Archive of articles - May 1997, page 2

Slovakofarma tabs Nomura for stock issue

Slovak mob redirects terror strategy toward cops

Unsuccessful police raids in Žilina in retaliation for the brutal murder of one young policeman at the end of April are causing some to wonder whether the raid squads are doing their jobs properly, or, more ominously, whether they are part of the criminal underworld carrying out the attacks.The police retaliation was a reaction to what is widely perceived as the latest violent uprising by Slovakia's criminal underground. But unlike before, when mob elements surfaced to vent their fatal fury on fellow mobsters, the latest killings indicate that organized crime has redirected its campaign of death and destruction to upholders of the law.

Hewlett-Packard bounds into market

With the domestic computer market growing by leaps and bounds, Hewlett-Packard (HP), the American personal computer and printer company, is stepping up its marketing activities in Slovakia by setting up a direct branch office to meet this demand. At stake are the huge contracts from heavy industrial companies, banks and government ministries. The numbers tell the tale. Compared to 1994 when only 1,560 computers and peripherals were shipped to Slovakia, 1996 saw 6,960 computers sent to Slovakia according to a survey by the International Data Center in Prague.With the office start-up, HP is directly applying its world-wide strategy for marketing personal computers (PC's) and peripheral equipment to Slovakia. This strategy of utilizing authorized channel partners, such as distributors, dealers and realtors and staying away from direct sales has paid off.

Abstain from Parlamentka or table it

If you are politicking in this town and want to see who's dining with whom, then Parlamentka is the place. If you are looking for a good meal though, go to a different restaurant. Surprisingly, Parlamentka just doesn't deliver. For starters, a restaurant located at the top of the hill between the castle and Parliament should offer a great view. Unfortunately this doesn't happen if you are sitting - you cannot see the view across the Danube unless you stand outside near the railing.What is also funny is that the restaurant is located on the ground floor of a two-story building which also houses a disco, a coffee bar and two daily bars - clearly not ideal for diners who want to at least glance at something out there. Other than these minor things, let's talk turkey - meaning food.

The Spotlight

Slovakia's future energy rests on nuclear technology

Slovakia's energy future is centered around the technological development of the Mochovce nuclear power plant, 120 kilometers east of Bratislava. The project, likely to cost around 50 billion Sk ($1.6 billion), has always been hotly disputed for economic and safety reasons.Long after the radioactive fallout ended, the political and public relations fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine hangs like a pall over any discussion on atomic or nuclear reactors. Therefore, safety has been an increasingly pressing concern. According to Jozef Mišak, Chairman of the Slovak Nuclear Regulatory Authority, these concerns have caused completion costs to jump 20-fold in the past few years.

Getting a green card is no laughing matter in Slovakia

If you think you can fool Slovak immigration agents with a couple of lame Polaroid photos just like Gérard Depardieu did in "La Carte Verde," you better forget it, because the green card story is more like a red tape story here.That's because the nature of the green card game has changed, as Slovak bureaucracy has started to enforce the legalities stemming from changes to the immigration law passed two years ago. "Many of these requirements were stated in the 1995 law," said Beáta Kozmonová, co-owner of Enterprise Resources International, a company that has helped foreigners arrange long-term or short-term stays in Slovakia for the past four years. "But before they were not interpreted as strictly."As an example, Kozmonová cited the case of a client who lost his green card and didn't report it to the police. When time came to extend his long-term stay permit, he confessed that he had lost it sometime before.

SlSp. posts 401.6 mill. Sk net profit

Majority, minority owners file suits at Figaro AGM

Once again, the sticky dispute between majority and minority shareholders of Jacobs Suchard Figaro, Slovakia's confectionery giant, has come unglued as each side has filed lawsuits against the other.This latest episode marked another chapter in the nearly three-year battle between Figaro's small owners and the company itself. But it's taken on a larger context, since Figaro's majority owners are composed of a layer of conglomerates stretching from Jacobs Suchard Figaro to Kraft Jacobs Suchard up to Phillip Morris. Thus, many see this tussle as a high-profile clash of interests between a multinational company seeking to build and consolidate its strength and small investors seeking regular returns.Kraft Jacobs Suchards's (KJS) decision at Figaro's May 7 Annual General Meeting (AGM) not to pay dividends for the fourth year in a row angered the company's minority owners and puzzled at least one analyst.

Slovakia in car talks with Japan

Firm hunts for electrical, power generation growth

The Swiss-Swedish conglomerate Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) is one of the world's largest corporations, specializing in power generation, power transmission and distribution, and industrial and building systems. Not only is it big, it's immensely profitable: last year ABB's worldwide network recorded $36.3 billion in revenue and a pre-tax profit of $2 billion.While ABB is big globally, it's relatively new to Slovakia, setting up its first representative office in Banská Bystrica in 1991. But since then the company has moved fast, founding three daughter companies and consolidating all of its operations into a holding group. ABB Slovenergia (formerly ABB-PBS Montáže), one of the daughter firms, specializes in the delivery, installation, service and modernization of power generation equipment. ABB EZ provides services for electrical equipment and engineering. ABB Stotz is a manufacturing and trading company for low voltage appliances and electrical installation materials.

