SETUZA

Owners of the food company Setuza have transferred some of the company's assets to a Cyprus-based firm, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported Nov. 20. A district court in Ústí nad Labem, north Bohemia, issued an order last week to seize some of the company's property in order to cover a 4 billion Kč ($182 million) debt claim that Setuza is not paying.

BEER

The SABMiller-owned Plzeňský Prazdroj opened a new 1 billion Kč filling room Nov. 16. The room, which is able to produce 60,000 bottles of beer and 38,000 cans per hour, is the largest investment in the company's history. It will help the company meet increasing demand for its Pilsner Urquell beer. Plzeňský Prazdroj is the largest brewery in the Czech Republic.

AIRBUS

The Czech Army will get a new Airbus A-319 CJ plane in January, a month later than scheduled, a military spokesman announced Nov. 16. The new plane is one of two that will arrive and is part of an upgrade to the military's transport fleet. The Army will pay 3 billion Kč for the pair.

EXCHANGE

The Orco Property Group has gained 54 percent on the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) this year, the biggest such increase, the BCPP announced Nov. 19. Media group CME, power producer ČEZ and Erste Bank also showed double-digit growth. Tobacco company Philip Morris has seen a double-digit drop in its share price, as anti-smoking campaigns and illegal imports have hampered the company's profits.

AUDITS

An increasing number of internal audits have helped Czech companies' bottom lines, according to a survey by Ernst & Young released Nov. 19. Companies have started looking at audits as a way of improving their business model and have also increased the amount of money earmarked for audits, the company announced.

HOTELS

A total of 4.7 million guests stayed at Czech hotels this summer, an increase of 6.4 percent on the same period a year ago, the Czech Statistical Office said Nov. 16. The number of foreign guests increased 4.3 percent, while the number of domestic tourists grew 8.3 percent.

PARKS

Regional government authorities halted a plan Nov. 20 to build two major business parks in north Moravia in order to comply with environmentalists' conditions for the new Hyundai plant. In response the environmentalists will withdraw their appeals and complaints about Hyundai's project in nearby Nošovice. The Hyundai plant is likely to be put into operation in late 2008.

COMMUNISTS

The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) could lose more than 60 million crowns, KSČM Deputy Chairman Jiří Dolejš told reporters Nov. 20. The party will lose a 20 million Kč deposit for backing out of an agreement to move to Vysočany in Prague 9. It could be penalized another 40 million Kč for the botched sale of its Prague 1 headquarters.