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December 1st, 2008
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SENTENCED The city court in Hradec Králové issued three- to seven-year prison sentences Aug. 18 to six former managers of Trend and Mercia, two investment funds that were tunneled out of about 1.4 billion Kč ($87.5 million) in the 1990s, daily Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported. Following a nine-year investigation, the ruling represents the conclusion of one of the country’s biggest tunneling cases.

KLAUS Gas giant Lukoil is sponsoring the Russian version of President Václav Klaus’ book Blue Planet in Green Shackles, a skeptical commentary on global warming, HN reported Aug. 19. The book piqued Lukoil’s interest due to its noninterference stance toward the energy industry.
DIGITAL Television channels TV Nova and Prima TV agreed to accept the government’s schedule for a transition to digital broadcasting Aug. 18, and plan to gradually shut down their analog frequencies by June 2012, HN reported. Nova intends to launch its bonus digital channel by mid-year 2009.
EXPANSION Energy distributors Česká energie and Česká plynárenská plan to control 5 percent to 7 percent of the local power and gas market, daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) reported Aug. 18. The companies, which expect to sell 7 billion Kč in power and gas this year, want to invest 20 billion Kč into the expansion.
TRANSPARENCY The Interior Ministry prepared new legislation to increase the transparency of state-owned businesses, HN reported Aug. 18. The planned amendment to the Freedom of Information Act — which requires companies whose state-owned share exceeds 50 percent to disclose additional information — may be blocked by state-owned energy company ČEZ, the bill’s architects warned.  
TOURISM Faced with a tourism slump, the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants proposed joining forces with travel agencies, airlines, Prague City Hall and the Regional Development Ministry Aug. 18 to promote the Czech Republic abroad and improve the level of services in Prague, HN reported. While year-to-year industry sales decreased, preliminary figures indicate a 2 percent increase in tourist visits in H1 2008, daily Právo reported.
GROWTH Economic growth in the Czech Republic slowed from 5.1 percent in the first quarter to 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2008, HN reported Aug. 15. Analysts attributed the slowdown to lower consumer spending resulting from higher food and fuel prices and to lower investments by companies hurt by the strengthening crown.
BLOOD An international arbitration court ordered the Czech Republic to pay 9 billion Kč in damages to Diag Human Aug. 14 for hindering the company’s 1992 investment into blood plasma, MfD reported. Health Minister Tomáš Julínek intends to challenge the ruling.
FORESTS An unnamed auditor in charge of state-owned forest company Lesy ČR refused to accredit the company’s accounts Aug. 14 due to a suspicious 150 million Kč IT contract, MfD reported. Former CEO Jiří Holický said that if such a contract was signed, it was done without the management’s knowledge.


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