November 24, the Finnish-Norwegian business community invited Aivaras Sebeckis, a GM of Finnish company Lindström in Lithuania as a speaker to the business lunch. Aivaras Sebeckis introduced the Lindström company, its innovative approach to textiles, textile recycling and a constant sustainable development in Finland and Lithuania. Business lunch was very popular amongst the Finnish Norwegian Chamber members!
„Peikko Lietuva“ creative idea to help Ukraine survive the cold season is innovative and very practical!
„We did not expect that our modest desire to support Ukraine would receive such a positive resonance on social networks. We know that good deeds are done quietly, but in the context of war, things seem to be different. The support and help of all of us there is needed at every moment. Therefore, we aim to inspire other Lithuanian companies and organizations not to stop supporting Ukraine. Let’s act boldly, after all, together we can do a lot.“
The largest hotel and conference center in Kaunas, Radisson Hotel Kaunas, won two significant awards in the following categories during the week.
At the Lithuanian Tourism Forum held on October 21, the hotel won the title of the most sustainable service provider of 2022. The audition committee evaluated the sustainability of the services provided by the companies, new methods of presenting local traditions, ecological transport promotion for tourists, international sustainable tourism certificates, sustainable advertising channels, involvement of local communities. The hotel contributed with Kaunas European capital of Culture 2022 by promoting its events, created a Kaunastic cocktail to represent the city to foreign guests, and chose advertising partners that used renewable energy. The hotel also has an international Green Key and Safe Hotels certificates as well as offers 100 % Carbon Neutral meetings and events.
The award for the most sustainable tourism product was presented by the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
On October 23, the winners of the World MICE Awards were announced. Radisson Hotel Kaunas was recognized as Lithuania‘s best MICE hotel. The World MICE Awards serves to celebrate and reward excellence in MICE tourism. Their annual awards program aims to foster growth, innovations and best practice on a global scale. World MICE Awards is the sister event of World Travel Awards.
HRX is a family-owned Finnish company specialising in international groupage shipment deliveries. HRX logistics centres are located in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
The company provides clients with unique logistics solutions to help them succeed in their business. HRX’s goal is to be the fastest, which means that the strategically located terminals are designed to provide the most efficient next day delivery for the customers. The company’s ordering system is designed to be as easy, convenient and user friendly as possible.
https://www.hres.lt
Valoe Oyj manufactures IBC solar cells in Vilnius, Lithuania, and conventional and Valoe OddForm® PV solar modules in Juva, Finland. Valoe also installs photovoltaic systems either as traditional solar power plants or as systems integrated into its application. Valoe has developed its own production lines and also offers photovoltaic technology and equipment to its customers.
Since 1999, Valoe’s shares have been listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Exchanges.
The European Central Bank (ECB) licensed bank, European Merchant Bank (EMBank), is now in its third year of operations in Lithuania and reported a profitable first quarter for 2022. The bank posted a profit of EUR 54 thousand in the first quarter of 2022, as opposed to a loss of EUR 393 thousand reported in the first quarter of 2021.
EMBank’s growth in the first quarter is also reflected in other key performance indicators. The number of signed business loans more than doubled and reached EUR 25 million, while the total amount of deposits increased by 105 percent and exceeded EUR 79 million, and the value of the bank’s total assets reached almost EUR 100 million – 83 percent more than a year ago.
In the first quarter of this year, the bank’s net interest income and net income also increased (by 406 and 114 percent, respectively). The net income reached EUR 1.465 million, compared to a total net income of EUR 4.2 million for the whole of 2021.
According to Sarp Demiray, CEO of EMBank, the beginning of 2022 was a stressful time for most businesses and people due to objective reasons, so striving to achieve great results was a difficult task. However, the investments made last year in relation to hiring highly-qualified specialists and developing a network of partners, as well as the decisions to focus on risk management, the implementation of advanced information technologies (IT) and the creation of a positive customer experience, allowed the bank to grow even more than anticipated, in a strained environment where a high number of businesses have adapted.
“The war in Ukraine threw some businesses out of balance for some time, but they quickly regrouped and continued working on new projects or entered new markets. Our successful adaptation is evident from the increased number of business loans we’ve signed. We’re also seeing a growing demand for other services, so one of our goals for 2022 is to offer card business (both issuing and acquiring), leasing and other financing products to businesses as quickly as possible,” said the CEO of EMBank.
In addition, the Chairman of the Board, Ekmel Cilingir, stated that the latest EMBank results prove the suitability of its long-term business strategy, which has ensured the new bank’s profitability and resilience to external factors in a relatively short space of time.
“From the very beginning, this bank has focused on small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). In the current context of rising energy prices, disturbed logistic structures and soaring inflation, we are ready to become an important partner for SMEs, who will not only help them survive this difficult period but also give them a boost for future growth,” said Cilingir.
According to him, although geopolitical and economic reasons have complicated the forecast, the bank is expected to maintain a similar growth trend in the second quarter of the year, with working capital and investment loans as the main sources of its growth.
EMBank’s services have been used mainly by real estate, transport and storage, and manufacturing businesses, as well as credit institutions, and companies involved in the agriculture, forestry and fishing, wholesale and retail sectors.
EMBank provides a full set of various banking services starting from Working Capital and Investment loans, Credit Line and Overdrafts to such as Banking as a Service offering, combined with Safeguarding Account, Business Account, and Accumulative Account types as well as payment options through SEPA, Swift, and Target2.
May 10, 2022 Lindström welcomed guests in Vilnius as a recently joined member of the Finnish Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce. The Finnish ambassador in Lithuania, Arja Makkonen, was among the honored guests of the Chamber. Aivaras Sebeckis, the Head of the company, introduced the company’s corporate values and circular economy business model. FLCC members received a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how Lindström’s sustainable solutions work during the live tour. We are excited to have Lindström as part of the FLCC community and look forward to the positive collaboration and new opportunities in the future.
This action starts on the 22nd of April on Earth Day and ends on the 5th of June on the UN’s World Environment Day.
The cooperation between FLCC member @Finesta Baltic and Lappeenranta and Imatra cities in Finland resulted in a warm welcome visit to Vilnius and Kaunas on May 6, 2022. Engineers, production managers, project experts, transport specialists had a full business program here., met with city and local business representatives. The cooperation to be continued in the future!