Cyprus Woes to Help Latvia Lure Russian Cash, Trigon Says

Latvia, which wants to join the euro region next year, will become increasingly attractive for Russians seeking to redirect investments from crisis-struck Cyprus, according to pan-Baltic investment bank Trigon Capital.

“Latvia is in infinitely better macroeconomic shape than Cyprus and this will not be lost on Russians looking for safe places to deposit capital,” Joakim Helenius, executive chairman at the Tallinn, Estonia-based company, which has about $1 billion under management, said yesterday in an interview. “Upon joining the euro, Latvia will be a part of the ‘hard bloc’ of euro members rather than a Mediterranean problem case.”