conomic news released by SITA on Thursday, January 18
Prosecutor Contests Tender for Third Mobile Operator
Slovak Television reported in its prime time news program on Wednesday tat the third mobile operator in Slovakia, Telefonica O2 Slovakia might be stripped of license. The Bratislava Regional Prosecutor Office contested the result of the tender that the company won in August. The prosecutor says that several mistakes and violations of the law were recorded during the tender. As the result of the prosecutor's intervention it might happen that the tender will be finally canceled, said the network. According to deputy prosecutor Rene Vanek, they came to a conclusion that many objections questioning transparency, objectivity and lawfulness of the tender are justified. The prosecutor office has already filed an appeal against the decision with the Telecommunications Office (TU).
2006 VAT Collection almost SKK 8.5 Bln. Higher than Planned
Last year tax and customs offices transferred into the state budget SKK 128.5 billion, which they collected in the value-added tax (VAT). The real collection of VAT for the year 2006 exceeded the projection by 7 percent or almost SKK 8.5 billion. It was a y/y increase of about 5 percent. The Tax Administration collected SKK 210.6 billion. Of this business entities asked for VAT refunds of SKK 137.2 billion. Thus the tax offices transferred VAT of SKK 73.4 billion in 2006. Customs offices collected and transferred VAT at SKK 55.1 billion to the state budget last year the Tax Directorate informed.
Slovak Construction Companies Employed 158,900 People in November
In November, construction companies in Slovakia employed 158,900 people, up 7.6 percent y/y. The Construction Ministry informed that the number of blue-collar workers reached 135,400. Labor productivity measured by construction output per employee rose 3.9 percent y/y to SKK 94,070. The average nominal monthly wage per employee grew 2.9 percent y/y to SKK 16 404. Real wage went down 1.3 percent y/y.
Jobless Rate in Slovakia was 9.4 Percent in December
Registered jobless rate in Slovakia increased 0.28 percentage points to 9.4 percent in December 2006 compared with the previous month. The National Labor, Social Affairs and Family Office (UPSVR) said that compared with December 2005, the jobless rate went down by 1.96 points.
Bratislava Airport May have a New Terminal in 2011
Frantisek Stolarik, chief executive and head of the Letisko M. R. Stefanika -- Airport Bratislava board of directors and Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny introduced a strategic plan for the airport's development on Thursday. The strategy counts with a new terminal. The Bratislava airport should open it in the spring of 2011. The minister informed that that the terminal's annual capacity should be around four million passengers. However the architectural project of the terminal does not exist yet and its exact location is unknown as well. This is because construction of the terminal should be linked to new transport infrastructure, the plan for which should be confirmed in a few weeks. Mr. Vazny estimates the costs of the new terminal at more than SKK 2.6 billion. The airport operator should built it from its own sources and partly from loans.
Last Year's Turnover of Kofola Rajecka Lesna Grew by One-Fifth
Last year, soft drinks producer and distributor Kofola, a.s., Rajecka Lesna, a 100-percent subsidiary of the Czech company Kofola, reported a turnover of more than SKK 1.282 billion, up 21.4 percent y/y. In the monitored period, the Slovak division of Kofola had 283 people on its payroll, up 11 percent from the end of 2005.
Government's Investment Agency is Working on New Projects
Slovak government's investment and trade development agency SARIO is working on over a hundred new investment projects at present. The agency's director for direct foreign investments, Milan Rybar, informed that many companies, in particular from Germany, the United States, Italy, and South Korea, are expected to investment in Slovakia. Foreign companies want to invest in the automotive and engineering industries. "We have noticed bigger interest in the electrotechnical industry, in which twenty-projects are underway," added Mr. Rybar. These are all projects in various phases. "We would not like to reveal any more details at this stage," he said. SARIO believes that this year will be better than the last year concerning the influx of new investments in Slovakia.
Cooperation of Bratislava and Vienna Airports is Not Ruled Out
Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny admitted a possibility of capital interconnection of Vienna airport with Bratislava airport in the future despite the latest unsuccessful attempt of TwoOne consortium to privatize the airport in Bratislava. "There is still a possibility that we will develop cooperation through some Public Private Partnership (PPP) project. I can imagine cooperation that will be based on minority interest between both airports," said Mr. Vazny at a press conference on Thursday.
Slovakia Wants to Convince the European Commission on CO2 Emissions
The Economy Ministry hopes to convince the European Commission (EC) about the need to raise CO2 emission quotas for Slovakia. "We discussed with Enel and U.S. Steel Kosice this issue in order to complete and get as accurate information as possible for the European Commission," said Economy Ministry's spokesman Branislav Zvara. The ministry argues that the decision of the commission does not take into consideration Slovakia's economic growth and the decommissioning of two reactors at the V1 nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice.
