Producer Prices in Industry Grew 8.2 Percent y/y in June

In June producer prices in industry in Slovakia remained at the May level, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on Monday. The development reflected a 0.1-percent price drop in the manufacturing industry. The prices of the electricity, gas, steam, hot water and prices of mining products also went down 0.1 percent each.

E-Tel Slovakia with H1 Sales of SKK 105.8 Mln.

Alternative telecommunication operator for corporate customers in Slovakia, eTel Slovensko reported sales excluding VAT at SKK 105.8 million over the first half of this year. Compared to the same period of last year when the company reported sales of SKK 67.9 million, it is an increase of almost 56 percent, the company told SITA.

Voice service sales made up 80 percent of the total H1 sales, up 47 percent from a year ago. Data service sales grew most, almost 226 percent y/y. Over the monitored period the e-Tel Slovakia company invested SKK 11.135 million.

Overhaul of Second Unit of Nuclear Power Plant Mochovce Completed

The third planned general overhaul of the second unit of Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant (EMO) has been completed by phasing in a turbo-generator to the power network, Rastislav Petrech, EMO’s public and foreign relations department, informed SITA. „Originally, the overhaul was to take 47 days, however, EMO employees completed it already on July 25, which is five days sooner than planned,“ stated Mr. Petrech.

Slovak and British Supreme Auditors Cooperate in Euro-Funds‘ Control

The Supreme Audit Office (NKU) intensifies cooperation with the British Supreme Audit Office chiefly in information exchange concerning the control of funds, arriving to Slovakia from the European Union. „Our cooperation is just one of aspects of cooperation between the Slovak Republic and Great Britain,“ John Bourn, a controller and the chief auditor of the United Kingdom told a news conference on Monday. The British Supreme Audit Office focuses on control of funds destined for farmer policy, renewal of urban areas and transport. If the European Court of Auditors finds mismanagement of funds, the EU can allocate less money for Great Britain in these fields.

Job Cuts in Lesy SR Still Unknown

State-owned forest company Lesy Slovenskej Republiky (Lesy SR) will slim down its labor force in the course of its transformation into a joint-stock company. However, the exact number of employees due to be made redundant will be known only after an in-depth analysis. Thus speculations over lay-offs are premature. Ivana Spilakova from the forest company and Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman Katarina Czajlikova shared this opinion in their stances provided to SITA on Monday.

Terms for Granting Banking Licenses to Soften in Slovakia from 2004

Terms for providing banking licenses in Slovakia will soften from next year. It will no longer be necessary to document in license applications professional skills and the credibility of persons proposed as senior bank officials. However, this will not apply to persons proposed as members of a board of directors, supervisory bank board, or head of the internal audit department, according to the draft revision to the Banking Act, elaborated by the Finance Ministry in cooperation with the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). The Finance Ministry, as well as the central bank, also submitted for interdepartmental review their own alternatives to demands for professional skills of senior bank officials.

Fitch Ratings Affirms Ludova Banka Ratings

International rating agency Fitch Ratings has issued a new rating report for Ludova Banka, a.s. The long-term foreign currency rating of Ludova Banka was affirmed at BBB Outlook Stable, the same grade as the country rating. The bank attained the highest individual rating score (individual rating score C/D) among all banks on the Slovak market rated by Fitch Ratings. According to the latest Fitch Ratings report, the individual C/D rating score was also assigned to Prva Komunalna Banka (PKB), a.s., Žilina. The latest rating report by Fitch Ratings together with the top individual rating score on the Slovak market confirms the very stable position of Ludova Banka on the domestic banking market, announced the bank on Monday.

Subsidized Mortgages only for Socially Disadvantaged in the Future

The Construction Ministry proposes restricting the provision of the state subsidy on mortgages. In the future, the state subsidy should be provided for mortgage loans used to finance apartments in a limited area and for citizens with incomes up to a certain amount. A significant drop in the mortgage’s interest rates compared with the launch of mortgage lending is behind this proposal. Jana Cernanska from the ministry’s department of economy of housing informed SITA on this development. The ministry proposes cutting the aggregate annual state subsidy to SKK 1 billion.

Prague-Sliac-Prague Flight Connection Renewed

An inaugurational flight opened a regular flight connection Prague-Sliac-Prague operated by Tatra Air and Czech Airlines (CSA). Along with the 35-member CSA delegation and guests from the Czech Republic, the first three passengers have arrived from Prague, while seven people flew back to the Czech Republic. The Prague-Sliac-Prague air connection is being renewed after 10 years while CSA and Tatra Air will share any eventual gains and losses.

