Saturday, 23 June 2018
Business | Radio Prague
Stork's Nest grant money to be returned

The company Imoba, which is part of the Agrofert conglomerate, has agreed to voluntarily return an EU subsidy of CZK 50 million that was issued for the Stork's Nest complex near Prague. Imoba has drafted an agreement on repaying the money that includes a clause stating that the move does not represent an admission that grant regulations were breached.
Business | Radio Prague
Škoda Transporation to provide 80 trams to Germany

Czech company Škoda Transporation has won a tender to supply 80 trams to the German public transport company Rhein-Necker-Verkehr (RNV), which operates public transport in the Rhein-Necker region in south-west Germany. The first vehicle is expected to start operating in 2021.
Business | Reuters
Czech cola group Kofola adds Slovak mineral water to portfolio

Czech soft drinks company Kofola Ceskoslovensko said on Thursday it had acquired the Slovak mineral water company Klastorna, expanding its portfolio in central Europe.
Business | Emerging Europe
As Czech growth continues, a lack of workers causes investors problems

The Czech Republic's economy continues to grow, and was the fifth fastest-growing economy in the EU in the first quarter of 2018, according to preliminary data released by the Czech Statistics Office. However, a low unemployment rate (just 2.2%) is having a negative impact on potential foreign investors looking at the Czech market.
Business | Bloomberg
Money split on bets for imminent Czech interest-rate hike

Investors are intensifying pressure on the Czech central bank to raise borrowing costs next week after a string of verbal interventions failed to prop up the weaker-than-expected koruna.
Business | Radio Prague
Mortgage rate stagnates as market cools

Average mortgage rates in the Czech Republic ceased climbing in May on the back of banks' springtime campaigns to attract new clients. Meanwhile the overall number of mortgages signed indicates that the market is cooling down, iHned.cz reported. Last month the average monthly mortgage rate in the Czech Republic was 2.51 percent, the same rate as for April, according to market analysts Fincentrum, whose data is based on the real values of freshly agreed contracts, including refinancing.

Finance | Radio Prague
Czech gender equality NGOs fear loss of European funding

Despite the Czech Republic stagnating in the worldwide effort to bring about gender equality, the country's government plans to cut funding for equality projects significantly in the coming years. That's according to the Czech branch of the international NGO network, Social Watch.
Business | Reuters
Czech cola-maker Kofola's shares slump 21% after shareholder's discount sale

Czech cola-maker Kofola Ceskoslovensko's shares tumbled to a record low on Wednesday after its largest minority shareholder sold around 40 percent of its stake at a 26 percent discount. CED, part of Poland-based private equity firm Enterprise Investors, has been considering the sale of its entire 21 percent stake since May, looking to cash out on its decade-long investment in the revamped Communist-era brand.
Business | Radio Prague
Timber production reached record high in 2017

Annual timber production in Czech forests in 2017 increased by one tenth on the previous year to a record 19.4 million cubic metres, according to data released on Wednesday by the Czech Statistics Office. It is the highest figure since 2007, when hurricane Kyrill devastated more than 100,000 cubic metres of the country's forests.
Business | Radio Prague
Czech car makers' turnover reaches over one trillion crowns

Czech car companies and car-parts suppliers saw record turnover last year amounting to CZK 1.1 trillion, which represents an increase by seven percent on the previous year, the Czech Automotive Industry Association announced at a press conference on Wednesday.

Business | Prague TV
Germans lead in wages among foreigners

Some foreigners who work in the Czech Republic have a higher average wage than employees with Czech citizenship. On average, Germans, Slovaks and Russians and Romanians are better off than Czechs in the Czech Republic.
Business | Radio Prague
Czech company to produce biofuels from waste cooking oil

The Czech company Chemoprojekt, based in Ústí nad Labem in north Bohemia, is set to launch production of biodiesel made from waste frying oil, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported on Tuesday. It will be the first company in the country to introduce production of so-called second-generation biofuels.
Business | The Outline
Everything you know about Bitcoin is thanks to this Czech grandpa

The Wikipedia page's most prolific editor doesn't even own cryptocurrency.
Finance | Radio Prague
Government approves outline 2019 budget

The acting Czech government has approved an outline state budget for 2019 and a mid-term outlook for the economy for 2020 and 2021, an Office of the Government spokesperson told reporters. The minister of finance, Alena Schillerová, said before Tuesday morning's cabinet meeting that there would be a maximum deficit of CZK 50 billion next year.

Business | Radio Prague
New boss tasked with overhauling struggling Czech Post

Czech Post has a new director general. Freshly-installed chief Roman Knap has been tasked with cutting costs but also raising salaries at the beleaguered postal service, which has one of the world's densest branch networks.