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Trade links with Ukraine and Russia continue to be promoted by the Czech state in spite of the greater risks for business with both countries. Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek says the contracts there can often be more worthwhile and offer higher earnings to companies.

Just a few years ago unmanned drones were used primarily by the military or a niche hobby; today, novinky.cz writes, the situation has changed, with plenty of firms producing unmanned flying devices hoping to profit generously. What’s more, the government is aiming to create a special test area in Brdy, a former military zone south of Prague. The site could be used by both state institutions and private firms.

Innovative Taiwanese mobile, tablet, and camera maker HTC is focused on setting up its Europe-wide service centre in the Czech Republic with around 1,000 hi-tech jobs hanging on a final decision.

A Czech engineering company is hoping that the completion of a new Ethiopian brewery will be a calling card for a lot more business on the African continent as it looks to diversify sales out of Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Chinese tourists are spending big money on their foreign travels and countries with tourist industries are vying to attract their attention. The Czech Republic, which recently “reset “relations with China, is among the contenders, with plans to introduce a direct air connection between Prague and Beijing and cultural exchanges focused on highlighting the many tourist attractions of the Czech capital.

Around eight million foreign tourists came to the Czech Republic last year, 3.5 percent more than in 2013, according to freshly released figures from the Czech Statistics Agency. There was a marked decline in visitors from Eastern Europe but that fall was offset by a jump in travelers from China and South Korea. The overall upswing has been chiefly attributed to the weakness of the Czech currency, the crown.

The government has signed a three way agreement which paves the way for the biggest Czech car maker to expand its local production.

The diversified business empire of Karel Komárek is having its fair share of problems from being frozen of the Russian oil business to failing to make the hoped for impact as a gas and electricity retailer on the Czech market. In adversity comes opportunity might be the new catchphrase for his optimistic managers.

A balancing act between social and revenue goals has been trod by the Ministry of Finance in putting together a proposal for how to tax the multifaceted gaming sector. Not surprisingly, most of the main players do not appear too happy about the figures that it has come up with.

Property as an investment not as a place to live: the phenomenon of buy to rent, and other variations along the same theme, has long been a facet of richer, more developed, real estate markets such as Britain and France. But it now appears to be taking on in the Czech Republic as well.