Archive of articles - March 2002

Reader feedback: West must warn about HZDS

Sario vows pro-active investment policy

THE SARIO investment agency has said it is preparing an active investment strategy with the Economy Ministry that will target specific potential foreign investors rather than waiting for investors to take the first step.In an article in the weekly Trend, Sario head Artur Bobovnický said Slovakia, despite last year's passage of key legislation on 10-year tax breaks and industrial parks, was still being bypassed by investors in favour of other central European countries where the rules were more transparent."In Slovakia the state is still not able to tell investors what they could receive," he said.

Corporate lending rises

First Roma compensated by Germany

C/A deficit down in January

SE wants Sk7.3 billion bond issue

Border murderer from Ukraine?

Conflict over ombudsman

RECENT media reports have suggested that the newly elected ombudsman, Pavel Kandráč, has a conflict of interests because of his involvement in a private company.Kandráč co-owns the Vortex Holding company with his son, but denies this is in conflict with his public function. Until recently he was a member of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS).The ombudsman said to the daily Pravda that "this company is not functional, it never did and never will carry out any business activities.

Amslico beats written premium targets

Slovakia wins case on EU tax chapter

SLOVAKIA has closed a key European Union entry 'chapter', winning important concessions from Brussels on transition periods for taxes.Following 15 months of negotiations Slovakia closed the taxation chapter in the acquis communautaire - a pre-accession legal harmonisation document - on March 21.Ján Figeľ, Slovakia's chief negotiator for EU entry, announced that the country had been granted several transition periods on taxes, guaranteeing lower tax rates on gas, electricity, and distilled spirits for a number of years after entry into the Union.

Moonshine and smuggling rises

Agro sector deficit stubbornly high

Advertising market grows 10 per cent

SPP earnings up Sk1.5 billion

Top Pick: Big in Trenčín

FOREVER YOUNG, a well-known pop song Slovaks used to sing with the whole world in the 1980s, is on its way back to Slovakia. The German band Alphaville, now on their Miracle Healing Tour around Europe, will appear at the Sport Stadium in the western Slovak town of Trenčín on April 5.Named after a Jean Luc Godard film, the band was formed in 1981 by band members Marian Gold and Bernhard Lloyd. A year later the band held its second concert, which was to be its last for the next 10 years. The decision against live concerts was made to allow the band to concentrate on its studio work.

Paying with plastic becoming popular

Domestic violence gets attention

SINCE the beginning of March, cabinet has approved two out of six revisions to the country's Civil and Criminal Codes with the aim of improving legal tools for victims of domestic violence.If all goes well in a parliamentary vote next month, all six laws will be effective as of July 2002. But even if the laws are passed, women's advocates say there will still be a lot of work to be done, especially in making judges, police, and the wider public more sensitive to domestic violence.On March 13, the cabinet approved a proposal by the Parliamentary Education Committee which introduces a seven-day deadline for issuing a court order banning a domestic violence aggressor from approaching within five meters of his victim. Until now, courts have often taken months to award this basic protection.

ING profits double in 2001

ING SLOVAKIA, a branch of ING Nationale-Nederlanden, has announced 2001 profits of Sk193 million, a 114 per cent year-on-year growth. The group also announced the introduction of an Internet portal designed to unify on-line banking and insurance services for its clients.ING's insurance branch achieved a 13.5 per cent share of the Slovak life insurance market and controlled 6 per cent of the aggregate commercial insurance market, ranking it fifth among the county's commercial insurers. The company also recorded 19,500 new policies last year, bringing its total to 127,707.After paying indemnities of Sk250 million last year, ING closed 2001 with technical reserves of Sk3.2 billion, said general director for retail services in Slovakia and the Czech Republic Ewout Steenbergen.

Trade deficit covered