RESIGNATION - Josef Miškovský, chairman of the Land Fund executive committee, resigned Dec. 19, fund spokesman Michal Bureš told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Miškovský handed in his resignation to Agriculture Minister Jan Mládek, who is chairman of the Land Fund Presidium. Mládek had said earlier he wanted to replace Miškovský because of a scandal involving the sale of lucrative land to speculators.

SPLIT - The board of directors of black-coal mining company OKD decided Dec. 19 to split the company into several entities, with mining activities to be concentrated in OKD Mining, OKD owner RPG Industries told journalists. Other assets will be transferred into individual legal entities that will focus on transport, energy and real estate.

INVESTIGATION - The Anti-Monopoly Office (ÚOHS) started administrative proceedings Dec. 15 over the Transportation Ministry's tender for supplier and operator of the electronic toll collection system for the nation's highways. The ÚOHS will decide whether the tender was fair or should be canceled and a new one called.

ORDER - Czech energy equipment and turbines producer Ekol will supply products worth 2 million euros (58 million Kč / $2.4 million) to Thailand and China, Chief Executive Stanislav Veselý told ČTK Dec. 19. He added that Thai investors would buy a used turbine from Ekol. The company will also supply 50 backup power sources to China.

PRIVATIZATION - RPG Industries, owned by financier Zdenek Bakala, and Benson Oak have applied to participate in the tender for the sale of the state-owned stake in arms maker Aero Vodochody, Bakala told reporters Dec. 19. Bailout agency Ceska konsolidacni agentura said earlier that it had received 12 applications.

TRANSFER - The government transferred a 55.8 percent stake in the country's largest brown-coal mining company, Severoceske doly, to power company ČEZ Dec. 19, after having offered the stake to ČEZ in exclusive talks this year. ČEZ has already paid 9.5 billion Kč for it, spokesman Ladislav Kríž told ČTK. So far, ČEZ has been Severoceske doly's second-largest shareholder.

MERGER - Rustige Holding, the former holder of a 10 percent stake in Silon, the largest Czech plastic-bottle processor, took control of the company. Shareholders approved the move at an extraordinary general meeting Dec. 18. Silon supplies products to the car, building and cosmetics industries.

TECH - The information technologies market grew about 9 percent in 2005, from 66 billion Kč in 2004, according to IDC analysts. An increase in demand for software applications and security solutions was the main force behind the growth, the analysts said. Spending on IT in proportion to the gross domestic product and the use of mobile phones is comparable to Western Europe.