The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
September 8th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Art & Antiques Prague Art Prague Antiques

Home » Archives » Business

Biz Week


News & notes | Search restaurants | Archives

RATE Czech National Bank raised the key national interest rate to 3.5 percent Nov. 30, the fourth such interest rate hike of the year. Bank Governor Zdeněk Tůma said the increase was in response to a sharp rise in inflation, according to daily Hospodářské noviny. Financial analysts predict inflation will continue in January, driven by high energy prices.

DEBT The nation’s household debt per capita is now about 65,000 Kč ($3,623), according to the Czech National Bank. Overall, household debt has grown 7 billion Kč per month and around 166 billion Kč year-on-year to 679 billion Kč in October, the bank said Nov. 30. The central bank publishes statistics of a monthly monetary survey that is based on balances supplied by banks, money market funds and credit unions.
TRANSPORT Czech railway transport operator České dráhy started to operate its cargo division as an independent joint-stock company called CD Cargo Dec. 1, according to the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Cargo transport on railways in the Czech Republic comprises about 20 percent of all cargo transported — one of the highest amounts by rail in the European Union. Some 90 million tons of rail cargo were carried by České dráhy trains in 2006 out of the 97 million tons of cargo transported by rail.
GAS Prices of the natural gas used to heat households are slated to rise an average of 7.4 percent in January, according to a Dec. 3 press conference by RWE Transgas, the largest seller of natural gas in the Czech Republic. Analysts had predicted a hike of up to 10 percent. Suppliers have set their own prices on the market since April, when the gas and electricity markets were fully liberalized.
POWER Prague power giant ČEZ has seen sales at foreign subsidiaries rise to more than 20 percent of its total business through September. That compares with 19 percent in sales from foreign subsidiaries for all of 2006, the ČTK reported. The power company wants to become the No. 1 company for electricity in Central and Southeast Europe, according to its chief operating officer. It distributes electricity in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania and is currently working on deals in Hungary, Turkey and Russia.
BONDS Czech officials plan to offer bonds and treasury bills worth 82 billion Kč in the first quarter of 2008 to pay to finance the state budget, according to Thomson Financial news service. That’s about half of the entire 165.3 billion Kč the government plans to raise through various bonds throughout the year to pay for a planned budget deficit of almost 71 billion crowns, creating of pension insurance reserves and refinancing previous bonds.
PRIVATIZATION Controversy continues over a campaign to privatize several currently state-run companies, a measure that could bring up to 1 trillion Kč into state coffers in 2008, according to Hospodářské noviny. Czech Airlines’ (ČSA) cargo unit was recently sold for 700 million Kč. Also expected to go on the block later this year are Prague Airport, Budějovický Budvar (Budweiser Budvar), Lesy ČR and part of the ČEZ power group.


Other articles in Business (5/12/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.