Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation, Port, Transport

Photo: ts.ee

The government also endorsed a plan for further actions with a view to conducting the IPO, their basic principles and timelines.

"The purpose of listing Port of Tallinn is to increase the company's value and create investment opportunities for Estonian people and pension funds," Prime Minister Juri Ratas said in a press release.

He said that also increasing the attractiveness of Estonia in the eyes of foreign investors was very important for the government.

"I believe that the float of shares in Port of Tallinn will emerge as a very good opportunity for our partners in Europe and in the Nordic countries in particular to invest in Estonia," Ratas said.

The plan is for trading in Port of Tallinn shares to start on Nasdaq Tallinn in the first half of next year. One-third of the shares of the company will be floated, and the remainder kept by the government.

"The bigger the number of shareholders, the more it will motivate the company to adopt even greater transparency and effectiveness, and in the end the value of the company will grow," Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson said. "Port of Tallinn is a successful company, and listing will give the people of Estonia an opportunity to share in this success," she said.

Simson pointed out that the IPO of Port of Tallinn will increase the company's recognition, enable funds to invest more of people's pension money in the domestic market, give a boost to activity on the stock exchange and to Estonia's reputation as an investment environment.

Listing of Port of Tallinn has been agreed upon in the coalition agreement of the governing parties.