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The Czech telecommunications authority has moved to open up the country’s mobile calling market for new players. It is auctioning the frequencies of 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz, which is expected to fetch around 7.4 billion crowns. The bidding, which opened last week, will close on September 10, and the winners should be announced by the end of the year. If the auction is a success, a new mobile phone operator could possibly bring down the high prices of mobile calls. But besides the existing mobile network operators, few new players have expressed interest

The biggest public procurement project ever held in the Czech Republic entered a new stage when earlier this month, the state-owned energy firm ČEZ received three bids to build two new blocks at the Temelín nuclear plant. The winning bid should be announced next year, while the project, estimated to cost between 200 and 300 billion crowns, should be finalized by 2025.

An initiative by several Czech NGOs and members of the country’s business community seeks to stir up debate about the Czech Republic’s position within the European Union. The manifesto, entitled Confident Czech Republic in a strong Europe, calls on MPs and government officials to ensure that Czechs remain at the core of the EU. In this edition of Marketplace, we talk to some of its authors and signatories and looks at what impact, if any, the initiative might have on the Czech debate about the future of the European Union.

The small Moravian town of Litovel is home to the world’s largest hard cheese factory. Since 1996 when the Italian company Orrero set up its production there, its Gran Moravia cheese has been conquering markets in around the world. Today, the Litovel cheese plant produces around 6,000 tonnes of the parmesan-type cheese, a great majority of which is sold in Italy. In this edition of Marketplace, we talk to the owner of the Orrero company, Roberto Brazzale who says parmesan is not the right name for its flagship product.

The typical Czech dollar millionaire is a man in his late 40s who runs his own company, is concerned about corruption and doesn’t show off his wealth. He does not take big risks with his money which he mostly spends on himself and his family. These are some of the results of the J&T Bank’s Wealth Report for 2012, a new survey of multimillionaires in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In this edition of Marketplace, we talk to one of the authors of the study, Jaroslav Cír from the research firm Perfect Crowd.

One of the Czech companies which successfully launched an operation in China is the machine tool producer TOS Varnsdorf. In 2006, the firm invested some 2.5 million euro to form a joint venture company TOS Kunming. In this edition of Marketplace, the firm’s financial director Stanislav Linc talks about doing business in China, hiring Chinese employees, and how the Czech government supports Czech businesses in that country.

A good deal of the ongoing economic and financial turmoil on world markets has been blamed on the unscrupulous practices of the international banking and financial sector. Islamic banking, on the other hand, is seen as a fairer and more balanced alternative which has been much less affected by the crisis. Can the Czech Republic benefit from a financial system based on the Islamic law? And can Islamic banking help boost Czech exports into Muslim countries? These are some of the issues debated at an international conference on Islamic banking held

The Czech Republic is becoming more popular with foreign tourists. The latest figures show that in the first three months of this year, almost 1.3 million tourists visited the country which represents a 13-percent increase compared to the same period last year. German tourists continue to top the list of foreign visitors, followed by Russians who are the fastest growing group. RP discussed the development with Rostislav Vondruška, the head of the state agency CzechTourism.

Over the last couple of years, art sales in the Czech Republic have seen a decline. But this year is different, and it’s not just the record sale of a František Kupka painting that did the trick. The market now attracts collectors who are ready to look beyond the well-established segment of modern art that has topped sales so far.

Czech lawmakers have been consistently criticized for being prone to lobbying, for instance when it comes to the regulation of gambling, roadside advertising and smoking in public spaces. As part of its efforts to clamp down on corruption, the Czech government is now working on a bill that should regulate lobbying. If approved, this law would define lobbying and require lobbyists to register. RP discussed the proposed legislation with James de Candole, a Prague-based consultant and lobbyist, who believes it will bring no significant