Archive of articles - August 1996, page 5

Bratislava International Cuisine

No, it can't be legislated

lovakia, along with other countries of central and, in particular, western Europe, is experiencing an alarming decline in its birth rate. This trend is being studied by experts, but so far the public has not been sufficiently informed about the problem. And the little that has filtered through has left people indifferent to the issue. The Roman Catholic church has begun to direct the media's attention to the problem recently, aware of concerns about the "extinction of the nation." These worries are shared by the experts, but the Church's views on possible solutions to the problem deserve further comment.

Olympic glory for Liptovský Mikuláš

Perhaps nowhere were the celebrations of Slovakia's first independent Summer Olympic team more euphoric than in Liptovský Mikuláš. Despite driving rain, 2,000 of this central Slovak town's 30,000 residents -including the mayor - came out to welcome home their beloved canoeists, led by gold medal winner Michal Martikán. The 17-year-old Martikán, who said he had never seen so many of the townsfolk in one place before, is one of seven out of Slovakia's 10 Olympic slalom canoeists and kayakers that train with the club KTK Dukla Liptoský Mikuláš. All seven locals finished in the top 19 against the best in the world and three finished in the top 10. Ján Piaček, the club's secretary, said the athletes' success filled the entire club with pride. In addition to Martikán, he highlighted Gabriela Brosková's fifth place finish as "the greatest success in her life."

Foreign currency reserves declined since the beginning of 1996

Construction on the rise

Construction output this June exceeded June 1995 by 5.1 percent, while the daily average output was 15.6 percent higher, Národná obroda reported. For the first six months of this year, construction output reached 25.8 billion Sk, 2.3 percent more than in the same period last year. Of this, domestic construction increased 7.4 percent and construction abroad declined by 27 percent. The proportion of new buildings to total construction output increased by 3.4 points to 77.3 percent.Highways boost DoprastavThe Bratislava-based construction firm Doprastav increased its payroll by 500 employees during the first half of 1996, thanks to a 56 percent increase in work over 1995, Práca reported. The firm's projects - most of which were highway construction financed from the state budget - had a total value of more than 900 million Sk.

Slovak cultural center opens in Hungary

Russian help for the future Slovak National Airline

Chemosvit to start Ukrainian joint venture

VÚB Kupón still without strategic owner

The Slovak capital market has slowed down for the summer. Trading volume have been low and prices haven't changed dramatically. VÚB Kupón dominated floor trading at the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSE), continuing its long upward trend and reaching 775 Sk. The present discount of 40% is one of the lowest of BSE listed funds. This fund still does not have a strategic owner, and therefore we expect that it will remain in strong demand. Chemolak has firmed above 1,950 Sk as a result of increased investor interest. The OTC market was the scene of several transfers of Drôtovňa shares at prices between 1,000 Sk and 1,330 Sk per share, considerably higher than its listed price. More than 35% of this company has recently been transferred.