was founded ten years ago by former fund manager Tõnno Vähk and Tõnis Haavel, former partner of Gild Bankers. Another partner of Gild Bankers, Rain Tamm, was also actively involved.

The three that are still investors in the fund have put Tõnu Pehk in charge. Pehk has made attempts to revive the fund, but is now losing hope as the net asset value of the fund is zero.

Fund’s creditors have received about half of their investment, but unequally since some bond holders had collateral, while most did not.

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The population of Estonia is 1,316,500

According to Statistics Estonia, by preliminary data, the population number in Estonia was 1,316,500 on 1 January 2012. The decline in the estimated population in 2011 was influenced by the decrease in the number of births as well as by the increase of emigration.

14,713 live births were registered in 2011, i.e. 1,112 births less than in the previous year. The number of births fell to the 5-year-ago level, when less than 15,000 children were born per year. 15,226 persons died in 2011, i.e. 564 less than in the previous year. Although the number of deaths has decreased constantly over the last four years, a large drop in the number of births in 2011 took the natural increase which had turned slightly positive in 2010 back to negative again. Natural increase is the difference between live births and deaths during the year. Positive natural increase shows the predominance of births and negative natural increase – the predominance of deaths. In 2011, the number of deaths exceeded that of births by 513 persons.

The estimated population declined also due to negative net migration. By preliminary data, in 2011, 3,922 persons more emigrated than immigrated which is the last decade’s biggest difference between immigrants and emigrants.

5,543 marriages were contracted and 3,108 marriages were divorced which is correspondingly 477 and 194 more than in 2010.

Births, deaths, natural increase and net migration, 1990–2011

Statistics Estonia will publish the revised preliminary population number as of 1 January 2012 on 16 March 2012. The estimated population number is based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census data which are supplemented with the annual data on registered births, deaths and migration. It differs from the population number of the Population Register where the data are based on the registration of a person’s place of residence. Internationally, the Census data are considered more accurate than the Register data, because people may have different reasons for alteration of data while registering their place of residence. At the same time the long period of time since the last Census deteriorates the data of Statistics Estonia.

Statistics Estonia will publish the preliminary population number of the 2011 Population and Housing Census (PHC 2011) at the end on May and the final number in December 2012. After that population accounts will be revised.

PHC 2011 is going to take place from 31.12.2011 to 31.03.2012 and it will be conducted using a combined method: from 31.12.2011 to 31.01.2012 permanent residents can fill out the Census questionnaire over the Internet and those who do not use the e-Census option will be interviewed by the enumerator at home from 16.02 to 31.03.2012.

Source: Statistics Estonia

Construction price index increased 3.1 pct in 2011

According to Statistics Estonia, the construction price index increased 3.1% in 2011 compared to the average of 2010, of which labour force 7.6%, building machines 2.0% and building materials 1.5%.

The change of the construction price index was 2.0% in the 4th quarter of 2011 compared to the 3rd quarter and 4.5% compared to the 4th quarter of 2010. Compared to the 4th quarter of 2010, the construction price index was mainly influenced by more expensive labour force, which gave almost two thirds of the total increase. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2011, the impact of the labour force was even bigger and gave over 70% of the quarterly change.

The repair and reconstruction work price index increased 3.8% in 2011 compared to the average of 2010, of which labour force 7.5%, building machines 4.3% and building materials 1.9%.

The percentage change of the repair and reconstruction work price index in the 4th quarter of 2011 was 2.7% compared to the 3rd quarter and 5.8% compared to the 4th quarter of 2010.

The calculation of the construction price index covers four groups of buildings – detached houses, blocks of flats, industrial buildings and office buildings, as well as office buildings covered by the repair and reconstruction work price index. The construction price index expresses the change in the expenditures on construction taking into consideration the price changes of basic inputs: labour force, building materials and building machines.

