EconomyOther Economy

Slovakia\'s Foreign Trade Recorded €63-million Surplus in September

Bratislava, November 11 (TASR) - Slovakia's foreign trade posted a surplus of €63 million in September, €177.6 million less than the surplus recorded in the same month in 2009, the Statistics Office announced on Thursday. Overall exports stood at €4.416 billion, a year-on-year rise of 19 percent. Total imports went up by 25.4 percent to €4.4353 billion. The… read more

Ambassador Kountourides Wants to Draw More Cypriot Companies to Slovakia

Bratislava, November 10 (TASR) - Cyprus is the tenth most important investor in Slovakia, but there is still a lot of scope for improvements, the new and, at the same time, the first resident Cypriot ambassador to Slovakia Marios Kountourides told TASR on Wednesday. "I hope that I will act as a catalyst to promote investments in both directions," said Kountourides.… read more

Businessmen Call on Government to Promote Cuts in EU Budget

Bratislava, November 10 (TASR) - The Association of Slovak Entrepreneurs (ZPS) disagrees with the proposal to increase the expenditure side of the EU's budget for 2011 by 5.9 percent as passed by MEPs with a majority (546 for, 88 against) earlier this week, says the ZRS's statement given to TASR on Wednesday. Also, ZPS is disappointed to learn that 12 out of 13 Slovak… read more

Finance Ministry Launches PPP Projects in Slovak Regions

Bratislava, November 10 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry is launching public private partnership (PPP) projects in Slovakia's regions, Jana Kolesarova from the Finance Ministry said at a Slovak PPP Forum conference on Wednesday. "We've received six projects so far, three are active," said Kolesarova, head of the ministry's department for partner projects. All three… read more

Employment in Industry Rose in September After Two Years of Falling

Bratislava, November 10 (TASR) - The employment rate in Slovak industry resumed year-on-year growth in September following almost two years of decline, the Statistics Office announced on Wednesday. The industry-employment figure, which began to drop on annual terms in November 2008, rose by 0.5 percent to 482,387 employees in September. Meanwhile, the number of… read more

Prime Minister Radicova Meets With American Investors in New York

New York, November 9 (TASR) - Slovakia as a country attractive for foreign investments was the topic of negotiations between Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and U.S.American entrepreneurs in New York on Tuesday. Almost 20 representatives of American entrepreneur and financial circles - for example Morgan Stanley, Honeywell, Elderson Technology Partners, Credit Suisse… read more

Miklos: Healthy Public Finances Are Key for Slovakia\'s Competitiveness

Bratislava, November 9 (TASR) - Healthy public finances are an important factor in Slovakia's future development and the level of its competitiveness, Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said on Tuesday, adding that competitiveness will be the key criterion for the country's growth at a time when the strength of certain other countries will flag. "With lower global growth it… read more

Tax Incomes Down by Almost One Tenth From Expectations

Bratislava, November 9 (TASR) - The state collected 9.9 percent less money in taxes than originally planned in the first ten months of this year, according to data provided by the Tax Directorate on Tuesday. The amount of tax collected between January-October 2010 reached €6.47 billion, but €710.83 million more than this was anticipated. Incomes from penalties… read more

U.S. Steel Kosice Gets National Award for Quality

Bratislava, November 8 (TASR) - U.S. Steel Kosice became the winner of the 11th year of the National Quality Award on Monday. Representatives of the company, as well as other awarded, received the prize from the hands of President Ivan Gasparovic and Standardisation, Meteorology and Testing Institute Chairman Jozef Mihok. The National Quality Award is the most… read more

Survey: E-shops with Electronics and Books Attract Slovaks Most

Bratislava, November 8 (TASR) - When it comes to popularity of internet shops in Slovakia, those selling computer appliances, electronics and books enjoy the most interest, according to the results of the ShopRoku 2010 ('Shop of the Year') competition published on Monday. The second year of the competition was organised by independent shopping advisor heureka.sk, which… read more

NBS Meets Bankers and Brokers to Discuss Macroeconomics

Bratislava, November 8 (TASR) - The current macroeconomic situation in Slovakia and the eurozone and their respective developments were the main topics of Slovakia's central bank NBS Vice-Governor (NBS) Viliam Ostrozlik's meeting with representatives of banks and brokerages on Monday in Bratislava. Participants at the meeting were presented with the NBS's latest Analysis… read more

Slovakia Drawing EU Funds on Level of 10.7% in Current Funding Period

Bratislava, November 8 (TASR) - Slovakia has drawn 10.7 percent of the EU Funds available in the programme period 2007-2013 as of the end of October, which represents €1.23 billion out of the available €11.498 billion from the EU Funds – and the figure includes the money allocated from the Slovak budget. This information was provided on Monday by the Finance Ministry,… read more

NBS: Households in August Had Highest Deposits in Banks in 17 Months

Bratislava, November 6 (TASR) - The volume of bank deposits made by Slovak households in August increased by 2.7 percent on the year, Slovakia's central bank (NBS) reported this week. As of the end of August, Slovaks had €23.10 billion in deposits in banks, which is the highest amount recorded since February 2009. Also, compared to the situation year ago, volume… read more

Finance Ministry Proposes Cuts in Managers\' Pays in State Companies

Bratislava, October 4 (TASR) - Austerity measures introduced by the Government on Thursday should also lead to cuts in managerial salaries in state-owned companies, says the 'Proposal on measures to increase effectiveness of the public sector and improve the state of public finances', a document drafted by the Finance Ministry. "The rules on remuneration for managers… read more

Government Revises This Year\'s Budget. Deficit Reaching 7.84% of GDP

Bratislava, November 3 (TASR) - Government on Wednesday passed an amendment to this year's State Budget Act that reckons on a significantly higher deficit. The Finance Ministry explains this by saying that parameters of the budget (passed by the previous Government) and the economic reality differ remarkably. The public finance deficit for this year was planned to be… read more