In Business News: Financial assets of Czech households grew at steady six percent rate annually over five years; Czech companies get ready for Shanghai trade fair; confidence survey suggests overwhelming majority of German firms happy with investing in Czech Republic; gold mining could be renewed at a location in the Jeseníky Mountains.
Financial assets of Czech households grew by six percent annually on average over five years
Photo: Filip Jandourek
Financial assets of Czech households grew by six percent annually on average in the previous five years and reached the equivalent of 194 billion US dollars in 2014, according to the Global Wealth Report by The Boston Consulting Group which was released earlier this week. The study ranked 63 countries. Among the financial assets included in the study are cash, bank deposits, mutual funds, shares, and pension and life insurance. Five percent of the richest Czechs own 45 percent of the total financial wealth, compared with 48 percent in Poland, 49 percent in Slovakia, 52 percent in Germany and 77 percent in the United States. Assets worth over 100,000 US dollars are owned by 200,000 Czech households, that is around 5 percent. Some 10,000 Czech households (0.2 percent) are dollar millionaires.
Czech firms gear up for Shanghai trade fair
More than 60 Czech firms are gearing up for a technology trade fair to be held in Shanghai, China, next week. In all, some 900 exhibitors are taking part. The Czech Republic is the main international partner, meaning Czech companies should benefit with regards to the most advantageous and most prestigious floor space. Jaroslav Tvrdík, the head of the Czech-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that China was interested in automobile and plane manufacture, engineering projects as well as biotech and nanotechnology.
Confidence survey suggests German firms happy to have chosen to invest in Czech Republic
A confidence survey conducted by the Czech-German Chamber of Commerce suggests that a vast majority of German firms investing in the country would pick the Czech Republic again. According to results released by the chamber this week, 92 percent of investing companies replied in the affirmative. Two-thirds of the companies assessed the current economic situation in the Czech Republic as satisfactory and 29 percent replied it was in good shape – almost double the number of firms compared with last year's survey. The number of companies describing the current economic situation as bad dropped to 7 percent this year; the figure last fell below the 10 percent mark in 2008. Previously, almost 20 percent of the respondents assessed the situation as bad.
Gold mining could resume at Jeseníky mountains location, under ministry proposal
Photo: Czech Television
The Czech Industry and Trade Ministry announced this week it had prepared a new proposal for renewed mining of metals including gold; Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mládek made the announcement this week. The town of Zlaté Hory in the Jeseníky mountain range is one area where mining could be renewed, Mládek told journalists. The town’s mayor, Milan Rác, said the renewed activity would help the district which suffers from 11 percent unemployment. The state-run company Diamo has been commissioned to work out a feasibility study on gold mining in the area.
Historically, mining in Zlaté Hory began at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. It was halted there in the mid-1990s. At that time the gold price was about $270 per ounce, while now the price is $1,300, according to the minister. Diamo has estimated gold deposits in the vicinity of Zlaté hory could range from three to nine tonnes.
Authorities uncover ten tons of salmonella-tainted poultry from Poland
Illustrative photo: Barbora Kmentová
The authorities have uncovered more than ten tons of poultry from neighbouring Poland containing salmonella bacteria. According to the spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration, the tainted meat from the same supplier made its way to shelves at three locations: Louny, Baška near Frýdek-Místek and Sadská near Nymburk. The authorities ordered the immediate removal of deep frozen boneless chicken by the distribution company – which could face a fine of up to one million crowns.
