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December 4th, 2008
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July 11th, 2007 | Current Issue

Border pirates
Czech Republic does little to curb the illegal goods market

Legal disputes plague KKCG
Multibillion-dollar company takes protective measures

Dukovany reconsiders power deal
Residents worried plant will be noisy, obstruct their views

Local moviemakers battle for supremacy
Czech Republic No. 2 in Europe for film production

Movers & Shakers
New manager at PwC

10 Questions
with Xavier Got
10 Questions

BRIEFS


TRAVEL Bulgaria’s status as the new No. 1 spot for cheap sea and sun among European Union visitors is also luring Czech vacationers and driving investment, Hospodářské noviny reported.

Last year, 115,000 Czechs spent their vacation time in Bulgaria, a number expected to rise in 2007 to 125,000. Orea Hotels, the Czech hotel chain, has taken notice, snapping up land plots in the Primorsko region and putting in offers on existing Bulgarian hotels. Other investors include Alexandria, which launched a Hermes Club Hotel & Apartments project in Carevo.
 
CARS Czech automaker Škoda sold 311,062 cars globally in the first half of the year, up more than 13 percent from 2006, according to Právo newspaper. It plans to double annual production by 2012 to 1 million vehicles. It’s basing rapid expansion plans on growth in export markets, including a joint venture with parent company Volkswagen Group on an assembly facility outside of Moscow and subsequent sales in Russia.
In addition, the car manufacturer sold 54,000 of the first-generation Octavia model cars in 2006, compared to 200,000 of the new version Octavia.
TAXES EU commissioners may extend a tax exemption through 2010 to Czech housing construction, ČTK reported. Commissioners put off a vote on the lower 5 percent value-added tax rate until later this week. If the exemption is not approved, taxes could rise to 19 percent. The exemption is expected to apply only to social housing, which is approved broadly in the country as apartments of up to 120 square meters and houses of up to 350 square meters.
PLANES Czech Airlines (ČSA), the national air carrier, said its debts were 2.7 billion Kč ($123.4 million) at the end of 2006, up from 2.146 billion Kč a year earlier, according to the company’s annual report. Most of that debt comes from ČSA’s purchase of new Airbus aircraft. Airbus requires airlines to pay at least 5 percent of airliner purchases in advance. The company lost 397 million Kč last year, but expects to see a slight profit of 42 million Kč in 2007, fueled by sales of some assets, including shares of France Telecom.
EXPORTS Led by carmakers Škoda Auto and Toyota Peugot Citroen Automobile, the Central Bohemia region of the country made up nearly 20 percent of total exports, the largest share of Czech exports, according to the Czech Statistical Office. The two carmakers make up almost 60 percent of all car exports from the country. In absolute figures, the region’s exports topped 417 billion Kč, up 10 percent from the year before.
EU Czech officials have started preparing financially to hold the EU presidency next year, with a distribution of 700 million Kč ($33 million) to various ministries. The government plans to spend another 1 billion Kč, according to Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister for European affairs, according to Radio Prague. Czech officials have started preparing financially to hold the EU presidency next year, with a distribution of 700 million Kč ($33 million) to various ministries. The government plans to spend another 1 billion Kč, according to Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister for European affairs, according to Radio Prague.

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