Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens (New Unity) assured members of the United List (Apvienotais saraksts – AS) parliamentary faction on Thursday that there are currently no plans to list state-owned companies Latvenergo and Latvijas Valsts Meži (LVM) on the stock exchange, AS faction leader Edgars Tavars told journalists after the meeting with the minister.
Tavars added that if such an initiative were to arise, AS would seek to block it by initiating a special law.
Ašeradens, on the other hand, named municipal companies such as Rīgas ūdens (Riga Water) and Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks (Riga House Manager) as more likely near-term candidates for stock exchange listing. However, decisions about these companies fall under the authority of the Riga City Council, where AS is also part of the ruling coalition.
Tavars emphasized that the faction’s priority is ensuring that no tariff increases result from the listings. “If there are clear answers to these questions — those important to residents — and the public would benefit from such a process, we would not oppose it. But as long as such answers remain unclear and ambiguous, that’s a completely different matter,” he explained.
When asked directly whether there were any plans to list LVM and Latvenergo, Ašeradens avoided a definitive response,
instead highlighting the low capitalization of Latvia’s capital market — currently only 1.5% of GDP, compared to 160% in Sweden. He noted that the European Union is currently working on a unified capital market concept and emphasized that Latvia, too, should develop its own capital market.
The finance minister acknowledged public concerns and stated that he respects the view that certain companies should not be listed.
“We will look for solutions,” said Ašeradens, referring also to state-owned communications companies. He clarified that a stock listing is not a “silver bullet” that solves everything. In his view, a company must have strong growth ambitions and a capable management team to make such a move viable. “For the Finance Ministry, this is more of a conceptual approach — we must be open to the tool and use it if needed,” Ašeradens said.
Asked whether he still believes that partial listing of Latvenergo and LVM would be a good idea, Ašeradens maintained that listing state-owned companies on the exchange is generally a good idea, but each case must be assessed individually. “We’re still some way off from such a decision,” he said, noting that the final call must consider both political compromises and each company’s business plan.
“If there’s no business plan, going to the exchange will end badly.”
Tavars confirmed that the faction and the minister had agreed that no action is currently being taken regarding these two state-owned companies. “If it does happen, then the AS faction will initiate a special law to prevent such action,” he stated.
The meeting also addressed the Finance Ministry’s (FM) plan to restrict cash transactions, including proposed amendments that would require subjects under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law to submit threshold declarations when individuals make cash deposits equal to or exceeding 750 euros.
Tavars said the AS faction was reassured that this would not apply to every member of the public, and both the finance minister and State Revenue Service (VID) Director General Baiba Šmite-Roķe confirmed that clarifications may be added to the Cabinet regulation’s annotation.
As previously reported, the AS parliamentary faction met with the finance minister today to discuss the government’s proposal to sell off shares in state-owned enterprises — including those currently classified as non-privatizable by law.
Opposition parties — AS, Latvia First, National Alliance, and Stability! — have all voiced opposition to the Finance Ministry’s proposal to allow the sale of shares in strategically important state-owned companies via the stock market.
The ruling coalition party Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has also previously expressed strong opposition
to the proposed sale of shares in strategically important companies such as Latvenergo and Latvijas Valsts Meži.
On Monday, after a coalition meeting, ZZS parliamentary faction leader Harijs Rokpelnis told news agency LETA that fears of the potential privatization of Latvenergo, Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST), and Latvijas Valsts Meži are unfounded.
Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) has said that a public discussion on the possible listing of state-owned companies is necessary.
“In a democratic country, I believe it’s very important that we talk openly and honestly about even the difficult topics,” Siliņa said. She added that she is following with interest how major energy companies in Lithuania and Estonia are successfully attracting funding and boosting export capacity through stock listings.
Siliņa stressed that it’s worth discussing whether and
how the public and other businesses might benefit if shares in large state-owned companies became available for purchase.
Such a move would also increase transparency, she noted. “Our people would gain a deeper understanding of what these companies actually do,” she said, pointing out that this is a common practice in many Western countries.
She also emphasized that no decisions have been made yet but warned that some politicians seeking to start this discussion are already being targeted with attacks that resemble paid “smear campaigns.” The Prime Minister urged politicians and the public to “step out of their prejudices,” emphasizing that Latvia should focus on how the state and its enterprises can increase earnings.
The Finance Ministry has submitted for inter-ministerial coordination an informative report titled “Proposals for Capital Market Development and State and Municipal Capital Companies Suitable for Initial Public Offering.”
The report suggests that allowing private investors to acquire stakes in publicly owned companies could balance public and private interests. For example, if 100% state ownership in a capital company distorts market development, reducing that ownership could facilitate gradual private sector involvement, boost competition, and return public investment to the state budget.
The report also notes that under the Cabinet’s May 13, 2025 decision, one of the state’s debt-reduction measures includes the sale of minority stakes in state-owned companies through public offerings by 2029 — including those currently legally protected from privatization.
Read also: Latvia’s Finance Minister makes statement on taxes – are changes still on the horizon?