How I survived the Danube Marathon - barely

In recent years, the distance of 42.2 kilometers has become known around the world as that of the "standard marathon." But as any marathon runner will tell you, there is still very little about the race that conforms to an international "standard" save the absurd distance.The 7th running of the Danube Marathon illustrated this irregularity. Though scrupulously normal in length, its unique character will be difficult to forget. The late-April weather arrived in its tricolor best - damp, dismal and dour - with an intermittent downpour as its double-cross emblem. "I can't understand it," groused a female competitor, among the 947 who huddled at the start line. "It was just beautiful yesterday and now it's like this."The rest of her complaint was obscured by the hiss of rain on the tarmac and the hectoring voice that bellowed the countdown from the loudspeakers in Inter Slovnaft Stadium. And then we were off, at 3 p.m. on April 26, 1997, a day which, if not the nastiest of all time, was at least the nastiest so far.

Nature's treasures are hidden deep in Slovenský Raj

Dense forest spreads across the hilly eastern face of the Low Tatras, hiding an unique natural paradise. The national park that protects this area carries that very name, Slovakia's Paradise (Slovenský Raj).Bustling streams shoot through high rock walls often tumbling over abrupt endings. Steel ladders and chains dripping with wet spray navigate these gorges and allow hikers to dive deep into the park. Fallen timber has also been shaped by man to give a foothold bridging difficult gaps and tricky bends. Life is abundant as trees jettison out of cliff faces, roots dangle from eroded rock, and underbrush tangles the path.From the Dobšina ice cave, there is quick and easy access to the wonders of Slovenský Raj. Two tiny villages, Dedinky and Mlynky - tucked in the folding hills - provide lodging, camping, food, tourist information and transport in and out of the southern end of the park.

Referendum may not decide everything

As some three million Slovak citizens went to the polls on May 24-25 to vote on a series of questions regarding Slovakia's NATO membership, they knew that their votes would be unambiguous and decisive in dictating how their country's foreign policy would be handled for years to come.But a separate issue asking Slovaks whether they want to elect their country's president may not be decided definitively by this vote, as Slovakia's Constitutional Court refused to rule on the cabinet's contention that a referendum on the president's direct election is unconstitutional.On April 22, Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar's cabinet turned to the court in an attempt to knock the direct presidential election question off the ballot. Opposition deputies said that the cabinet was trying to thwart the referendum and criticized it for putting the court under severe time constraints, pointing out that even cases tagged as 'urgent' generally take the court more than three months to decide.

3 billion Sk deficit in banking sector expected

The beginning of the May 5 week saw another beginning in the bi-weekly cycle of banks having to meet minimum reserve requirements (PMR) as stipulated by the central bank. The banking sector needed only 36.413 billion Sk to meet the requirement at the start, meaning that a 4.2 billion Sk balance was in excess.Overnight rates dropped the most as a result of the surplus, but there were also decreases in the one-week and two-week rates. Long-term deposits up to six months, however, remained stable at about 17.90/18.40% p.a..The slight downward trend in interbank rates continued until May 8, when the Ministry of Finance released a new issue of government treasury bills. In all, mostly banks snapped up bids worth 2.2 billion Sk with an average yield of 14.21% p.a., but that outpaced the 3.4 billion Sk demand. As a result of the ministry's action, overnight, one-week and two-week deposits all showed gains, while longer-term rates (2-6 months) went down.

Slovak companies are slow to harness Internet's vast marketing potential

Slovak companies are eager to adopt the Internet as a means to reach potential investors, but are failing to exploit the new medium profitably because they lack enough know-how, according to a private survey of 250 central European companies on usage of the Internet.The new study ranks roughly 35 Slovak businesses among the least equipped in the region to productively adapt their business strategies to the Internet, increasingly seen as a key world-wide marketing tool."Slovak companies have done poorly" in using the Internet to optimal advantage, said the report's author, Scott McQuade, a Vienna-based financial journalist and communications consultant from New Zealand, based on research he carried out between September and November last year.

Doing research is your key to being prepared

The first part of any effective marketing plan is situation analysis. This provides the foundation for deciding on appropriate marketing objectives, strategies and plans. Research tells you why these recommendations are right. Without it, you operate blindly.Situation analysis requires research in these areas:1. Market Definition- A description of the market for the product(s) or service(s).2. Market Segmentation- Who are the buyers and users? Size of segments.3. Macroanalysis- Economic, social, political factors affecting the business.4. Microanalysis- Sales, trends, marketing mix (product, price, promotion, distribution, packaging, target customer) for the firm and competitors.5. SWOT- Firm's strengths/weaknesses, market opportunities/threats.6. Customer Profile- Customer needs, habits, buying patterns, attitudes.

Devín Banka general director resigns as part of bank shake-up

The Slovak Spectator has learned from well-informed sources that the general director of Devín Banka, Karol Martinka, tendered his resignation in early May.Employees at the bank, based in Bratislava, have been banned from providing any information surrounding Martinka's status at the bank. According to Pavol Hanzel, Devín Banka's marketing division director, official information can be provided only after the general shareholders' meeting scheduled for May 26 in Martin. He did say, though, that for the time being, Martinka is on vacation.But Hanzel indirectly confirmed Martinka's departure when he said that the head of Devín Banka's legal division, Milan Markovič, had been appointed to manage the bank.

Bratislava's top spots for Outdoor Drinking

Spring finally arrived this month with temperatures soaring into the high 20s Celsius beckoning revelers to come outdoors and stay there long after dark. Bratislava doesn't offer many places to quaff away the night under the stars, but these are our favorites. To make our list, we had three criteria: atmosphere, atmosphere, and more atmosphere.