Business | All stories

ANO leader Andrej Babiš, who is widely expected to be the country‘s next prime minister, has said he is opposed to the Czech Republic adopting the euro and is against any further integration with the EU. Speaking in a debate at Charles University, Finance Minister Babiš said he would happily support a multi-speed Europe within which EU members would be free to decide how fast and to what measure they wanted to proceed with EU integration.

The biggest digital laboratory in the Czech Republic has just opened its doors at the Jihomoravské inovační centrum (South Moravian Innovation Centre, JIC) in Brno. Entrepreneurs and members of the public can sign up to use 3D printers and other cutting-edge technologies at Fab Lab Brno.

Nearly 15 percent of Czechs switched to a different bank last year to avoid paying high fees, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported this week. According to a new survey carried out by STEM/MARK agency for one of the country’s smaller banks, Air Bank, every seventh client swapped their bank last year. The survey suggests that 85 percent of people choose their bank according to the fees it is charging.

Odometer fraud continues to be a major problem for buyers of second-hand cars in the Czech Republic. Past studies suggested that as many as 42 percent of vehicles sold, including imported cars, had seen their odometers tampered with. Findings suggested that cars with more than 100,000 kilometres travelled were often modified for a simple reason, to secure a better sale price.

The Czech Republic saw a record number of foreign tourists in 2016, with no fewer than 31.1 million entering the country. That number represented a rise of almost 12 percent on 2015. However, around three-fifths of visitors did not spend the night.

Under new legislation Czech entrepreneurs and firms suspected of not paying their taxes are liable to find their names on a tax authority blacklist. Those given the “unreliable person” label may find it harder to do business, iHned.cz reported.

It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride, but Czech exports to far away Australia are booming with total export turnover having almost tripled in five years. Australia has not been one of the biggest exports for Czech firms in the past. Distance and the lack of many solid cultural and historical links were partly to blame but business now appears to be picking up in a significant way.

Tomatoes from the Netherlands, garlic from China, lettuce from Spain, and apples from Italy. These are all examples of what is wrong in the Czech agricultural sector according to the government and many farmers’ leaders. A strategy aimed at boosting domestic production and exports has been put together by the Ministry of Agriculture amid doubts whether some of the ambitious goals can be achieved.

Václav Havel airport in Prague is set to see major investments over the next decade to accommodate the increasing number of passengers. According to the vision for the future presented this week on the occasion of the airport’s 80th anniversary, it expects passenger numbers to double within the next two decades.

A huge military contract to purchase around a dozen helicopters is taking shape in the Czech Republic, iHned.cz reported on Thursday. The news site said the deal would be worth at least CZK 6 billion – but could easily climb to double that amount. However, the whole situation is rather murky.