Archive of articles - June 2003, page 2

Italians look to build on the Danube

A new industrial park in Šamorín should draw €300 million in investments, mostly from Italian SMEsBY THE end of this year, the western Slovak town of Šamorín should have completed the first phase in developing an industrial park aimed primarily at attracting Italian investors.The town of 3,500 inhabitants, 25 kilometres southeast of Bratislava, is building a 50-hectare industrial park in several phases for a number of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises that intend to invest around €300 million into the project. When completed, the park should provide work for up to 500 people.

China gives Slovakia X-ray machine

Racist graffiti covers football stadium

Cartoon

Slovak students pay a price for terrorism

AS A RESULT of increased security measures introduced by the US government, many Slovak students bound for summer work placements in the US were forced to leave later than planned, causing anxiety and, in some cases, extra expense.Many participants of the Work And Travel (WAT) programme heading for the US did not receive visas granting them entry into the US before their planned departure date, an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of the programme.For those involved, the delays added significant stress to an already stressful situation.

Restaurant reviews in short

Teachers' strike hits nearly all schools

Around Slovakia

Basketballs for schools Police arrest human traffickersWine Queen crowned Longest spoon and other wondersYugoslav-made grenades explode around the capital

Italian small businesses find warm Slovak welcome

IN HIS six years as the general secretary of the Italian-Slovak Chamber of Commerce in Bratislava, Fabrizio Paoletti has seen remarkable developments in Slovakia's business environment and a boom in Italian investment projects.Since Paoletti took up his post in 1997, the number of Italian investors in Slovakia has doubled, and between 1999 and 2001, Italy moved from the eighth-largest to the fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment to the country (see table).While the majority of these have been small and medium-sized enterprises, huge investments, particularly in Slovakia's banking sector, have made Italy in the last few years Slovakia's third-largest trading partner.

Auditors blast Paralympic Committee, chide ministry

FINANCIAL watchdogs from Slovakia's Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) have found more irregularities in government agencies, issuing reports in mid June that highlighted procedural breaches in the country's Economy Ministry and "a huge number of shortcomings" in the Slovak Paralympic Committee (SPV).While the NKÚ's findings at the Economy Ministry identified a lack of proper oversight of the ministry's management of the Slovenské elektrárne electricity producer, auditors say that the SPV's marketing partner, the privately owned Horec firm, kept between 40 and 60 percent of funds collected for Slovak athletes with disabilities."The accounting and economic management [of SPV] was in such a state of decay that our auditors had to literally reconstruct certain accounting items," said NKÚ vice-chairman Igor Malý, adding that between 2000 and 2002, Sk75 million (€1.8 million) in state funds went to support the SPV.

Art Film festival ends with gongs, previews

CLOSING with a screening of all the award-winning films, the Art Film festival in the picturesque spa town of Trenčianske Teplice concludes its 11th year on Saturday June 28. Over the first weekend, it drew a crowd of more than 1,000 visitors, who mingled with the 400 special guests and 100 journalists.At the opening ceremony, two Slovak filmmakers and Armenian director Don Askarian were honoured with the Golden Camera for their contribution to film. Moreover, Artfilm's director Peter Hledík, was granted the honorary citizenship of the city of Trenčianske Teplice.Among the most popular sections of the festival was the Art Film Fest, which presented movies honoured at other festivals. Several of them will be released in Slovakia later this year, so festival-goers were offered exclusive previews of hits like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind by actor-turned-director George Clooney. The film, which stars Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, is to hit Slovak screens on July 17. Another July release will be Auto Focus from US director Paul Schrader.

Prosecutor probes alleged graft

Crime pays?

THE RELEASE of Jozef Majský from pre-trial custody on Saturday June 21 led the daily SME to publish a photo spread the following Monday showing the opulent villas of both Majský and a fellow suspect in the collapse of the BMG Invest and Horizont Slovakia, Vladimír Fruni.When younger Slovaks see the riches of men like Majský and Fruni they must be left with the impression that crime pays. Even if the men are not found guilty of any crimes when their cases eventually come to trial, the fact remains that they have built their riches on the suffering of thousands of ordinary Slovaks, some of whom lost their life savings in BMG or Horizont.Rich entrepreneurs involved in shady business deals and making money hand over fist at the expense of others frequently appear in the celebrity pages of magazines and newspapers.

State to cut payroll taxes

One day around the castle

MorningTake a walk in the arboretum (arborétum) located in the town centre, where you will find blossoming rhododendron bushes and various trees collected from all around the world.Open 24 hours. Admission: free.

Liptovský Hrádok Castle

WHEN entering the Low Tatras mountain range from the little town of Liptovský Hrádok, few visitors stop to look at the large ruins of the local medieval castle, standing on a small hill on the town's outskirts to the north. Nearby is a little lake, a remnant of the water ditches dug in the past for the castle's protection.Built in the beginning of the 14th century, this gothic castle used to be a part of a lookout system over an important merchant road leading through the valley. Originally, it was only a watchtower, then the structure was enlarged to a castle.Locals say the castle's underground structure used to link up with Likavský Castle several kilometres away and fortifications in Liptovský Ján town.

Cool water on hot summer days

LOCATED in the middle of a continent, Slovakia has no seacoast to make it a favourite summer destination. On the other hand, a handful of thermal springs scattered around the country, many enclosed in health spa centres, lure visitors the whole year round.For those who prefer to spend the summer's hot days in colder water and in a more active environment, there are around 250 natural and artificial swimming pools, including the country's large lakes and reservoirs. Many of them promise various types of entertainment for their summer visitors, such as live concerts, but not all the pools are recommended for swimming.According to Slovakia's chief sanitary inspector, there should be 39 natural and 178 artificial swimming pools in operation this year, some of which are filled with thermal water. By now, though, only three of the natural pools and 63 of the artificial ones have been granted permission to open by the State Health Institute (ŠFZÚ). The rest of the pools are still undergoing monitoring.

Tax reform praised by Italian bank

SINCE its November 2001 purchase of nearly 95 percent of Slovakia's second-largest bank, Všeobecná úverová banka (VÚB), Italy's Gruppo Banca Intesa has been working to transform the former state bank into part of a regional banking powerhouse, and to make financial services more accessible to Slovak businesses and individuals.Currently, VÚB is the Slovakia's largest bank in terms of capitalisation, and second-largest in terms of assets. On the Slovak financial-services market, VÚB holds a 22 percent share of total deposit volume and a 14 percent share of loans.Ahead of Italy taking over the EU's rotating six-month presidency on July 1, The Slovak Spectator spoke to Gianfranco Mandelli, representative of Gruppo Banca Intesa and vice chairman of VÚB's supervisory board, on the effects of EU entry on Slovakia's banking sector, the process of bank privatisation in Slovakia, and developments in the country's investment climate.

Unemployment below 15 percent