Tallinn is offering the City Hall to US billionaire Lauder’s

According to the notice issued by Tallinn city administration they have found an investor for the City Hall (Linnahall)—an enterprise where the US billionaire Ronald Lauder is a majority shareholder, aripaev. ee writes.

“We’re dealing with a preliminary agreement where the building rights are the base of the negotiations over the terms,” Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas explained. “Pre-agreement fixes those standpoints that the two sides will be discussing. The aim of the two sides is to design the City Hall into an attractive and versatile entertainment complex, at the same time, considering the historical and architectural stipulations,” he added.

According to Aas an US company established in 2007, Tallinn Entertainment LLC, is interested in investing into this voluminous venture and its’ goal is to bring a lot of entertainment into Estonia including accommodation and cultural events as well as luxury hotels, entertainment establishments, music and art. The owners of the Tallinn Entertainment LLC are RSL Capital, GF Capital Management & Advisors and Remi International, all in equal parts.

RSL Capital belongs to Ronald S. Lauder who one of the worlds biggest art collectors and philanthropist. In 2007 Forbes Magazine estimated his fortune to be around 3 billion dollars which makes him the 287th richest person in the world. The foundation for the family’s fortune was laid by Ronald’s mother; the late cosmetics queen Estée Lauder who died in 2004.

GF Capital Management & Advisors is an investment firm that makes investments in different industrial sectors, including media and entertainment, well know branded commodities and media and telecommunication software. Remi International is a finance counseling firm; the majority shareholder is born and bred Estonian Roman Pipko.

Source http://balticbusinessnews.com/default2.aspx

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The fast and the furious

TALLINN - Though from the headline one might expect this to be a movie review, this is actually about a place where people can experience for themselves the thrill of race car driving. The movie may have explosions, violence and beautiful women, but Tallinn"s go-cart race tracks offer no less fun and excitement.

After a long, quiet and slow winter, the time has finally come for people to pull themselves together and wake up, as the spring and summer tempo of life is starting to show its face. To date, nobody has invented anything better for the human body to wake up than a surge of adrenalin through the bloodstream.

Just imagine being dressed up in a racing suit, just like a Formula 1 star with a shiny helmet and driving gloves, sitting down in a car, turning the key and hearing the powerful engine start to rumble. Press the gas with hand clenched on the wheel as the countdown starts - three, two, one, go.

With head spinning and adrenalin surging, a warm feeling of total happiness spreads over the body. Anyone can get this kind of experience from go-cart racing. This is a popular attraction in Tallinn, especially during the summer season when all the fresh air tracks are open. Yet this kind of activity can be great when the sun is shining or when the rain is pouring - different weather gives different driving experiences but no matter the conditions it is a thrill.

The most popular and technically advanced go-cart center is Saurix. Located on the very edge of the city, near the beginning of the highway to Parnu or Riga, this center welcomes single drivers as well as large groups of people. For the new season Saurix has renewed its equipment - the go-carts are now much more powerful, nicer and sleeker looking.

The go-carts are supplied with an individual timing system that gives the racer exact information about the time spent on each lap right after crossing the finishing line. Saurix is currently the most modern indoor go-cart center in the Baltic states, offering the most exciting events all year long.

The complex also has a bar with some snacks and a variety of drinks, as well as a sauna that can fit a maximum of 30 people so that a big group can spend a great time organizing a special racing competition and then discussing the results on a wooden bench, surrounded by hot air.

Another advanced go-cart center is on another side of the city in Viimsi, a district located by the sea. At this center drivers can test the best go-cart car in Europe, the Rimo Evo-4. It offers entertainment for the whole family, both children and adults. Anyone interested can ask about organizing a personal tournament for a specific group of people.

The group will then be able to break up into teams - for example, children can compete against their parents or ladies can test their driving skills competing against men.

Some more possibilities for go-cart races will open in the summer, but those are only seasonal treats and there is no reason to wait for the weather when some of the top centers in the country have opened their tracks. Ready? Set? Go!

Source http://baltictimes.com/news/articles/22635/

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Estonian economy seen shrinking 8.5 pct this year

TALLINN - Estonia's economy will contract 8. Finance Ministry announced Tuesday, as the government said it would attempt to adopt the euro in 0. The new forecast is a sharp revision from a 3. Baltic state's recession. Last year, gross domestic product contracted 3.6 percent due to a slowdown in industrial production and domestic demand. Finance Minister Ivari Padar said the new figures will affect Estonia's goal to adopt the euro before 2011 and also require reworking the budget.

In the light of the new forecast, options for joining the euro zone and in the long term, budget policy will certainly have to be reviewed," Padar said in a brief statement. Despite the publication of the latest grim forecast, the government said Estonia will seek to join the euro zone by Jan. 1, 2011 at the latest. Earlier this month Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said Estonia would like to adopt the euro on July 1, 2010 a target that some criticized as unrealistic.

The Finance Ministry also revised its annual inflation forecast for 2009 downward to 0.4. Estonia, currently undergoing its most painful recession since independence in 1991, already fulfills the national debt to GDP ratios a criteria for introducing the common currency.

However, the budget deficit will be an obstacle, and Ansip has urged lawmakers to draw up a supplementary state budget to bring the deficit down to 3 percent of GDP, the level required for adopting the euro.

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