Doing Business in Latvia

EENI- School of International Business

Subject - Doing Business in Latvia. Riga. Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the Republic of Latvia (the European Union)
2. The Latvian Economy
3. Doing Business in Riga
4. The Latvian Foreign Trade
5. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Latvia
6. Access to the Latvian Market
7. Business Plan for Latvia

The objectives of the subject “Doing Business in Latvia” are the following:

1. To analyse the Latvian Economy and Foreign Trade
2. To evaluate the business opportunities in the Latvian Market
3. To analyse the trade relations of Latvia with the country of the student
4. To know the free trade agreements of Latvia as a member of the European Union (EU)
5. To develop a business plan for the Latvian Market

Description of the Subject: Doing Business in Latvia

The Republic of Latvia (Europe)

1. Capital: Riga
2. Official Language: Latvian
3. Area: 64,590 square kilometres
4. The Latvian Population: 2 millions of people
5. Type of Government: Parliamentary Republic
6. Borders of Latvia: Estonia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus,
7. Religion in Latvia: Christianity
   1. Protestantism: Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (35%)
   2. Catholicism (25%)
   3. Orthodoxy (20%)
8. Latvia belongs to the Western Christian Civilisation (European Economic Area)
9. Independence from the Soviet Union: 1991

The Economy of Latvia.

1. The Republic of Latvia is ranked 21st in the world by the Index of Ease of Doing Business (World Bank)
2. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are the so-called the Baltic Tigers
3. According to the Human Development Report (United Nations), Latvia belongs to the group of very high human development countries
4. Financial crisis in 2008-2009
5. The Latvian GDP (nominal): 41,005 millions of dollars
6. GDP per capita: 16,620 dollars
7. The Latvian Currency: Euro (2014)
8. Latvia is a member of the European Union since 2004
9. Headquarters of the Office of the Body of the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC Office): Riga (Latvia)
10. Main Latvian economic sectors are tourism, agriculture, textiles and steel metallurgy
11. The privatisation process in Latvia has virtually ended

Latvian Foreign Trade

1. Main Latvian Exports are foods, wood and wood products, metals, machinery and equipment, textiles
2. Top Export Markets: The United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany
3. Main Latvian imports: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, chemical products, fuels
4. Main suppliers of Latvia: Russia, Germany and Lithuania
5. As a member of the European Union, Latvia is the beneficiary of the Free trade agreements of the EU with India, Mexico, the MERCOSUR, South Korea, Peru, etc

International economic relations of Latvia

1. Council of the Baltic Sea States
2. European Union
3. International Chamber of Commerce
4. World Bank
5. Regional Cooperation Council
6. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
7. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
8. World Trade Organisation
9. Group of States of the Council of Europe Convention against the corruption (GRECO)
10. European Investment Bank (EIB)
11. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
12. United Nations
13. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
14. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
15. Asia-Europe Economic Meeting (ASEM)

Latvia is an observer country of the Regional Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM)

Examples of the subject - Foreign Trade and Business in Latvia: