BANKRUPTCY - A final version of a new bankruptcy law up for debate in the Chamber of Deputies has been agreed upon, following a deal brokered Jan. 20 by Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Jiří Havel and Jiří Pospíšil, shadow justice minister for the Civic Democrats (ODS). The compromise merges two bankruptcy law proposals — one by the Social Democrats and the other by the ODS — the government approved last year.

ČEZ - Patria Finance and KBC Securities have won a tender to advise state electricity giant ČEZ on the sale of its assets in Czech and European Union energy sectors, Euro reported Jan. 23. Patria, KBC and ČEZ are expected to sign a four-year contract worth 100 million Kč ($4.2 million). ČEZ declined to comment on which assets would be sold. The ČEZ group comprises more than 90 companies.

TAX - The Finance Ministry plans to launch a specialized tax office for auditing large companies, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Jan. 21. The tax office would include experts who know how large companies operate, according to Dana Trezziová, deputy finance minister. The office is part of the government's strategy to boost tax revenue.

EFFICIENCY - Industry and Trade Minister Milan Urban said Jan. 20 that he wants to help business by making state authorities more efficient. Investors and other businesses often complain that the government is mired in cumbersome bureaucracy and that the state charges unnecessarily high health and social insurance taxes.

TEXTILE - Fezko, a Czech producer of textiles for automotive interiors, is in negotiations to enter the Russian market and is looking for a suitable place to build a manufacturing plant, Hospodářské noviny reported Jan. 23. The company, which has 350 employees, saw revenue increase to 997.5 million Kč in 2005. Fezko expects revenue to exceed 1.1 billion Kč this year.

TENDER - Rail operator České dráhy (ČD) is losing tenders for regional railways to private companies, Hospodářské noviny reported Jan. 23. ČD has said the terms of the tenders, set by the Transport Ministry, make it impossible for them to compete with private companies.