Economic news released by SITA on Wednesday, January 24
WSS Made New Deals for SKK 5.578 Bln. Last Year
Home savings bank Wustenrot Stavebna Sporitelna, a.s. (WSS) concluded 44,480 new deals with a target sum of SKK 5.578 billion in 2006. Compared with 2005 the number of deals increased 9 percent while the volume of target sums went up 15.5 percent. The number of deals takes into consideration also family saving contracts when several family members share one contract. The figure is thus comparable with other companies' data on deals where one contract equals one client, said WSS spokeswoman Daniela Vlckova.
Tatra Banka to Float SKK 1 Bln. Mortgage-Backed Bond
Tatra Banka is preparing to float a new issue of mortgage-backed bonds amounting to SKK 1 billion. The par value of bonds will be EUR 1 million. The bank plans to start floating the issue on January 31 to finance mortgages. The bank has set the period of issuance for one month. The bonds will bear a fixed interest rate at 4.24 percent p.a.. Interest will be paid annually. The mortgage-backed bonds will mature on January 31, 2009, according to data published by Tatra Banka.
Cabinet Dismisses Healthcare Supervision Office Head Jan Gajdos
At its regular meeting on Wednesday the Cabinet recalled Jan Gajdos from the post of the head of the Healthcare Supervision Office (UDZS). It did so based on the proposal submitted by Health Minister Ivan Valentovic, who explained it by "results of the office's operation with regards to the current situation in the health care sector and the government's responsibility for health of the Slovak population. Mr. Valentovic later specified that he dismissed Mr. Gajdos for insufficiently informing citizens and flaws in conduct of supervision over health insurance companies.
SLSP Provided 13,000 Housing Loans for SKK 11.31 Bln. Last Year
Slovenska Sporitelna (SLSP) the biggest bank in Slovakia, provided 13,000 housing loans amounting to SKK 11.31 billion last year. The volume of these loans, which include special housing-oriented products and classic mortgages, increased by 8.8 percent y/y. SLSP clients have a possibility to finance their housing through loans secured by real estate since the beginning of 2005, whereby they increasingly prefer this possibility to a classic mortgage. The number of classic mortgages the bank provided last year was minimal. Simultaneously, SLSP provided more than 109,000 consumer loans for SKK 11.14 billion. In terms of volume this was an increase of 17.8 percent y/y, SLSP representatives informed SITA.
Xella Slovensko Decreases its Share Capital by SKK 54 Mln.
Construction materials producer Xella Slovensko, spol. s.r.o. Sastin-Straze is decreasing its share capital by SKK 54 million to SKK 80 million. The company's sole owner, German company Xella Baustoffe GmbH, decided on the capital decrease at the annual general meeting on December 4, 2006. Simultaneously, Xella Slovensko reminds its creditors of their right to file outstanding claims within 90 days from the second publication of this announcement.
Leasing Company S Slovensko Floats SKK 500 Mln. Bond
The leasing company S Slovensko, s.r.o. Bratislava will float a SKK 500 million bond issue to finance its trade activities. This bearer security will be issued in a book-entry form and the company will sell them on a single day, on February 1, 2007. The bonds will mature on February 1, 2009. They will bear a flexible interest rate equaling six-month BRIBOR plus 0.38 percent p.a. The issues price of the bonds has been set at 100 percent, according to data published by S Slovensko.
Citizens and Firms to Pay SKK 481 Bln. in Taxes and Premiums in 2007
Prognoses of the Finance Ministry's Financial Policy Institute (IFP) indicate that SKK 481.159 billion should be collected in direct and indirect taxes, social insurance premiums and health insurance premiums this year. The state should collect SKK 290.949 billion in taxes, of which direct taxes should make up SKK 100.601 billion and indirect taxes should constitute SKK 190.348 billion. Economic active inhabitants should pay SKK 131.097 billion in social insurance premiums and the remaining SKK 59.113 billion in health insurance premiums.