Bratislava Airport to Renegotiate SkyEurope and Ryanair Contracts
Bratislava airport would like to re-open its existing contracts with low-cost carriers SkyEurope and Ryanair, which contribute over seventy percent to the transport statistics of the airport. Frantisek Stolarik, the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive of the M. R. Stefanik Airport confirmed this information for SITA news agency on Thursday. "We will re-open the contracts. I have to say that the contract with Ryanair is not very transparent considering the EU legislation on competition, which is why we will have to discuss the terms again," said Mr. Stolarik at a press conference. He thinks that the contract with the main air carrier of the airport, SkyEurope Airlines, is problematic, as well.
Socialna Poistovna has not Issued any Acceptance Letter Yet
Social insurance provider Socialna Poistovna has not yet issued any letter of acceptance that would enable its clients to change a pension-fund-management company (DSS), Socialna Poistovna spokesperson Vladimira Pobisova informed SITA. Dozens of savers have so far asked for the letter of acceptance, she added. "However, applications were turned down because conditions stipulated in the law have not been met in a single case," stated Ms. Pobisova. The letter of acceptance is a confirmation that on the date of its issue at least two years have lapsed since the saver's first pension savings contract was inscribed in Socialna Poistovna's register or two years have passed since the saver switched to another pension-fund-management company.
Most Popular Destination from Bratislava Airport was London Last Year
Stansted Airport in London remained the most popular destination for passengers flying from Bratislava. Together 333,800 passengers flew to London last year while 160,100 passengers were registered on flights to the Italian airport Milan-Bergamo. The Bratislava-Kosice line was used by 115,600 people. Over 90,000 passengers were registered on flights to Paris, Prague, and Frankfurt.
Last Year's Turnover at Bratislava Stock Exchange was SKK 992 Bln.
Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) reached SKK 992.1 billion in 2006. The annual turnover oscillated around the same level for the second consecutive year. However, share trading constituted just a tiny portion of the total turnover and transactions in government bond represented almost the whole turnover. Share trading amounted to SKK 2.6 billion last year, making up mere 0.3 percent of the 2006 turnover. The BCPB has registered no new share issue last year, and not a single issuer used a possibility to gain new capital by increasing the volume of an already registered share issue. As of the last day of 2006, 256 share issues were traded from 188 issuers, including 46 issuers of shares of mutual funds. Simultaneously, 102 bond issues were available for trading on markets of the stock exchange.
MONEY MARKET: Quiet Trading on Thursday
A calm trading atmosphere prevailed on the interbank market on Thursday. "Trading in deposits up to twelve months was minimal," ING Bank dealer Martin Koska commented. Commercial banks deposited in their reserve accounts in the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) SKK 15.18 billion on Thursday, meeting the minimum requirement for January on a cumulative basis at 129.35 percent. Additional SKK 36.862 billion ended up in the central bank's overnights.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Strengthens 0.42 Pct. to 414.66 Points
Slovakia's official SAX share index gained 0.42 percent or 1.74 points to close at 414.66 points on Thursday. Shares of power-engineering company SES Tlmace but also shares of the Slovak crude-oil refiner Slovnaft, helped the SAX index improve. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) rose from SKK 1.13 billion on Wednesday to SKK 3.249 billion on Thursday with SKK 804,000 in share trading.
FOREX MARKET: Slovak Crown Traded Below 35.00 SKK/EUR on Thursday
Demand from U.S. banks firmed the Slovak crown overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, so the crown opened trading below 35.00 SKK/EUR. Tatra Banka dealer Boris Somorovsky told SITA that demand for the crown continued in the morning and that the exchange rate hit its strongest point at 34.78/34.82 SKK/EUR. Later it lost some of its gains to stand at 34.82/34.86 SKK/EUR at about 4 p.m. "The market is hardly readable at the moment," stated Mr. Somorovsky. However, he assumes that the crown has a tendency to keep between 34.80 SKK/EUR and 35.10 SKK/EUR. It might be traded in this band in the upcoming days, he stated.
Antitrust Office OKs Hydina Cifer's Takeover by Czech Agrofert
The Slovak Antitrust Office (PMU) cleared the concentration of Slovak poultry-processing company Hydina, a.s., Cifer, by the Prague-based Agrofert Holding, a.s. PMU spokesperson Alexandra Bernathova said that Agrofert has acquired direct control over Hydina based on a share purchase contract. "The PMU found that the concentration neither creates nor strengthens a dominant position of its participants on any of the examined relevant markets," said Ms. Bernathova. The decision took effect on January 17, 2007.