Slovakia in competition for antoher car plant
Slovakia has a chance to gain another car-making plant. The Japanese daugther company of Toyota is namely interested in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Turkey and us. "Negotiations are running and all countries have an equal chance to succeed" said Ali Haydar Bozkurt, general manager of the car maker in Turkey. The new plant sould manufacture small vehicles, such as Cuore and Sirion in the company´s current offer. Although Slovakia atracts investors with its´ tax system, or cost of labour, analysts claim Turkey is the favourite for this large investment. If Slovakia was succesful, Daihatsu would be the fourth car plant besides Volkswagen, PSA and Kia. May 25th
European stock markets on a see-saw
Stock markets in Central and Eastern Europe are experiencing one of the most volatile weeks in their history, with sharp falls alternating with significant upward movements. On Tuesday the trend from the rest of the week was repeated, with most markets recording rapid falls in share prices. The wildest ride was seen in trading on the Russian shares market. Over the last two weeks the Russian stock market has dropped more than 25 percent, which is regarded as a significant loss.
The volatile movements also affected markets in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Austria. On Monday the Prague stock market lost almost six per cent, the third sharpest drop in its history, and some stocks fell by up to 15 per cent. "This is a sell-off panic where basic economic factors play no part. It's primarily a question of psychology," was the interpretation of Pavel Hadroušek from the Fio company. Although the market recovered from the fall on Tuesday, it began to drop rapidly yesterday, with the PX index losing up to five percent. Budapest and Warsaw saw similar developments, with indexes falling by over four percent. May 25th
Poles to USA without visas, we came away empty
Slovaks could have finally traveled to the USA visa-free. The American Senate accepted criteria for the lifting of visa duties for the ten new EU members, which could have been granted free entry for a two-year trial period. But there was one hiccup in the plan, and only Poland met the criteria set by the American Congress. One of the conditions is that a country must have at least 300 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we have a total of 160. "We perceive it as a betrayal of former promises," reacted Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Secretary Jozef Berényi. The proposal is yet to be passed by the lower house in Congress, then it must be signed by the American president. Slovak diplomats hope that intensive lobbying may yet overturn this unfavourable situation. According to Berényi, these criteria were tailor-made for Poland. "This smacks indirectly of blackmail by the American Congress," maintains foreign analyst Ivo Samson. "Criteria of a military character have never been set for visa duty." May 19th
Paperwork costs firms SKK 57 bn a year
Politicians before the elections are promising businessmen lower taxes and higher deductions, but people from the business sector consider as a much more essential barrier bureaucracy.
According to research from the entrepreneurial community, all of this costs businesses roughly SKK 57,5 bn annually, or about four per cent of the GDP. Martin Chren, Director of the F. A. Hayek Foundation, estimates that about 40 per cent of administrative burdening comes primarily from the EU. The remaining 60 per cent of the bureaucracy however rests with our own public administration.
Businesspeople are most weighed down by paperwork from Social Insurance Company, the Statistics Bureau and Health Insurance, but see an improvement when dealing with tax and cadastral offices. Reducing the "administrative demands of enterprising" is demanded by 92 per cent of businesspeople, according to research by the Business Alliance of Slovakia. May 19th
Which offices burden business most:
Reports:
* Social Insurance Company
* Statistics Bureau SR
* Health Insurance Company
Frequent visits:
* Social Insurance Company
* Health Insurance Company
* Institutions deciding on grants and Eurofunds