Archive: Business | Business

The EPGC investment group owned by Czech Daniel Křetínský and Slovak Patrik Tkáč, has submitted a public offer for the German business group Metro. Reuters reported that EPGC had said in a press release that it was offering amounts for shares that valued Metro at EUR 5.8 billion.

The bid is contingent on EPCG reaching sufficient shares to take control of Metro, a spokesperson for the former said.

Reuters said the investment was part of Mr. Křetínský’s strategy of diversifying his holding into the food and retail sectors. He already owns the tabloid Blesk and Sparta football club.

Plans were recently revealed for a major, and striking looking, development project that would transform part of Prague’s Žižkov district. However, a conservation group has now come out against the design, which is the work of the top Czech architect Eva Jiřičná.

Prague is catching up with West European real estate markets, the daily e15 reports, citing a new survey released by PriceWaterhouseCooper and the Urban Land Institute, carried out among developers and investors. According to the 2019 report, Prague is one of the 20 most sought after cities in Europe for real estate purchases.

Up to 25,000 people could be living in Prague 7‘s Bubny neighbourhood, at least according to a study commissioned by Prague City Hall, whose results were announced at a press conference of Tuesday.

Turnover of the Czech Republic’s 100 largest companies last year for the first time exceeded three trillion crowns (around 118 billion euros), according to the Association Top 100. Meanwhile, their profits grew by 12.3 percent year-on-year to over 209 billion crowns.

Car maker Škoda Auto again won the annual contest for the best-rated 100 companies in the Czech Republic, which made both the highest sales and profits, followed by Daniel Křetínský’s energy holding EPH and the energy giant ČEZ.

This May some 88 companies went belly up, the highest number of bankruptcies in two and a half years, according to the Czech Credit Bureau (CRIF). The figure is up by 35 compared to April.

Last month 551 people in business for themselves also declared bankruptcy, the highest number since May 2018.

Despite the relatively high number of bankruptcies in May, their number continues to decline in the long term, CRIF analyst Věra Kameníčková said, commenting on the figures.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of China’s crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Radio Prague spoke to Filip Jirouš, coordinator the China-watching think tank Sinopsis, about the politics behind some of the more controversial aspects of business dealings between the countries. A harsh critic of China’s sweeping Belt and Road Initiative, to which the Czech Republic has signed on, and the main Chinese investment vehicle here, CEFC, he further argues allowing Huawei to roll out the 5G network would be a disaster.

Czech breweries exported a record 5.16 million hectolitres of beer last year, an increase of over 11 percent in 2018, the Czech Beer and Malt Association reported this week. For the first time in history, the volume of beer in tanks and kegs surpassed bottled and canned beer.

A recent conference on business and investment opportunities in Africa organized by the Czech Foreign Ministry, focused on innovative forms of investment and modern technologies. Titled “Creative, Innovative and Participative Africa” the event brought together ambassadors and business representatives, underlining Czech interest in establishing new partnerships and projects on the African continent. I spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa about the opportunities opening up, the risks involved and what the Czech government is doing to help

Czech doctors and medical experts are helping abroad. Within the government program MEDEVAC they provide urgent humanitarian aid in countries such as Jordan and Ukraine. You can also find medical devices Made in Czechia all over the world. This small country is definitely punching above its weight on the global scene when it comes to health expertise and technology.