Business briefs

Taiwanese to build 20bn euro plant in Ostrava, CSA seeks to lure home Americans of Eastern European decent, Polish venture capital group opens Prague office, and the value of Czech striker Baros up five-fold

Business briefs

Taiwanese to build 20bn euro plant in Ostrava

The Taiwan-based IT firm ASUSTeK Computer will build a 20 million euro production and repair centre in North Moravia's Ostrava-Hrabova industrial zone. The new plant will employ at least 1,300 people, approximately 350 of whom will work at the service centre, which demands highly-qualified specialists. The computer company will work in close cooperation with the nearby Technical University of Ostrava.

CSA to lure home Americans of eastern European decent

Czech Airlines has hired the New York-based agency Global Advertising Strategies to handle two ad campaigns for the United States this year. The first with the "Letter from Home" theme will target Americans of Central and Eastern European descent living in key markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The other will reach out to the growing number of U.S. business people regularly visiting Prague and other capital cities in the region.

Polish venture capital group opens Prague office

The Polish venture-capital group MCI has opened a subsidiary in Prague, its first foreign branch to date. MCI is looking to invest in "innovative IT, Internet and mobile enterprises with regional expansion in their development strategies," the Interfax news agency reported. MCI plans to make investments on the Czech and Slovak markets worth about 300,000 euros apiece, with an eye towards exiting the companies after floating initial public offerings.

Value of Czech striker Baros up five-fold

Milan Baros, photo: CTK

The market value of Czech striker Milan Baros is up at least five-fold, due to his outstanding performance in the Euro 2004 football championship now underway in Portugal. Baros, who has spent most of the season on the bench for Liverpool, has scored five times in four matches for the Czech team, which has made it to the semi-finals. Baros is now worth 22 million euros, the Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes reports, while other Czech footballers have doubled their value.