News digest: Slovakia’s big bond experiment starts today

Good evening. Here is the Monday, March 3 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in a few minutes.

Finance minister first to buy state bonds

Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer; left) while buying state bonds on Monday. (source: TASR)

On Monday, Slovakia began selling government bonds to the public, with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer) the first to buy some.

The bonds will be available for purchase throughout March. The minister stressed that the bonds should be bought only through the branches of the five banks that have agreements with the state, namely ČSOB, Slovenská Sporiteľňa, Tatra Banka, UniCredit Bank and Všeobecná Úverová Banka.

Government bonds are widely regarded as a low-risk investment, given that the probability of state default – i.e. failure to repay the principal and interest (coupons) – is minimal.

The bonds are available only to individuals over the age of 18. Minors will also be able to purchase them, but only with the accompaniment of a legal guardian. In addition, they are not restricted to residents of Slovakia; EU citizens can purchase them, too.

Click here to learn more about these bonds.

The opposition KDH criticised the move today, saying that the bonds are being sold at an interest rate that is unfavourable to Slovakia.

"If the state truly wanted to borrow money for consolidation, it could do so in a cheaper way. We consider this to be something of a marketing tool," said party MP Jozef Hajko, adding that mostly wealthier citizens will be able to afford them.

However, demand for government bonds was exceptionally high on Monday. Many investors queued outside bank branches early in the morning before opening hours. On Monday, the state sold bonds worth a total of €263 million: €140 million worth of two-year Investor bonds and €123 million of four-year Patriot bonds.

"We were very surprised by the level of interest—it has exceeded all expectations. The bonds won't be on sale for a full month, so those interested shouldn't hesitate,” said Daniel Bytčánek, head of the Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL), as quoted by Denník N.

In response, ARDAL has decided to increase the total issuance from €400 million to €500 million.

The full assessment of the issuance, including costs, will be presented in mid-April, Bytčánek added.

On the difficulties of translating 'Slovak GTA' into English

Vivat Slovakia producer Roman Lipka. (source: Team Vivat)

From the very beginning of its early access phase, the upcoming Slovak video game 'Vivat Slovakia', also nicknamed Slovak GTA, was completely in Slovak and also had English captions.

At the end of last year, the game received a complete and professional English voice-over, allowing its audience to grow and reach video game streamers from as far as Indonesia and Japan. The Slovak Spectator talked to producer Roman Lipka about how they approached localisation.

EVENT FOR FRIDAY

Night sky observation

Imagine observing the night sky from a historic castle. (source: Gabriel Kuchta)

This Friday, the Bratislava City Museum will hold night sky observation with professional equipment and experts, allowing visitors to see Mars, Jupiter, Moon and other objects in space. Gates will open at 18:30 in the evening, tickets can be bought on site. Visitors are urged to bring warm clothes and a red light torch or headlamp. Learn more here.

IN OTHER NEWS

During a Monday meeting, MP Rudolf Huliak, nominated by PM Robert Fico (Smer) for the post of Tourism and Sport Minister, presented his vision to President Peter Pellegrini. The far-right MP, formerly of SNS and now leader of the small, Russia-friendly National Coalition party, called the meeting productive, stating that there were no disagreements, while also announcing that he would attend coalition council meetings and serve as a Smer nominee. Huliak's party wants Slovakia to leave the EU and NATO. Before Huliak was proposed, Pellegrini had said he would not like a minister who would want Slovakia to leave the EU and NATO to serve in the government. However, according to Pellegrini, Huliak assured him that neither he nor his party would promote foreign policy priorities that would be in conflict with Slovakia's EU and NATO membership. The opposition Sas as party called on the president to not appoint Huliak. (TASR)
The Bratislava Public Transport Company (DPB) announced that it has ordered 60 new bi-directional trams. With 49 metres in length and a capacity of more than 380 passengers, they will be the longest trams in the history of Slovakia's public transport, and will come equipped with an anti-collision system, a supercapacitor to enable high-efficient use of energy and state-of-the-art information, communication and control systems. The trams will be produced by the consortium of Škoda Transportation, Škoda Ekova, Škoda Electric and ZOŠ Trnava. The tender for the trams was worth €397 million without VAT. (TASR)

On Sunday, the HK Spišská Nová Ves ice-hockey team based in the town of the same name won the regular season of Slovakia's top league, the Tipos Extraliga, for the second time in a row. The play-off will start soon. (source: TASR)

The Mier Ukrajine (Peace for Ukraine) initiative and several prominent Slovak figures signed an open letter to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer), appealing to the latter to "unequivocally support a coalition of countries that will promote greater security autonomy for Europe, while at the same time following the government's own programme" at the upcoming extraordinary meeting of the European Council that will discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense. They also called on the PM to commit to a strong Europe, strengthen Slovakia's defense capabilities, and increase the defense budget to at least three percent of GDP by 2027. Over the past two months, the initiative held several mass protests against what organisers claim are actions that weaken Slovakia's alliances within the European Union and NATO. (SITA, Facebook)
In regards to the upcoming extraordinary EC meeting, PM Robert Fico said that he refuses to support the war in Ukraine and as such does not agree with military or financial support for it. He also said that he will attend the parliamentary committee on European affairs ahead of the meeting and ask it to approve the stance that he will present. According to him, the Slovak government will propose an immediate ceasefire, a halt to the killing and the start of peace negotiations with the USA, Russia and Ukraine. The PM also said the Slovak government agrees with increasing the defence capabilities of the EU and Europe as a whole. (TASR)
If the Slovak Ice-hockey Federation (SZLH) is chosen to hold the 2029 world championship, the city of Košice is interested in organising the event and meet requirements regarding the reconstruction of its Steel Arena. The eastern Slovak city claims that countries that competed in the 2011 and 2019 events were satisfied. In addition to the eastern Slovak city, both world championships also took place in Bratislava. (TASR)