The actions of the Public Service Regulatory Commission (PSRC) indicate a possible violation of the agreement on investment promotion and mutual protection concluded bilaterally by the US and Latvian governments, in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņas (JV), states the US investor “Providence Equity Partners”, which owns information and communication technology (ICT) service provider SIA “Bite Latvija”.
The representatives of “Bite Latvija” note that, in the event that a solution is not found through consultations and negotiations with the Latvian government, the US investor plans to apply to the International Investment Disputes Review Center with a claim against the Latvian state for delaying the development of strategically important infrastructure.
The representatives of the company state that “Providence Equity Partners”, the main owner and investor of “Bite Latvija” and its group company, the electronic service provider SIA “Unistars”, is currently facing violations of the protection of the rights of foreign investors for the first time in Latvia, despite the fact that the USA and Latvia connected not only by a close history of diplomatic and economic relations, but also by a strategic partnership in geopolitical issues.
The executive director of “Bite Grupa” Prans Kuisis states that receiving a formal joint use permit for the 3.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency, which is critically needed for the 5G infrastructure, for the companies of the same group, may have become the reason for the discrimination of the rights of the US investor in Latvia, stating that the US and Latvian governments the bilateral investment protection agreement concluded in 1995 provides for investment promotion and mutual protection.
“Unistars” is using a radio frequency spectrum band obtained from the state 20 years ago for the implementation of 5G technology. Considering that the “Bite Group” company already had the 3.6 GHz frequency, which is critically necessary for the development of 5G, the PUK auction rules prevented “Bite Latvija” from participating in the 2017 and 2018 5G frequency auctions, and the auctioned 3.6 GHz frequency bands went to in use by other market participants.
At the moment, in order for “Bite Latvija” to be able to jointly use the frequencies required for the implementation of 5G technology in the 3.6 GHz range, which are already in “Bite Group”, it must receive the PURK’s permission. The review of the decision to receive this permit was extended three times.
It has already been reported that the Constitutional Court, following the application of “Unistars”, initiated a case on the right to use a limited radio frequency band on December 8. The sole owner of “Unistars” is “Bite Latvija”.
In 2021, “Bite Latvija” worked with a turnover of 134.58 million euros, which is 20% more than the year before, but the company’s profit increased by 34% and was 22.004 million euros.
“Bite Latvija” was registered in 2005, and its share capital is EUR 99,085,286. The sole owner of “Bite Latvija” is the Lithuanian “Bite Lietuva”, which is a company of the international asset management company “Providence Equity Partners”.
