In this week's Business News: Unipetrol announces its largest ever investment project; Czech firms say they could put 5,000 migrants to work; inflation growth slows for third consecutive month; China’s Changhong electronics firm announces it is to expand its Nymburk plant; and the Czech Republic sees boom in dollar millionaires
Unipetrol announces huge investment
Illustrative photo: Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Czech oil distributor Unipetrol is preparing to undertake its largest round of investments in Czech history. The company will build a new oil processing facility worth CZK 8.5 billion after signing a deal with Italian engineering firm Technip. The deal will see a new polyethylene manufacturing plant built in Záluží in north-western Bohemia, planned to go in to operation in 2018. According to Unipetrol’s CEO Marek Świtajewski, the move will enable the company – owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen – to utilise the most modern available technologies.
Czech firms could put 5,000 migrants to work
Photo: Kristýna Maková, Czech Radio
Czech firms are able to immediately put to work 5,000 immigrants, according to a study published by the Czech Transport and Industry Association. As the country experiences a period of strong growth, demand is high for qualified technical workers, which, the Association argues, could even be sourced from among the wave of Syrian migrants entering the EU. However, such employment could also be hindered by language barriers and the long process of applying for a work permit, writes Novinky.cz. The Association is set to discuss with the Czech government how to devise a programme to retrain migrant labourers and also school them in the Czech language.
Inflation growth slows for third consecutive month
Photo: archive of Radio Prague
The rate of inflation growth in the Czech Republic slowed for the third month in a row, according to new figures released by the Czech Statistics Office. Previously, the Czech National Bank had forecast 0.7 percent growth in August – but the real number was only 0.3 percent. Chiefly responsible for the trend are falling fuel prices, while the prices of a number of groceries, including grain and dairy products also fell. The Czech National Bank forecasts inflation levels of 2 percent by 2017.
China’s Changhong to expand Nymburk operations
Illustrative photo: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The European arm of Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Changhong has announced that it is set to invest CZK 650 million to expand its plant in the Czech town of Nymburk, which currently employs 300 people. Changhong’s investment in the plant began back in 2006, at the time representing a rare example of Czech-Chinese economic cooperation. According to President Miloš Zeman – a staunch advocate of closer economic ties with China – the volume of overall Chinese investments in the Czech Republic could soon rise as high as CZK 10 billion.
Czech Republic sees boom in dollar millionaires
Photo: freeimages
The number of dollar millionaires living in the Czech Republic climbed last year by 10 percent to a record 21,400 people, according to the results of a new worldwide survey published by French consulting firm Capgemini and US firm RBC Wealth Management. The data also shows that the rate of growth in Czech millionaires considerably exceeds the global average. Among the contributing factors are strong Czech GDP growth and strong exports.
