Business News

In Business News this week: OKD warns of insolvency declaration; Tatra lands massive order for Egypt and Jordan; Direct Fly plane maker to shift production to China; average apartment prices rising by 6.0 percent; and 1.0 billion Chinese investment in Sokolov car parts plant.

OKD owners warn of insolvency declaration

Photo: archive of OKD

The Ad Hoc Group, which controls New World Resources, is considering a declaration of insolvency of the hard coal mining company OKD as early as this Friday unless the government steps in to help. A meeting between both sides was scheduled this Monday. Ad Hoc Group took control of NWR in February but on Monday said it would not continue to waive a deadline for seeking debt repayments from the ailing mining firm.

On Sunday, the Ad Hoc Group reportedly offered to sell OKD for less than 150 million euros, the equivalent of less than four billion crowns. Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mládek said the real value of the company was far less and he couldn’t imagine why the government would buy at such a price. OKD currently employs almost 10,000 people, and also provides additional jobs in the sector for suppliers and various other companies.

Tatra to supply chassis for military vehicles to Egypt and Jordan

Truck maker Tatra is to supply chassis for military vehicles to the Egyptian and Jordanian armies in deals worth a total of around 800 million crowns, iHned.cz reported on Tuesday. Tatra director Petr Rusek said the contracts had been agreed on a visit by Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mládek and a Czech delegation to the two states. Tatra, which is based in the Moravian town of Kopřivnice, went bankrupt three years ago. However, after being bought out by two Czech businessmen it saw a profit of nearly 400 million crowns last year.

Direct Fly to launch Chinese production of ultralights

Photo: archive of Direct Fly

The Czech producer of ultralight aircraft Direct Fly will manufacture their aircraft in China, the company’s co-owner, Ivo Lederer, told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday. Company representatives signed an agreement on transfer of technologies with the Chinese company Wanfeng Aviation. The company will launch large-scale production in China, initially producing about 100 to 150 aircraft a year. The Chinese company will invest about four million crowns into cooperation with the Czech partner.

Czech flat prices on steep rising curve

The average price of apartments in the Czech Republic in 2015 increased by six percent on average year-on-year, according to a survey carried out by Deloitte. The average price per metre was 41,800 crowns. The most expensive apartments were sold in Prague (for 56,400 crowns per metre), while the cheapest apartments could be found in Ústí nad Labem region (for 10,000 crowns per metre). Last year, the overall sales of apartments amounted to 70 billion crowns, which is a 15 percent increase on the previous year.

Chinese company signs 1.0 billion crown investment deal for Sokolov

The Chinese auto and farm machinery producer Shijiazhuang Zhogxing group has signed an agreement with Czech company Czech Industry Group which includes the investment of 1.0 billion crowns in a new plant near the West Bohemian town of Sokolov to make car discs. The Chinese company is one biggest producers of such discs in the world. The new factory is expected to employ 100 initially, eventually rising to 200 people. There is an above average unemployment rate of around 8.6 percent around Sokolov.