Land Purchase Complete for PSA Peugeot Citroen

Trnavainvest, s.r.o. concluded buying up land for the construction of the PSA Peugeot Citroen assembly plant in Trnava. Trnavainvest became the owner of land from areas of Trnava, Modranka and Zavar covering 237.93 hectares, out of which 192.13 hectares are destined for the French investor, announced the head of public relations department Zuzana Karhutova. The Trnavainvest company paid approximately SKK 309 million to 257 landowners. The land purchase took six months since the first contract was signed on February 17.

Tatra Banka Reports H1 Profit of SKK 129.242 Bln.

Tatra Banka, a.s. closed the first half of this year with a profit of SKK 1.087 billion, compared with an SKK 1.185 billion profit it showed for the same period of 2002. Net interest revenues of the bank reached SKK 1.956 billion and net revenues from fees and commissions amounted to SKK 523.9 million. Six-month general operating costs for the bank stood at SKK 1.399 billion, according to data provided by the bank to the Bratislava Stock Exchange.

Holiday Mood and Liquidity Surplus Ruled Money Market on Monday

A holiday mood ruled the Slovak money market at the beginning of the last July week with banking houses just completing their positions. They deposited SKK 21.39 billion in their reserve accounts in the central bank, meeting the minimum reserve requirement on a cumulative basis at 100.97 percent. Tatra Banka dealer Michal Stano estimates a daily liquidity surplus on the market at about SKK 4 billion.

Trade Company Zdroj Hos Reduces H1 Profit to SKK 14.4 Mln. This Year

Trade company Zdroj Hos, a.s., Chynorany earned a profit of SKK 14.354 million over the first half of this year, down over SKK 10 million y/y. The H1 operating profit of the company decreased from SKK 30.6 million in 2002 to SKK 18.5 million this year on operating revenues at SKK 827.7 million. Simultaneously, Zdroj Hos managed to reduce a mid-year loss from financial operations from SKK 5.3 million last year to SKK 4.6 million in late June 2003, according to data disclosed by the company.

HVB Bank Slovakia with H1 Profit of SKK 348.6 Mln.

HVB Bank Slovakia, a.s. earned a net profit of almost SKK 348.6 million in the first half of this year. This translates into a drop from SKK 472.8 million earned during the same period of the previous year. Net interest income and similar revenues reached SKK 477.9 million and net revenues from fees and commissions were at almost SKK 89 million. General bank operating costs stood at SKK 304.7 million, according to data disclosed by the bank.

FOREX MARKET: Slovak Crown Weakened Moderately Against the Euro

At the beginning of the final July week the Slovak currency weakened moderately against its referential currency, the euro. The crown started the Monday trading with an appreciation from the opening level of 42.010/070 SKK/EUR to 41.980/42.030 SKK/EUR. But it erased this slight gain in the afternoon. According to Tatra Banka dealer Bibiana Valachova, purchases of foreign currency by one domestic bank, pushing the exchange rate of the crown and the euro to the closing 42.070/120 SKK/EUR, were behind the weaker crown. The Slovak crown was thus quoted against the US currency at 36.615/36.665 SKK/USD. The cross rate of the Slovak and Czech currency was at 1.3133/1.3150 SKK/CZK.

STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Remained Unchanged on Monday

The official SAX share index did not change on Monday and ended at the Friday’s closing level of 161.76 points. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) decreased from SKK 536.5 million on Friday to SKK 235.1 million on Monday, with SKK 29.8 million in share trading. On the BCPB floor, out of the market-maker module only shares of ex-steelmaker VSZ were traded, but their price remained unchanged.

SEPS to Pay Dividends of SKK 123.3 Mln. for 2002

National electricity transmission system Slovenska Energeticka a Prenosova Sustava (SEPS) will pay dividends of SKK 123.3 million from the company’s net profit last year of SKK 354.7 million. Since the exclusive shareholder of SEPS is the National Property Fund (FNM) the dividends will flow into the state pocket. SEPS will transfer to its funds SKK 141.8 million and remaining SKK 89.6 million will remain in the company in the form of undistributed profit, SEPS spokeswoman Alena Melicharkova informed.

Customs Administration to Reduce After Slovakia’s Entry into EU

After Slovakia enters the European Union in May 2004, needs of customs administration for real estates will reduce significantly. This is because after cancellation of regular customs controls at the future internal EU border and a change of the organization structure, customs offices will no more need the current number of real estates neither at borders nor in the land. According to calculations of the Ministry of Finance, customs offices should administer premises at the book value of SKK 3.4 billion and land at SKK 146 million. At present, the value of premises used by customs officers exceeds SKK 5 billion and the value of land is about SKK 216 million. However, the ministry cannot estimate how the value of movable assets owned by the customs administration including software, now at SKK 2.1 billion, will develop.