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The announcement was made at a special press conference today.

Cabot Corporation plans to develop a business service center in Riga combining accountancy, finance planning, procurement, client service, data processing, information technology and human resources management services in one place for all of the company's agencies and production units in European, Middle East and Africa.

The new center will create at least 120 new jobs, and the majority of staff members will be from this region, Cabot Corporation Senior Vice President Nicholas Cross said.

Director of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency, Andris Ozols indicated that Cabot Corporation's investments in Latvia are not very large, but "the salaries paid to the company's employees will considerably exceed the average salary in Latvia."

Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma said that she had met with the company's president during her visit in the United States to discuss the establishment of a business center in Riga. "I believe that our cooperation will be successful," Straujuma said.

The center is to open before August 1, and it will be located at 101 Mukusalas Street.

Cabot Corporation had previously announced that it plans to close their current business center in Belgium to move to Riga, mentioning that the cost of the project was estimated at USD 19-22 million.

The company's turnover last year was over EUR 3.5 billion, and company decided to open its regional business center in Riga after consulting with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency and the Latvian government.