After the launch last week of our latest deal in Riga, Latvia, I've had a few calls from people asking me what's so great about the region. Why invest in a property market that has higher risk than, say the more stable markets of Warsaw or Prague?

The answer is simple. When you invest in Riga property, you're really buying into future wealth. I believe without a doubt - and the analysts will most probably tell you the same thing - that Riga will be one of the richest cities in Central Eastern Europe in ten years' time!

Riga is the biggest star of the Baltics. I like this energetic, imposing city. Now, we've compared it to the Hong Kong of the early seventies, but they also call it the 'Paris of the North' - it is cosmopolitan, vibrant and grand.

We talk also of the Baltic Tigers - Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - areas of aggressive growth and development. But it is Latvia that leads the pack. And the capital city Riga is the King - the major commercial and industrial hub of the region - just like the Hong Kong of the seventies was for the Far East.

Riga is the main transit trade route through the Baltic Sea region, I guess favourite because the port is ice-free all year round. The city handles the majority of all transit, mainly from the former Soviet Republics and Russia going out to the West. You just need to look at the drastic increase in volumes to understand Riga's growth - total cargo turnover in 2003 was 54 million tons - but in just the first half of 2004, almost 30 million tons was transferred through this port!

Foreign commercial trade through Riga has been on the increase in recent years and of course received a new impetus when Latvia became a member of the European Union ... and there are no signs of a slow-down. Currently, Riga accounts for about half of the total of the industrial output of Latvia.