Business News

In Business news: ČEZ generates nearly one third less hydropower; Czechs are among the EU countries that least abuse European funds; Prague taxi-drivers are not the worst in the country; almost one third of large customers change their electricity provider; and the best selling non-fiction book in the country is about the economy.

ČEZ generates 26 percent less hydropower

The major Czech energy producer, ČEZ, produced 114 gigawatt hours of electricity in its hydropower plants in the first half of 2009, which was 26 percent less year-on-year. The head of the company’s renewable resources division said the output covers the consumption of some 65,000 households in that period. ČEZ owns 21 hydropower plants; the firm is planning to open a new hydro plant by mid 2010 and invest into modernization of the existing ones to increase their efficiency. The Czech Republic has more than 200 hydropower plants that last year produced more than 2300 gigawatt hours. Experts say however that the capacity for this type of power plant in the country has reached its limit.

OLAF: Czechs among the nations that least abuse EU funds

The Czech Republic is one of the EU member states that least abuse European funds, according to the annual report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) for 2008 released on Thursday. The office registered two cases of fraud in the Czech Republic last year. One of them, involving funds for the renovation of a chateau in Moravia, is now being tried in court. The other is a customs fraud. Among the worst EU countries in this respect are Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Romania and the UK. A vast majority of the cases are related to agricultural subsidies.

The biggest Czech baking firm United Bakeries up for sale

The Czech Republic’s largest baking firm United Bakeries, is up for sale, Czech Radio reported on Thursday. The company’s owners hope to get some three billion crowns, or more than 160 million US dollars, although experts believe the actual value of United Bakeries is lower than that. The firm has around 25 percent of the Czech bread market and produces more than 730 million bread rolls each year. A key player on the Czech food market, the Agrofert Group, is rumoured to be interested in acquiring the company. If the deal is made, Agrofert would have roughly a 40 percent share of the market.

One third of corporate customers change electricity supplier

Nearly one third of corporate customers in the Czech Republic changed their electricity supplier in 2008, according to government figures released on Thursday. Some 0.3 percent of Czech households changed their suppliers last year which however represents a 70-percent increase. Analysts says that while there are enough electricity traders catering to large companies and corporations, only about ten such firms offer these services to small companies and households.

Prague taxi drivers not worst in the country

The infamous taxi drivers of Prague are not the worst in the country, suggests a series of surveys carried out by the Czech Trade Inspection in the second quarter of 2009. While in Prague, some 37 percent of the drivers breached regulations, mostly failing to inform customers about the price; as many as 83 percent of cab drivers checked broke the rules in the regions of Vysočina and South Bohemia, followed by southern Moravia and the region of Zlín in the east of the country.

“Economy of Good and Evil” tops best-selling non-fiction list

“Economy of Good and Evil”, a book by economist Tomáš Sedláček, has been at the top of the list of best-selling Czech non-fiction books for the second week in a row. The book offers an original take on the economy and its development from ancient times to the present while presenting some interesting ideas our ancestors had about property, utility, and commonwealth. Tomáš Sedláček is chief strategist for the ČSOB Bank and a member of the government’s economic council. He was also an advisor to former president Václav Havel.