WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/479
15 August 2002
(02-4469)
Original:  English
REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT ON THE
PROGRAMME OF PRIVATIZ ATION IN LATVIA (2001)
Communication from Latvia
With reference to the commitments contained in the Report of the Working Party on the
Accession of Latvia to the WTO (WT/ACC/LVA/32), a report on development in the programme ofprivatization in Latvia (2001) has been received from the Permanent Mission of Latvia.
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Report on Development in the Programme of Privatization in Latvia (2001)
- The Latvian Privatization Agency (hereinafter – LPA) approved 1046 basic principles for
privatization of state owned property objects and 1,080 privatization regulations for property
objects, including 991 privatization regulations for land plots.
- 3 state owned enterprises were transformed into statutory companies; 5 statutory companies
lost the status of a state statutory company as a result of privatization; total initial share
capital of the said statutory companies’ amounts to 5.86 million lats.
- Purchase agreements for 29 state owned property objects were concluded. The total purchase
price of the sold state owned property objects amounted to 2.11 million lats. 55.3 per cent of
the total purchase price had to be paid in lats and 44.7 per cent - in privatization vouchers.
- Pursuant to purchase agreements, the purchasers assumed obligations in the amount of 96
thousand lats, as well as undertook to make investments in the amount of 0.5 million lats.
- The purchase agreements stipulated retention of 387 jobs.
- Purchase Agreements of 25 state owned real estate properties (buildings) were concluded,
total sale price of the property objects – 8.02 million lats. Means of payment for the property
objects were 2.3 per cent lats and 97.7 per cent privatization vouchers.
- State owned equity holdings in 9 companies were sold for the total purchase price of 3.18
million lats. Means of payment: 48.4 per cent lats and 51.6 per cent privatization vouchers.
Natural persons paid 6.49 per cent of the total purchase price, legal entities paid 93.51 per
cent of the total purchase price.
- 876 purchase agreements were concluded for the sale of state owned land plots. The total sale
price of land plots – 27.45 million lats. Means of payment: 19.85 per cent lats and 80.15 per
cent property compensation vouchers. Total area of the land plots sold was 9,657,107 square
metres. 14 purchase agreements of land plots stipulated also the sale of newly planted forests
for the total sale price of 11.3 thousand lats.
- Purchase Agreements of 11 state owned real estate properties (buildings with land plots) were
concluded. Total sale price of the above properties – 1.17 million lats. Means of payment:
58.5 per cent lats, 13.8 per cent privatization vouchers and 27.7 per cent property
compensation vouchers. Total area of the land plots sold was 33204 square metres.
- Liquidation process was completed for 31 enterprises.
- The LPA concluded 17 pledge agreements to secure for the purchasers’ obligations.
- Shares of 2 companies were sold for privatization vouchers via the public offering (state JSC
Tosmare, and state JSC Protezēšanas un ortop ēdijas centrs) . Total nominal value of the sold
shares was 0.64 million lats; 98 natural persons and legal entities became shareholders.
- Total nominal value of shares sold to the enterprise management (56 persons) amounted to
1.04 million lats. The shares of the JSC Veldze were sold to the company management for 100
per cent lats, whereas the shares of the remaining companies were sold for 100 per cent
privatization vouchers.WT/L/479
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- 13 agreements were concluded for the sale of the state owned equity holdings established as a
result of budget debt capitalisation for the total sale price of 0.9 million lats. Means of
payment: 70.7 per cent lats and 29.3 per cent privatization vouchers.
- 1.34 million privatization vouchers of the nominal value of 37.49 million lats have been
transferred to the LPA privatization voucher accounts. 0.44 million vouchers have beentransferred for the enterprise lease buy-out and purchase agreements, 19.4 thousand vouchers
- for the public offering, 90.7 thousand vouchers - for transformation of enterprises into
statutory companies, 0.79 million property compensation vouchers - for land privatization.
- The LPA revenue from the privatization of state owned property amounted to 34.6 million
lats, from the capitalisation of debts to the state budget – 1.1 million lats.
- The LPA operational expenses – 4.895 million lats.
1
- 13.2 million lats were transferred to the State Property Privatization Fund, 4 million lats - to
the Municipal Property Privatization Funds, 1.3 million lats – to the state budget for the
budget debt capitalisation, and 13 million lats were transferred in compliance with special
orders of the Cabinet of Ministers2
- The LPA allocated 630,820 lats for the settlement of employee claims.
- Privatization of 315 state owned property objects was acknowledged to be completed.
- The LPA completed 3 cases of denationalisation.
- From 1994 till 2001, total revenue from the state property privatization has amounted to 231.5
million lats in cash and 1316.4 million lats worth of privatization vouchers.
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1 Non-audited results.
2 Including payments for the settlement of employees’ claims.