Business News
The Czech Republic and Slovakia have both managed to climb up the ladder of
world competitiveness according to the International Institute for
Management Development. Newly released 2007 rankings from the Swiss
organization put the Czech Republic in 28th place in terms of global
competitiveness, a four point improvement on the previous year. Meanwhile,
Slovakia has also moved up from 34th to 30th. According to the IMD, 331
various factors are used to rate a country’s competitiveness, including
the strength of the labour force and internal politics. The Czech
Republic’s improved rating is partially attributed to a continually
strong crown.
A study by a major banking company in the Czech Republic has revealed that
a quarter of the country’s children possess bank accounts. The study has
found that parents are eager to set up bank accounts for their children so
that they can save for later in life. A third of those children with bank
accounts have them established between birth and their reaching five years
of age. Bank accounts for the under 15s are offered by most banks in the
country.
The Czech Republic leads the European Union in terms of the growth of its
plastic production market, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat.
Figures reveal that in 2006, the Czech Republic increased plastic
production by 15.3 percent, while growing by only 4 percent in the EU. Most
of the Czech Republic’s plastic production goes into the making of
various wrappings, with a large part also used in the automotive industry
and also construction. Czechs are heavy users of plastics – about sixty
kilograms per person annually, but the old EU15 still tops that with a
figure of 90kg. Plastic production in the country is expected to tail off
in the future, as oil prices rise and the global economic slowdown reduces
demand.
The car maker Škoda has won a tender to continue supplying cars to the
Czech police force. The company must now provide 3,500 cars to the service
for its promised fee of 1,1 billion crowns. Two other companies –
Volkswagen (which itself pens Škoda )- and Renault lost out in the bid,
because they made higher priced offers.
International film producers operating in the Czech Republic are up in
arms about the government’s failure to approve a series of incentives or
tax-breaks to help the country compete with emerging film locations such as
Hungary. The measures, which would offset the rising costs of filming in
the country, partly caused by a weak dollar and strong crown, have been
stalled for weeks. The Czech government insists it is taking the prospect
of a collapse of international production in the country seriously, but any
incentives will take time to formulate and approve.
