Lithuania's Ekranas, the only TV tube manufacturer in the Baltic States has signed a long-term contract with the Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corporation.

Lithuania's Ekranas, the only TV tube manufacturer in the Baltic States has signed a long-term contract with the Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corporation for the production of new TV tubes, the Lithuanian company said. Under the contract Ekranas will purchase license from Toshiba and launch the production of 21" fully flat picture tubes under the trademark "Ekranas." "The new products will be introduced onto the market as soon as at the end of 2002, and mass production will begin in 2003," said Angelija Zokaitiene, head of the company's Investment Unit. Ekranas has already started installing new TV tube production equipment. The company will invest its own profits and loans from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Japanese bank Sun Trust in the project, valued at around 35 million US dollars. The IFC has provided a 15-million-dollar loan to the Lithuanian company, and Sun Trust is expected to loan up to 7.5 million dollars. Ekranas, based in the central Lithuanian town of Panevezys, announced a non-audited profit of 45 million litas (USD 11.3 mln) on sales of 328 million litas (USD 82 mln)for the first nine months of 2000. The company hopes to further increase its profit in the coming years, Zokaitiene said.