Business briefs

Supreme Court upholds judge's dismissal for lack of progress on commercial cases; Paroubek favours 2010 target date for adoption of the euro; Anti-monopoly office asks fuel retailers asked to explain jump in price; State attempting to collect on fugitive billionaire's 50mn crowns in promissory notes; US and Polish investors buy Czech anti-virus software company Grisoft for $52m

Supreme Court upholds judge's dismissal for lack of progress on commercial cases

The State Supreme Court has, for the first time, dismissed a judge for failing to handle commercial cases in a timely fashion. The court found that Judge Petra Huskova of the eastern Bohemian city of Hradec Kralove had made no progress in some 22 bankruptcies and two dozen other commercial cases that had been on her docket for nearly a year. The Supreme Court's action, upholding a lower court's November 2004 decision, comes one week after the government approved a draft bankruptcy law aimed at the quicker dissolution of failed companies. According to a recent World Bank study, on average it takes more than nine years to wind down a company in the Czech Republic.

Paroubek favours 2010 target date for adoption of the euro

Photo: European Commission

Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek confirmed after a meeting with the central bank governor and the finance minister on Monday that he favours pushing back the target date for adopting the common European currency, by one year. Paroubek said he supports a 2010 target date. But the prime minister said a final decision on adopting the euro should be taken by the government in power after next year's general elections.

Anti-monopoly office asks fuel retailers asked to explain jump in prices

Photo: CTK

The Czech anti-monopoly office has asked local fuel retailers to explain the recent "steep increases" in the price of petrol and diesel. Last weekend prices at Czech filling stations rose by about 10 percent on concerns of a knock-on affect from Hurricane Katrina in the United States. The head of the anti-monopoly office has summoned officials of five leading local fuel retailers for a meeting on Friday. Chairman Martin Pecina said that his office's probe was a first step in assessing the exact causes for the jump in fuel prices.

State attempting to collect on fugitive billionaire's 50mn crowns in promissory notes

State attorneys investigating the assets of fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejcir will attempt to collect on debts owed to him. Under a new law aimed at securing the assets of suspected criminals, the state is allowed to demand payment from a suspect's creditors. Krejcir is suspected of massive tax evasion and other financial crimes. Police raided his luxury home this summer but he escaped and is thought to be in hiding abroad. Investigators have since uncovered promissory notes to Krejcir for over 50 million crowns, including a sizable loan to the president of the Marila Pribram football club.

US and Polish investors buy Czech anti-virus software company Grisoft for $52m

Intel Capital of the United States and Enterprise Investors of Poland announced this week the $52 million purchase of the Czech anti-virus software company Grisoft. The new owners said they intend to make the Brno-based company an international player. The domestic business press have suggested that a Grisoft initial public offering on the Prague Stock Exchange would be a likely first step towards that goal.