Summary of economic news released by SITA on Tuesday, June 4
NPP V1 Jaslovske Bohunice Generated 3,121 GWh of Electricity in H1
Two reactors at the V1 nuclear power plant, part of the GovCo, a.s. company Jaslovske Bohunice, generated 3,121 GWh of electricity in the first halt of this year. Compared to the same period of last year this represents an increase of almost 35 percent. In June alone the V1 nuclear power plant generated 551 GWh of electricity, up 14.7 percent y/y. Since April 1, when GovCo took over V1 power plant from power producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE), the power plant generated 1,426 GWh of electricity, said GovCo spokesman Dobroslav Dobak.
Waste Management Firm Marius Pedersen with Sales of SKK 170.8 Mln.
Trencin-based firm Marius Pedersen, a.s., which provides waste management services, increased its sales of products and services by 19.4 percent to SKK 170.8 million last year. Production costs grew by 21.7 percent to SKK 96.1 million. The firm generated added value of SKK 82.3 million, while it was SKK 65.5 million in 2004.
Legal Merger of Alternative Operators in GTS Nextra Completed
Legal merger of telecommunication companies GTS Slovakia, s.r.o., Aliatel Slovensko, s.r.o., Quadia DCT, a.s., Nextra, s.r.o, and GTS Nextra (former Telenor Networks, a.s.) in group GTS Nextra, a.s. has been completed on June 30 of this year. GTS Nextra has become a legal successor of the five merged firms. The company informed that the merger was inscribed in the corporate register as of June 30, 2006. GTS Nextra has taken over all the rights and duties of the companies that ceased to exist by the merger.
Eurostat: Producer Prices in Slovakia Up 9.9 Pct. y/y in May
The European Union's Statistical Office Eurostat stated in its report released on Tuesday that Slovakia's industrial producer prices grew 9.9 percent on a year-on-year basis in May, which is the second highest growth among the EU countries whose data were available to Eurostat. Only Great Britain exceeded Slovakia with producer prices going up 12.1 percent y/y in May. In a monthly comparison producer prices in Slovakia rose 0.8 percent over May.
Statistics Shows Slovakia Aging, Fewer Marriages, More Divorces
The population of the Slovak Republic has been growing older, and the trend in 2005 was fewer marriages and more divorces. One can find this information in the new Statistics Office publication on the development of the Slovak population in 2005. As of December 31 of last year, 5,389,180 people with permanent residence lived in Slovakia. Male population made up 48.5 percent. The population of Slovakia increased by 4,400 persons as a consequence of natural movements and immigration. Out of this number 3,400 people moved to Slovakia here from abroad. Natural population growth was reported in the Presov, Kosice and Zilina counties while other five counties showed the opposite development due to high mortality rate and immigration.
INVESTING: Over SKK 500 Mln. Directed to Equity Funds Last Week
Open-end mutual funds managed by members of the Slovak management companies association (SASS) reported SKK 280.9 million net sales last week. Equity funds attracted the biggest interest of investors registering net sales of SKK 563 million, SKK 350.8 million was directed into guaranteed and secured funds group and SKK 17.3 million went into master funds. Bond funds reported the biggest outflow again, when the value of returned items exceeded the sum of sold items by SKK 460.9 million. Investors withdrew SKK 174.2 million from money market funds and SKK 15.2 million from mixed funds, informed the SASS.
MONEY MARKET: Short Deposits Prices Drop After Repo Tender Results
Bank bids in the two-week repo tender in the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) on Tuesday was only half the volume maturing after two weeks. UniBanka dealer Jozef Hempfinger stated that bank bids in central bank`s repo tender only totaled SKK 147.361 billion, which the central bank accepted at yields of 4.0 percent p.a. The interbank market will slip into high liquidity surplus after the public holiday on Wednesday, since up to maturing SKK 277.207 billion will return to sector on Thursday.
INVESTING: DSS Managed Almost SKK 17.3 Bln. Last Week
The net value of policyholders' assets in licensed pension fund management companies in Slovakia (DSS) represented almost SKK 17.3 billion as of June 30. The value of assets in pension funds managed by six DSS companies increased by SKK 337.65 million week-on-week. Over SKK 11.2 billion was in growth funds, almost SKK 5.3 billion in balanced funds and SKK 735.9 million in conservative funds as of Friday, June 30.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Share Index Stays Flat on Tuesday
The value of the official SAX share index remained unchanged on Tuesday. Since only shares of Slovak crude oil refiner were traded on the stock exchange floor out of SAX base titles and their closing price did not change, the SAX index remained at 374.95 points. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) climbed due to large volumes of direct transfers of government bond from SKK 1.144 billion on Monday up to SKK 50.05 billion on Tuesday with just SKK 711,400 in share trading.
FOREX MARKET: Crown Fluctuates in Tandem with Polish Zloty
The Slovak crown was only influenced by fluctuations on the surrounding markets in the region in trading on Tuesday, while the exchange rate of the Slovak currency against its referential currency the euro fluctuated in both directions. Tatra Banka dealer Bibiana Valachova stated that the local currency opened a bit stronger in the morning on Tuesday than at the close of trading on Monday and opened trading at 38.330/38.360 SKK/EUR. The crown even improved to 38.250/38.280 SKK/EUR over the day. "The Polish zloty started strengthening towards its referential currency right in the morning.