WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11

The American Chamber of Commerce will hold a discussion with Petr Koblic, director of the Prague Stock Exchange, that will cover market evaluation and future developments, among other issues. For info, e-mail

registration@amcham.cz.

THURSDAY, OCT. 12

The American Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the fifth ISPI Europe Conference — Building Performance into Organizational Culture in Europe, which will be held in Prague through Oct. 14. The event costs $650 (14,500 Kč) for chamber members. For info, visit www.ISPI.org/euro2006

TUESDAY, OCT. 17

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is hosting a business breakfast with Edvard Outrata, deputy speaker of the Senate, at 8:30 a.m. at the Mlýnec Restaurant in Prague 1. For info, visit www.gocanada.cz

THURSDAY, OCT. 19

The American Chamber of Commerce holds an HR seminar featuring Katarina Smrčeková of the Hay Group. The seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. Reservations are required.

THURSDAY, OCT. 19

The American Chamber of Commerce hosts a seminar called "Performance Management: Making It Work." The seminar features strategist Gary Cokins and will be held at 11 a.m. at the chamber offices. For more information, visit www.amcham.cz

THURSDAY, OCT. 26

The American Chamber of Commerce hosts a policy discussion with Jan Sváček and Monika Vacková, chairman and deputy chairwoman of the Prague Municipal Court. The discussion will include e-justice, the Commercial Registry and IPR disputes. For info, e-mail Iveta Havlová at law@amcham.cz.

SATURDAY, NOV. 25

The American Chamber of Commerce hosts its Thanksgiving Ball 2006. The event costs 3,500 Kč. For info and to register, contact

registration@amcham.cz

Send Biz Events to business@praguepost.com

MITTAL Multinational steel company Mittal Steel has initiated a second arbitration process against the Czech Republic. The company is seeking 700 million euros ($889 million/20 billion Kč) over the privatization of Vítkovice Steel in north Moravia. In a separate arbitration, the company also wants the state to return about 14 percent of Mittal Steel Ostrava, now managed by the Finance Ministry.

AIRPORT The Cabinet approved the transformation of Letiště Praha, the company that operates Prague's Ruzyně Airport, into a state-owned joint-stock company. The move paves the way for a possible privatization of the company next year. The airport is expected to clear a record-high 11.5 million passengers this year. Letiště Praha had net profit worth 1.4 billion Kč ($62.6 million) in 2005.

PRAGUE Prague ranked the 13th-most-attractive city in which to run a business, according to the annual European Cities Monitor conducted by real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. The monitor surveyed managers of 507 major companies in 33 European cities. London, Paris and Frankfurt took the top three spots. Warsaw and Budapest placed 18th and 22nd, respectively.

TOURISM The number of tourists in Prague dropped for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989, according to the Association of Czech Travel Agencies and Tour Operators. The total number of tourists coming to the Czech Republic in the first half of 2006 rose 4 percent to nearly 3 million, but Prague saw a decline of 2.4 percent. The number of British tourists to Prague fell more than 10 percent.

VIETNAM The representatives of Czech companies accompanying President Václav Klaus on his official tour of Asia signed contracts worth 3.6 billion Kč in Vietnam Sept. 29. Talks are also under way on building power plants, cement works and hospital reconstruction in that country. The value of the contracts being negotiated stands at around 36 billion Kč.

INTEREST The Czech National Bank (ČNB) governing board unexpectedly raised interest rates a quarter percentage point Sept. 27 to bring the main rate to 2.5 percent. ČNB Vice Governor Miroslav Singer said the bank should adopt a restrictive fiscal policy that would weaken the crown and slow economic growth. The Czech Republic and Sweden have the lowest interest rates in the European Union.