In this week’s Business News: AAA Auto seeks to roll out in Russia, president attacks pre-emptive pension reform, L-159 lined up for first foreign sale, picture still gloomy for DVD sales, and fewer forged notes and coins found in country.
AAA Auto looks to Russian expansion
The Czech Republic’s biggest second hand car dealer, AAA Auto, has announced plans to reverse out of the Romanian market and pile into Russia. The stock exchange traded company is reported to be looking for a partner to start the Russian sales. It is also considering whether to get back into Hungary, a market it retreated from with losses during the financial crisis. AAA’s second hand car sales in its core Czech and Slovak markets rose 7.3 percent in 2010. The group said February sales were up 45 percent compared with a year earlier.
Pension reform sealed before debate
Václav Klaus
Czech President Václav Klaus has weighed into the growing arguments about the government’s proposal to raise Value Added Tax to a near uniform 20 percent to pay for pension reform. The president attacked the government for pushing through the far reaching reform without any preliminary expert or public debate. He said the move caught everyone on the hop and seemed aimed at curbing debate. But the president stressed that tough reforms were needed if the pensions system was to survive. Coalition parties this week agreed the VAT increase with only a few basic items staying at the lower tax level some groups, such as publishers and booksellers, say they will continue to fight the changes.
High hopes for Polish aircraft sale
L-159
Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody is reported to be on the verge of making the first foreign sales of its light training or combat aircraft, the L-159. Polish newspaper reports say the Czech plane has emerged as a clear favourite in the 9.3 billion crown tender by the Polish army to supply 16 trainer aircraft. Competitors for the deal include a Korean joint venture with US company Lockheed Martin, Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Alenia. The Czech Army so far has 24 L-159 aircraft with another 36 in long-term storage.
Low hopes for DVD film market
DVD sales in the Czech Republic continued their downward slide in 2010. Overall sales slipped by 16 million crowns to total just over 400 million crowns. That compares with annual turnover of around 720 million crowns at the peak of sales in 2004. Although the Czech grouping for promoting the DVD business expects many film titles to be released on disc this year it still predicts an overall decline in sales.
Fewer forgeries in 2010
The number of forged bank notes and coins found in the Czech Republic fell slightly last year to around 6,500 from almost 7,000 a year earlier. Although the number of forgeries apprehended in circulation rose by almost 500, those detected by police nearly halved. The national bank says the figures suggest one in every 70,000 Czech notes or coins might be forged. This is around a quarter of the ratio for the single currency euro. The number of forged euros found in the country last year dropped slightly with a dramatic fall in bogus US dollars.
