Word: baltics
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Trading ships have plied the Baltic for more than 1,000 years. In the 13th century, the ports of Riga, Tallinn, Danzig (now Gdansk) and Hamburg, among others, belonged to the Hanseatic League, the world's first free-trade alliance, which dominated east-west commerce in Europe for the better part of 400 years. The cold war did not freeze trade altogether, but it introduced a bitter chill. Ships continued to sail the grey waters, carrying grain to Russia, and Lada automobiles to Africa and Latin America. But cities like Riga that had ties with Western Europe were compelled...
...Estonians. Established multinationals, meanwhile, such as Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ikea, with their global customer networks, strengthened the region's links to the outside world. And never underestimate the dumb luck of geography: 90% of the world's trade is still transported by sea, and the Baltic is the major marine waterway of Eastern Europe. At a recent meeting of Baltic states, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt joked that the region possessed in its various countries all the components of an ideal economy - the Baltics' pro-growth policies, Finland's gift for innovation, Norway's energy resources...
That magic combination has attracted a flood of foreign money, including large sums from the U.S. and the U.K. But investment between the Baltic Sea nations has been crucial too, now comprising one quarter of the region's investment flows. And the financial superpower within the Baltic Sea is undoubtedly Sweden, accounting for 60% of that regional investment. Two years ago, for example, Sweden's fourth largest bank, Swedbank, completed a $2.6 billion takeover of the Hansabank Group, the Baltics' biggest bank, whose distinctive sea-green and orange Viking ship logo can be found from Tallinn to Vilnius. The marriage...
Raasuke says his bank's experience with Swedbank is a good illustration of how Baltic Sea countries can work together. As a young banker in Tallinn, his first contact with the outside world after his country gained independence from Moscow in 1991 was with Finns and Swedes. They were ready to offer young bankers, new to capitalism, advice on how to organize such things as international payments. "Here were these tiny nations splitting off from the Soviet Union and we needed help," says Raasuke. Later, he adds, his bank needed equity following the Russian ruble crisis...
...treat Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a single market. And close investment ties have already bred closer trade and cultural ties. A decade ago, there was just one flight a day between Tallinn and Stockholm. Now there are six. At Swedbank, half the staff is currently based in the Baltic states or Russia. Such connections have helped drive Sweden's own growth and bolstered its ability to compete on a global stage. When New York City-based nasdaq launched a bid to acquire Sweden's omx in late May, part of the attraction was that omx owns stock exchanges throughout...