News Item : Estonia

Estonian businesses have adapted well to the economic crisis and there are now strong prospects for growth, an expert has said.

Hardo Pajula, an analyst at the private banking firm SEB, said that Estonian firms had shown appropriate levels of flexibility by implementing wage cuts of as much as 20 per cent, the Baltic Course reported.

Mr Pajula added that while some companies have lost trust in the banks as a result of the financial crash, access to credit is improving and borrowing is becoming easier.

Referring to Estonia's growth potential, the specialist said that the stock market is improving slowly, noting that investment growth had been at ten per cent in December.

"Euro aspirations have brought down the margin that measures the risk of the Estonian kroon. Also money market interest has been falling. The financial markets are improving," commented Mr Pajula.

Last month, Latvia-based Parex bank announced that its client base in Estonia rose by 35 per cent last year, bringing its total deposits from Estonian clients to 5,300.

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Cyber Self Defence

Estonia, a country of 1.4 million people, including a large ethnic Russian minority, is one of the most wired societies in Europe and a pioneer in the development of "e-government". Being highly dependent on computers, it is also highly vulnerable to cyber-attack.

In May 2007 ,while Russia and Estonia were embroiled in their worst dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a row erupted over the Estonians' removal of the Bronze Soldier Soviet war memorial in central Tallinn, the country subsequently got subjected to a barrage of cyber warfare, disabling the websites of government ministries, political parties, newspapers, banks, and companies.

The main targets were the websites of:

· the Estonian presidency and its parliament

· almost all of the country's government ministries

· political parties

· three of the country's six big news organisations

· two of the biggest banks; and firms specializing in communications

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Estonia - Key Facts

www.PocketInfo.Net
'In your pocket'

Capital - Tallinn
Population - 1.34m
Area - 45,200 sq km
Currency - Kroon (EEK)
Language - Estonian
GDP - $27,612 bn
Arable as % of total land - 14%
Urban Population - 69.4%
Drive on the - right
Calling Code - +372
Internet TLD - .ee
HDI - Ranked
EU Accession - 1 May 2004
EU Member - Estonia


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