Czech GDP rockets in first quarter of 2000

New official figures show the Czech Republic's GDP growing by a remarkable 4.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2000. This was the fourth GDP increase in succession and the fastest acceleration since the end of 1996, exceeding even the most optimistic forecasts. While the Social Democrat government is rejoicing over an economic revival that has apparently occurred under its tenure, sceptics point out that our Central European neighbours, Poland and Hungary, actually enjoy a 50-percent higher growth rate. Economic analysts however do believe that these figures mark a definitive end to the economic recession in the Czech Republic. Vladimir Tax spoke to Pavel Capouch from Venture Investors.