Economic news released by SITA on Thursday, March 8
Crown Rewrote its High against the Euro to 34.030 SKK/EUR
Though Slovakia's FOREX market saw lackluster trading on Wednesday and the exchange rate of the Slovak currency oscillated around 34.300 SKK/EUR the crown appreciated after the close of the session. UniBanka dealer Patrik Malec explained that foreign banks especially London ones were buying the Slovak crown in significant volumes, which moved its exchange rate to a new historic high at 34.030 SKK/EUR. The local currency thus rewrote its historic maximum of 34.060 SKK/EUR that it hit two days before the end of last year.
Railway Company ZSR does not Plan Layoffs this Year
Railway network operator Zeleznice Slovenskej Republiky (ZSR) that belongs among the biggest employers in Slovakia does not plan any layoffs this year. ZSR spokeswoman Martina Pavlikova says that the number of their employees will go down only due to natural loss caused by people who will retire. At the end of last year the company employed 18,118 people on average.
Prices of Apartments Unlikely to Fall in Bratislava in Coming Years
Experts do not expect a decrease in prices of apartments in Bratislava during the next three or four years. On the contrary, prices are to rising smoothly though not steeply. The secretary general of the National Association of Real Estate Agencies of Slovakia, Martin Lazik, told SITA that the growth dynamics of apartment prices in Bratislava should remain stable this year. He expects that prices will grow 10-15 percent on average in 2007, compared with last year. "The prices of apartments started to grow more quickly in 2006 due to the strength and wealth of the Slovak economy. This growth was also caused by the arrival of several foreign companies and individual buyers to Slovakia. The current situation in the economy is similar. Middle-sized projects or large planned residential projects may influence the growth of apartment prices," said Mr. Lazik. But he does not anticipate a steep increase, as the biggest shifts are estimated at 20-25 percent.
New Player Arrives on Slovakia's Factoring Market
A new factoring company has entered Slovakia's factoring market in January. Cash Reform Factoring, a.s., a 100 percent subsidiary of the Czech factoring company Cash Reform, a.s., has already provided factoring services to some Slovak clients in past years. Since January, it has been operating as an independent company for Slovakia. Cash Reform, a.s. executive director Jan Kudera said that their ambition is to successfully compete with the factoring companies that currently dominate the Slovak market.
Slovak Telecom Ordered Duties to Fulfill in Leasing Circuits
The chairman of Market regulator the Telecommunications Office ruled that fixed-line operator Slovak Telecom (ST) is a company with significant influence on the market and ordered the company duties it must fulfill aimed at the support of effective competition in providing of a minimal set of hired circuits with transmission capacity of up to and including 2 Mb/s. The Telecommunication Office thus upheld its first instance verdict and turned down the earlier appeal of Slovak Telecom. "The regulator banned Slovak Telekom to demand inappropriately high prices, to prevent other companies from entering the market, or demand inappropriately low prices to prevent competition," informed the regulator's spokesperson Roman Vavro.
Transport and Storage Sector with January Sales of SKK 12 Bln.
The transport and storage sector reported sales of its products and services at SKK 12.096 billion in current prices in January 2007, up 6.6 percent y/y. The Slovak Statistics Office revealed these preliminary results on Thursday. From the total January volume of sales, SKK 2.407 billion was posted in railway transport. Other land transport generated sales of almost SKK 3.501 billion, while auxiliary and complementary activities in transport and operations of other transport agencies and travel agencies posted sales of SKK 3.252 billion. Air and space transport contributed SKK 467 million to January sales.
Slovakia May Import Ukrainian Electricity via UCTE Project
One of the possibilities of increasing the import of Ukrainian electricity to Slovakia is to connect the Ukrainian and Slovak transmission networks within the "Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity" (UCTE) European project, according to SEPS representatives. Slovenska Elektrizacna Prenosova Sustava (SEPS) is the state-controlled national electricity transmission network operator. The UCTE project is to provide a synchronized connection of the transmission networks of Ukraine and Moldova and part of Russia with the system of EU countries.
MONEY MARKET: Central Bank Turns Down All Bids in Bill Auction
The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) held an auction of its 84-day bills on Thursday. ING Bank dealer Martin Koska told SITA that bank bids in the auction totaled SKK 63.74 billion. However, the NBS turned down all of them. The dealer assumes that the NBS probably reacted in this way to the firming of the Slovak crown, which has broken another all-time record level on Thursday.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Gains 0.08 Pct. on Thursday
Slovakia's official SAX share index moderately strengthened on Thursday, gaining 0.08 percent or 0.32 points to close at 422.03 points. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) fell from SKK 581.322 million on Wednesday to SKK 72.087 million on Thursday with SKK 2.163 million in share trading.
Siemens Presents its Own Electronic Highway Toll System
German concern Siemens is interested in implementing its electronic toll system in Slovakia, however, its potential participation in an eventual tender depends on its concrete conditions. This information was provided to SITA on Thursday by Director of Siemens Electronic Tolling Karl Strasser and the technical director of Siemens s.r.o., Vladimir Slezak. Siemens representatives presented, in connection with the prepared introduction of the electronic highway toll system in Slovakia for vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tons, their own system based on satellite technology, with a possibility for use also in Slovakia. Its core is a dashboard unit in a car that communicates with an electronic back-office through an encrypted GSM/GPRS channel. Simultaneously, it provides information on the location of the vehicle to a central system for invoicing needs.
FOREX MARKET: NBS Intervenes against Crown's Steep Gains
The FOREX market registered busy trading on Thursday because the Slovak currency has been successively re-writing its record against the euro. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), however, did not like the crown's gains. The local currency already started firming on Wednesday evening and continued its strengthening on Thursday. The crown's exchange rate initially stood just over 34.00 SKK/EUR which the crown later broke and strengthened up to 33.80 SKK/EUR. "The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) directly intervened on the FOREX market at this level," UniBanka's Patrik Malec informed. Thus, the exchange rate returned to 34.00 SKK/EUR.