Archive of articles - May 1998, page 3

What s Happening in Bratislava

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Tired of fried fare, take a night out in the Orient

Tsing TaoShanghaiHua Li KongJasminHong KongTokyo, Japanese restaurant

Slovak industrial firms say March output up

Troubled IRB bank approves capital injection

An extraordinary shareholders meeting (EGM) of Investičná a rozvojová banka (Investment and Development Bank - IRB) approved on April 29 a basic capital increase by 2.0 billion Sk ($58 million). The capital infusion is expected to be provided by Slovakia's largest financial institutions, Slovenská Poisťovňa (SP) and Slovenská Sporiteľňa (SLSP), both of which are controlled by the state."I believe that shareholders today made the first step towards the recovery of the bank," said Dušan Krkoška, IRB's caretaker administrator who had been imposed by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS).Krkoška continued that SLSP, the biggest Slovak savings bank, and SP, the biggest Slovak insurer, were "candidates for a capital increase at IRB," adding that no foreign investors had officially expressed any interest in buying into IRB.

Bystrica: A view with a catch

A word to the wise: if you have a problem with heights, you might want to pass up eating in this shaky, moving, Communist-inspired monstrosity.The New Bridge (Nový Most) was built 24 years ago, and with its revolving Bystrica restaurant was an architectural marvel in its day. It's unfortunate that no one has thought to refurbish the inside of the restaurant since then. If you're lucky enough to find the entrance (go to the river, locate the bridge capped by a UFO-shaped disc and follow the graffiti across a pedestrian walkway over the Danube), and if you manage to survive the elevator ride (which ascends as much laterally as vertically and costs 10 Sk a head), you'll find yourself stepping back into 1974.

Slovak Insurance dominates insurance, finance and investment markets

The Slovak Insurance Company (SP) holds the dominant position on the insurance market with a 60 % share. According to Edita Bukovská, SP President, the increased competitiveness in insurance has not harmed SPs position. The company is especially helped by long-term contracts with 4.5 million Slovak citizens in a wide range of insurance products. SP's activities range from insurance to finance and investment.The Slovak insurance market in 1997 totaled 17.2 billion Slovak crowns (Sk) ($521 million). This sum was vied for by 24 insurance companies, but none came close to the 10.4 billion Sk ($ 315 million) that SP pulled in. Bukovska told a group of students at the Economic University in Bratislava that an increase in competition had been good for SP.

Privatization scapegoats

In defence of Slovak RadioThe recent controversy surrounding an interview given by US Ambassador to Slovakia Ralph Johnson for the International Service of Slovak Radio (RSI) offered a very clear glimpse of the kinds of pressures faced by journalists at state media institutions.László Juházs, a radio journalist in RSI's english section, performed the interview with Ambassador Johnson, and then submitted it to his boss, Helga Dingová. Dingová edited the script, cutting about three minutes of comments that she felt to be too critical of Slovakia. RSI, after all, presents Slovakia's face to the radio world, and does not go looking for negative stories about the country.

Community Grapevine

Doprastav rides government's highway plan to profits

The government's ambitious highway construction program has put Doprastav managers on the road to success. Leading the pack of Slovak highway construction companies, Doprastav has won contracts on about two thirds of highways already under construction or about to be started.In 1997, the highway program dominated the company's construction activities. Of the company's total construction output, over 83% came from highway construction.

State of the insurance racket

The enormous growth in the insurance industry in post-communist Slovakia - up 3.5 billion Sk ($103 million) in 1997 alone - hasn't followed the same patterns found in western Europe.Only 28% of collected premiums in Slovakia relate to life insurance, compared to 50% for their neighbors in the west.Life insurance is a new concept for people that are used to the state's taking care of them in retirement or sickness, and looking after their families in case of death. Instead of insuring their lives, Slovaks have opted to secure their property.

Another agency downgrades Slovakia's risk indicator

Unilever Slovakia's 1997 profits soar

Around Slovakia

Bomb threats cause chaos at train stationAnother bomb threatPension owners quarrel over the Pope

Stranded in the midst of internal change, Slovak Radio seeks journalistic integrity

Recent personnel changes at Slovak Radio (SRo) and its affiliate, Radio Slovakia International (RSI), have led to a more conservative programming policy, and have triggered accusations that journalistic integrity is being sacrificed to election-year politics. As popular wisdom has it, state-controlled media outlets are always manipulated by governments for spreading propaganda.Radio experts concede that threats to objectivity exist, but maintain that SRo's market dominance has not so far been abused by the government for partisan aims, unlike state-run Slovak Television. Instead, they argue, Slovak Radio has displayed a commitment to objective reportage, and has kept its distance from the political fight that has polarized the country's print media.

New Daewoo auto plant brings jobs to Piešťany

If you pass through Piešťany by train, you'll probably see dozens of rail wagons stacked with sparkling new cars. Look closely and you'll see an insignia that is becoming ubiquitous in Central Europe - Daewoo's seashell-shaped logo. Why are all these cars parked on the side tracks of the Piešťany railway station?Daewoo Motor Slovakia is building a new 100 million Sk ($3.03 million) operation and service center in Piešťany. "Due to the big sales volume [of Daewoo cars] in 1996 and 1997, we need to satisfy our customers," said Peter Halgaš, Marketing Manager for Daewoo Motor Slovakia, which currently operates out of a rented facility in Piešťany. "This demands [a new center]."

Market thinning on losses to Slovnaft, Slovakofarma

During the two weeks ending April 29, the market lost 1.4% of its volume, while the SAX index fell to an all-time low of 130.67 on April 30, driven down mostly by losses to two major blue chips closely observed by foreign investors. Slovnaft lost 6.2% to close at 780 Sk and Slovakofarma lost 0.7% and closed at 4,070 Sk. Sharp price declines for Váhostav (28.3%) and Železiarne Podbrezová (16.7%) are also worth noticing.Nafta, the gas storage company, recorded total operating revenues of 3.597 billion Sk in 1997, down 1.8% compared to 1996. Sales increased by 1.1% to reach 3,079 million Sk, while drilling and construction works declined by 19.2% to 464 million Sk. A sharp decline in the latter was partially caused by a slowing of construction work on Pozagas, Nafta's storage joint-venture with SPP and Gas de France.

United HZDS vows to win election

The ruling government party of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar threw down the gauntlet at an April 25-26 party congress in the eastern Slovak city of Košice. The party's election strategy, declared Mečiar, was very simple this time around - win at all costs."We have no other alternative but to win the elections [set for September 25 and 26]," Mečiar told a press conference shortly before the seventh annual congress of his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) drew to a close. "Our aim is to win half the mandates in Parliament."Past and present party insiders say that the HZDS's obsession with electoral victory has blinded it to internal divisions and has alienated parts of Slovak society. But the party faithful respond that they are united behind their leader, and that the support of the Slovak electorate will be secured by an electoral program that relies on careful management of its media image and a carrot and stick approach to regional state bodies.

Eye on Vienna