New car sales in Lithuania grew at the fastest rate in the European Union in the first two months of 2019, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

After the Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday that the 19-kilometer railway section between Mazeikiai and Renge, in Latvia, is not a project important to national security, the Lithuanian government commission checking deals of strategic companies on Thursday allowed Lithuanian state-run railway company Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways) to sign a contract on rebuilding that section after several months of hesitation.

After the obligation for regulated energy producers to buy gas from Litgas was lifted early this year, around 3 TWh of gas will enter the free market over the next year, increasing the gas market and exchange's liquidity.

Geton Energy, a subsidiary of the state energy group Lietuvos Energija (Lithuanian Energy), is expanding its wholesale electricity trading portfolio into Scandinavia by joining the regional power derivatives exchange Nasdaq Commodities OMX.

Maxima Grupė has established Maxima International Sourcing Poland – a unit of the subsidiary Maxima International Sourcing, which provides agency services to the group’s retail chains in the Baltics, Poland and Bulgaria. The goal of the new unit is to work closely with suppliers that operate in the neighboring country, both Polish companies and local representations of international companies, informed Maxima representative.

South Korea's Onyks, whose sole shareholder is Hong Soo Kim, hopes to revive the largest producer of charcoal for gastronomic needs in the Baltic states and the Scandinavian region.

British-owned Lithuanian life insurance and pension funds company Aviva Lietuva posted 10.7 mln euros in net profits last year, up 1.9% from 10.5 mln euros in 2017.

Written premiums rose by 1.4 to 49.2 mln euros, and pension fund payments were up 5% to 74.1 mln euros, Aviva Lietuva said in a statement on Thursday.

The assets of life insurance and pension funds, managed by Aviva Lietuva, grew 5% to 663 mln euros, and the number of valid life insurance and pension fund contracts inched up 1% to 292,000.

"The results show that we are building a circle of loyal clients as the number of life insurance and pension fund contracts rose by more than 3,000 in 2018," Aviva Lietuva CEO Asta Grabinske said in the statement.

The Lithuanian company is part of Aviva, one of the world's biggest insurance groups.

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Lithuania's wood processing company Juodeliai is starting the construction of a world-level production facility for packaging elements in the southern town of Marijampole, and its production capacity will double.

Lithuania's Modus Group said it has signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on an 11.3-million-US-dollar loan for the construction of two biogas plants in Belarus.

As part of a renewable energy cooperation deal, Lithuania is a transferring a share of renewable energy statistics to Luxembourg for over 8 mln euros, with the money to be invested in small-scale green energy, promotion of renewable energy communities and scientific research.