Archive: Business | Business Business
New website seeks to name and shame stores caught by the Czech food safety inspectorate
On June 10th, a new consumer protection website was launched by the Czech
Ministry of Agriculture designed to significantly aid in consumer
protection. The site is named “potraviny na pranýři” – or
“groceries on the stocks” (official translation: “food pillory”),
meaning the old-fashioned wooden kind used to publically humiliate
wrongdoers. The project has been a huge hit with consumers, while many
leading supermarket chains are less than thrilled. More
Národní třída metro station closes for two years
On Tuesday this week Prague’s Národní třída metro station –one of
the busiest in the city centre –closed its doors to the public for two
long years. The closure is due to a large developer’s project in the
close vicinity of the station where work has already started on a
four-storey administrative and shopping centre. More
Support for human rights hurts Czech business in China, says manager of Czech firm in Kunming
One of the Czech companies which successfully launched an operation in
China is the machine tool producer TOS Varnsdorf. In 2006, the firm
invested some 2.5 million euro to form a joint venture company TOS Kunming.
In this edition of Marketplace, the firm’s financial director Stanislav
Linc talks about doing business in China, hiring Chinese employees, and how
the Czech government supports Czech businesses in that country. More
Can Islamic banking help boost Czech exports?
A good deal of the ongoing economic and financial turmoil on world markets
has been blamed on the unscrupulous practices of the international banking
and financial sector. Islamic banking, on the other hand, is seen as a
fairer and more balanced alternative which has been much less affected by
the crisis. Can the Czech Republic benefit from a financial system based on
the Islamic law? And can Islamic banking help boost Czech exports into
Muslim countries? These are some of the issues debated at an international
conference on Islamic banking held in Prague. More
Business News
In Business News: the Czech economy contracts by 1.0 percent in the 1Q, the
second-worst result among 19 EU states; the country’s ombudsman slams the
government’s social system reforms, saying they have left thousands on
the brink of poverty; the price of Czech garlic is set to go up; Czechs are
budgeting more carefully and buying less when shopping in supermarkets than
in previous years. More
Botanicus co-founder Dana Hradecká: planting the seeds of success
The Botanicus chain of stores offering herbal soaps, extracts and
delicacies is a Czech, and growing international, success story. Most
tourists will have probably bought something from one of their outlets in
the country. The small business was founded in the early 1990’s after the
restitution of a family farm around 40 kilometres north-east of Prague.
That has become the centre for the business and a tourist attraction with
more than 50,000 visitors a year. One of the firm’s co-founders Dana
Hradecká explained the roots of the original inspiration for the business. More
Czech firms reluctant to partake in foreign aid projects
The Czech Republic spends around 430 million crowns a year on foreign aid,
financing various development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia,
Moldova, Mongolia and other countries. The government is increasingly
trying to involve Czech firms and businesses in the process so that they
find a foothold on local markets where they could continue doing business
even after the government-sponsored projects finish. But Věra
Venclíková, the head of the Czech Business Platform for Foreign
Cooperation says that getting Czech firms interested is no easy job. More
Business News
In Business News this week: Czech industrial production speeds up; most
Czech companies want to hire employees as contractors; Saturday shifts at
Škoda Auto end over labour dispute, the North American brewing giant
Molson Coors buys Staropramen; and Prague’s Ruzyně airport marks 75
years since the first landing.
More
Business News
In Business News: Industry and Trade Minister confirms that Czech Republic
will try and further expand nuclear energy production; Rusatom Overseas
signs memorandum with potential subcontractors on Temelín; Škoda Auto
sees significant increase in sales in foreign markets; One-third of Czechs
will be unable to save a single crown a month this year, poll suggests; and
Czech nanotechnology firms make mark in Japan.
More
Government officials at odds over country’s export strategy
Two Czech ministers have clashed over how the government should support the
country’s exports. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose office has
put a lot of effort into promoting Czech businesses abroad, dismissed a new
export strategy designed by the Industry and Trade Ministry. In spite of
the squabbles, however, the government’s support for exporters is bearing
fruit: Czech exports have reached record levels and are a major driving
force behind the Czech economic recovery. More
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