BIRD FLU

Measures taken to protect the Czech Republic against bird flu last year caused 1 billion Kč ($48.5 million) in losses to the poultry industry, boosting pharmaceutical companies by an equal amount, Hospodářské noviny reported April 30. All remaining restrictions on poultry will be lifted May 1, and prices are expected to rise in the coming weeks.

Italy’s Eni will buy all of ExxonMobil’s 102 Esso petrol stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, the companies said. Eni already operates 78 Czech stations under the Agip brand, and the 43 depots acquired in the deal will increase the company’s share of the domestic fuel market to about 8 percent.

Holland has fully opened its labor markets to employees coming from the 10 states — including the Czech Republic — that joined the European Union in 2004. Czechs will no longer require a permit to work in the country. Six remaining “old” member states still protect their labor markets: Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg.

In an interview with Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) April 27, Ivan Doubrava, chairman of CE Wood, said the government is maintaining excessive control over the country’s forests and woodlands, which leads to the corruption of state officials and the public tender process. CE Wood is the Czech Republic’s largest logging company.

The South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai ceremonially launched construction on its 30.8 billion Kč ($1.5 billion) automotive plant in north Moravia April 25. Actual construction began a month ago. When operational, the facility should produce 300,000 cars a year and employ 3,500 people. Thirteen other Korean subcontractors have followed Hyundai to the country, representing an additional investment of 11.2 billion Kč.

The sports betting agency Fortuna has launched an online betting service in Slovakia, the first Czech firm to open a gambling site abroad. Online gambling is banned in the Czech Republic. There’s one catch for people looking to bet on Fortuna’s site: It requires a Slovak bank account.

Plans are under way to merge two of the Czech Republic’s largest trucking operators, MfD reported April 25. The two owners of Šmidberský Trucking will sell the company to C.S. Cargo in a deal worth several hundred million crowns. The combined operator would have a fleet of 2,000 trucks and 4.5 billion Kč in annual sales.

ČEZ has released a summary of operating “events” from 2002 to 2007 at its Temelín nuclear power plant in south Bohemia. The company reported 166 incidents; only 14 incidents exceeded the plant’s operational limits, and none caused any environmental damage or were of international scale, the company said. Since 2004, the overall number of events has trended down.