Change in the construction price index

4th quarter 2011

	3rd Q 2011 – 4th Q 2011, %	4th Q 2010 – 4th Q 2011, %
TOTAL	2.0	4.5
labour force	5.5	11.2
building machines	0.4	3.3
building materials	0.7	2.0
Index of detached houses	2.6	5.4
Index of blocks of flats	2.0	4.7
Index of industrial buildings	2.0	4.4
Index of office buildings	1.9	4.1

 

Change in the repair and reconstruction work price index, 4th quarter 2011

	3rd Q 2011 – 4th Q 2011, %	4th Q 2010 – 4th Q 2011, %
TOTAL	2.7	5.8
labour force	6.0	11.5
building machines	0.6	5.5
building materials	1.2	3.0

 

Source: Statistics Estonia

Three companies interested in taking over the Tallinn plant of Elcoteq

In addition to French electronics manufacturer Eolane, also two other companies are considering a bid for Elcoteq Tallin, a subsidiary of the bankrupt Finnish electronics assembly group Elcoteq SE.

Jan Kotka, CEO of Elcoteq Tallinn, said that sales negotiations were ongoing with all three companies, but declined to name the other two because they were listed companies.

Kotka said that the Luxembourg-based bankruptcy administrator of Elcoteq SE had told him that the sale of Elcoteq Tallinn could be closed already in January.

Annual revenues of Elcoteq Tallinn were 4.6 million euros in 2010 and the company made a profit of 136,000 euros.

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Estonian football team reached all-time high in FIFA rankings

The Estonian National Football Team hit 52nd place in this month’s FIFA rankings, a new record for the country. The results, announced 18 January, put Estonia five notches up from its December position, which was also a record at the time.

Despite not making it through the Euro 2012 qualifiers in autumn, the team has seen its ranking rise slowly and steadily over the past three months, inching up from 59th to 58th place in November before reaching the 57th spot last month.

In January’s list, the top spot continues to be occupied by world football superpower Spain, followed by Holland and Germany.

Prior to last year, the highest Estonia ever climbed on the list was 60th place, which it achieved in December 2002. Its worst showing came in October 2008, when it languished at 137th.

Source: Estonian Review

5 pct more cargo handling at Estonian ports last year

Statistics Estonia said that a total of 48.3 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded at Estonian Ports in 2011, 5.3% more than in 2010. Last year 35.1 million tons of goods were loaded and 13.15 million tons of goods unloaded at Estonian ports, respectively 1.5 and 16.3% more than the year before.

Last December 2.9 million tons of goods were loaded at Estonian ports and 1.2 million tons of goods were unloaded, respectively 7.5% less and 5.3% more than in the same month last year.

Source: Estonian Review

116.7 MEUR of EU funds distributed in environmental sector 2011

Last year 116.7 million euros of European Union structural support was paid out in Estonia’s environmental sector, which is almost three times as much as a year earlier.

Financing decisions made in the framework of environmental sector structural support of the 2007-2013 budget period total 563 million euros. By the end of last year 156.5 million euros of this sum had been paid out, the Ministry of the Environment said. In December 29.5 million euros of EU funds was disbursed, which the ministry said is the largest monthly amount ever.

According to the ministry, the distribution of European support in the environmental sector is influenced by the fact that it largely involves extensive infrastructure projects that take at least a couple of years to prepare, and only after that can the money be paid out. In 2011 numerous water supply projects, which make up a substantial part of the living environment development action plan, reached the payment phase.

In addition to EU structural support, more than one million euros of the Norwegian and EEA Financial Mechanism funds was disbursed in 2011.

Source: Estonian Review

MP: state should not support exporting to Russia

Kalev Lillo, MP for Reform Party caused an uproar among businessmen last week when he said that the Estonian state should not support exporters who trade with Russia, writes Äripäev.

Lillo who is also member of the supervisory board of state-owned Port of Tallinn wrote in an opinion column published in Delfi last week that Estonia should be wary despite of Russia becoming a WTO member and being now Estonia’s second-largest export partner.

„We should not use taxpayer money for increasing economic security risks,” wrote Lillo.

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