Slovak Breweries' Output in 2006 Down 4 Pct. to 3.8 Mln. Hl
Slovak breweries produced 3.8 million hectoliters of beer last year. Beer output thus dropped 4 percent from the previous year. Beer exports amounted to 36,200 hectoliters last year, which is a significant decrease from 118,400 hectoliters in 2005. Executive director of the Slovak Brewers and Malt Producers Association Roman Sustak explained the exports drop by growing production of licensed Slovak beers abroad. In addition to lower exports, a 4-percent drop in beer sales can also be ascribed to weaker beer sales in the first half of last year. However, the Slovak beer market posted a moderate (1-percent) growth in sales in the second half of 2006. "This is the first growth in sales to be reported since 2003 when the excise tax on beer was radically raised," said Mr. Sustak. Malt output grew 6 percent last year to 265,000 tons.
HB Reavis Group Announces SKK 17 Bln. Developer Project in Bratislava
The developer HB Reavis Group announced a major construction project in Bratislava under the name Twin City with total investment costs of around SKK 17 billion. HB Reavis Group further informed that an integrated part of Twin City would be a new modern bus terminal worth SKK 1 billion, which will replace the current central bus terminal. The multifunctional complex will stand between Old Town district and Ruzinov district of Bratislava. Twin City will represent a complex of buildings that will be dominated by a 42-storey tower. The total area of Twin City for rent will exceed 200,000 square meters.
Slovakia will take European Commission to Court over Emission Quotas
Slovakia will take the European Commission (EC) to court in order to gain higher carbon dioxide emissions quotas. The Cabinet entrusted on Wednesday the Slovak justice minister with filing a complaint concerning the invalidity of the EC decision on the allocation of emissions quotas for the period 2008-2012. Prime Minister Robert Fico stated at the press conference after the Cabinet session on Wednesday that reducing CO2 emissions by over 10 million tons to 30.9 million would cause great difficulties in Slovakia's economy. According to Mr. Fico, the EC did not take into account Slovakia's high economic growth and the shutdown of two reactors of the Jaslovske Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant. Moreover, Mr. Fico claims, that the verdict puts at a disadvantage those countries that have not joined the Eurozone yet.
Telefonica O2 to Start Commercial Operations in Slovakia in February
Pre-registered clients of the third mobile operator Telefonica O2 Slovakia will be able to make their first phone calls as of February 2. Telefonica O2 said 400,000 people have registered their interest to become its clients. "Prosecutor's review of the tender for the third mobile operator has no influence on our commercial activities or clients," informed Telefonica O2 director general Juraj Sedivy.
MONEY MARKET: Market Struggles with Surplus Liquidity
Liquidity surplus persisted on the market after the settlement of the National Bank of Slovakia's (NBS) repo tenders on Wednesday. In four successive repo tenders, the central bank rejected a part of bank bids. OTP Bank dealer Juraj Mitosinka stated that SKK 100 billion from the repo tender on Tuesday and SKK 4.391 billion from the government bond auction on Monday left the market on Wednesday, and a maturing SKK 80 billion returned after two weeks.
Regular Flights from Poprad to Prague will be Launched in March
Poprad-Tatry Airport in northern Slovakia will have regular flights to Prague as of March. "We agreed on launching a new service on the route Poprad -- Sliac -- Prague twice a day, except on Saturdays and Sundays, when the frequency will be once daily," informed Poprad mayor Anton Danko. Representatives of local and regional self-governments and the business community agreed on a capital entry into the airline company Hron Air that will be providing this service. Ostrava-based company Central Connect Airlines (CCA) in cooperation with Ceske Aerolinie (CSA) will operate the regular route Poprad -- Prague.
STOCK MARKET: SAX Index Continues to Weaken
Slovakia's official SAX share index continues its gradual weakening from the beginning of the week. Shares of the Slovak crude-oil refiner Slovnaft and VUB pulled down the SAX index 0.21 percent or 0.87 points to 412.69 points on Wednesday. Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) dropped from SKK 3.993 billion from Tuesday to SKK 436.224 million on Wednesday with SKK 1.751 million in share trading.
FOREX MARKET: Slovak Currency Sharply Weakens Midweek
FOREX market trading in the Slovak currency was hectic on Wednesday as the crown weakened above 35.000 SKK/EUR. While it opened at 34.840/34.880 SKK/EUR, the exchange rate climbed later up to 35.060/36.100 SKK/EUR, Tatra Banka dealer Boris Somorovsky said. Before the close of trading the crown strengthened a few hallers, but it did not return below 35.000 SKK/EUR. Foreign banks were selling crowns in large volumes, he added.