Slovenia Business Week no 17 May 7 2007 Table of Contents HEADLINES 2 Inflation Up to 2 6 in April 2 Clothes Retailer C A Plans to Enter Slovenia in Autumn 2 Slovenia Entices Foreign Investors with Incentives of EUR 7 8m 2 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 4 Slovenian and Argentinean Official Discuss Bilateral Relations 4 Rupel Meets Livni Seeks Views on Mid East Peace Process 4 EUROPEAN UNION 6 Slovenia Entered the EU Three Years Ago 6 LEGISLATION 7 Legislation Banning Smoking Indoors to Be Passed This Summer 7 STATISTICS FORECASTS 9 Slovenian Population Drops in Last Quarter of 2006 9 Vast Majority of Slovenian Households Owns Cars Survey Shows 9 Survey Shows Slovenian Prices 25 Below EU Average 9 FINANCE 11 Almunia Slovenian Citizens Could Have Used More Info on Euro 11 Brussels Slovenia s Changeover to Euro a Clear Success 11 Ljubljana Stock Exchange 12 BRANCH INFORMATION 13 Sustainable Water Management also Important for Slovenia 13 Slovenia Declared Free of Bovine Brucellosis 13 COMPANIES 14 Beverage Group Ups Stake in Publisher Delo to 94 14 Sostanj Power Plant Undergoing EUR 15m Overhaul 14 SLOVENIA IN BRIEF 15 Trade Union Leader Calls for Dialogue and Partnership 15 Tuerk at Symposium on UN Security Council Sanctions 15 HEADLINES Inflation Up to 2 6 in April The monthly inflation rate for April was 1 1 Consumer prices continued to climb in April pushing Slovenia s annual inflation up 0 3 percentage points to 2 6 the Statistics Office said on Monday 30 April The monthly inflation rate for April was 1 1 the second month in a row that prices rose The average annual inflation rate remained unchanged at 2 5 while the consumer price index using the EU s harmonised index was up 0 3 percentage points to 2 9 According to the Statistical Office the rise was a result of higher prices of both goods and services goods were 1 4 cheaper on average while prices of services were up 0 3 The highest increases in April were recorded in the groups clothing and footwear 3 3 with footwear going up 7 9 food and non alcoholic beverages 2 transport 1 6 housing 1 5 restaurants and hotels 0 7 household equipment and maintenance 0 4 as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco 0 2 In the food and non alcoholic beverages group the biggest increases were recorded in fruits 11 15 and vegetables 10 To be found among the groups that have gotten cheaper in April are health down 0 8 and recreation and culture 0 3 On an annual comparison services were 3 4 more expensive on average while prices of goods increased by 2 2 The Institute for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development IMAD the government s economic think tank meanwhile attributed the price changes in recent months to seasonal factors as well as to higher oil prices on the international market IMAD further stressed that the increase in prices between December 2005 and April 2006 was 1 5 0 2 percentage points higher than in the same period this year Clothes Retailer C A Plans to Enter Slovenia in Autumn The first store is scheduled to open in the NE city of Maribor on 30 August The German retail clothes chain C A plans to open branches in four Slovenian cities the company has told STA The first store is scheduled to open in the NE city of Maribor on 30 August According to the company the second store will open on 1 September in the eastern city of Celje followed by one in the northern town of Kranj in November while the first branch in Ljubljana is to open in spring next year Ljubljana will also be the headquarters of the company s Slovenian subsidiary C A also plans to open a store in the western town of Nova Gorica and another in Ljubljana in the spring of 2008 The company told STA that it wants to open stores in all major Slovenian towns in the next three years C A expects to employ 60 people by the end of this year According to the company s website C A manages 1 111 stores in 15 European countries It has recently expanded to Slovakia and China Slovenia Entices Foreign Investors with Incentives of EUR 7 8m The invitation for applications was published in the Official Gazette on 4 May and closes on 9 September The Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments is offering grants worth EUR 7 8m to foreign investors in a bid to help create 1 000 new jobs The invitation for 2 applications was published in the Official Gazette on Friday 4 May and closes on 9 September The funds will be allocated to investors whose investments will have a positive impact on new employment knowledge and technology transfer facilitate balanced regional development and foster alliances between foreign investors and Slovenian companies Grants a total of EUR 5 6m this year and EUR 2 2m in 2008 are available for industry strategic services and research and development Applications are open to foreign investors but the final recipients of the funds will be companies headquartered in Slovenia in which foreign investors have at least a 10 stake 3 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Slovenian and Argentinean Official Discuss Bilateral Relations Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrej Ster met Argentinean Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Garcia Moritan to discuss bilateral relations regional and international issues and Slovenia s preparations for its presidency over the EU in the second half of 2008 Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrej Ster met on Thursday 3 May Argentinean Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Garcia Moritan to discuss bilateral relations regional and international issues and Slovenia s preparations for its presidency over the EU in the second half of 2008 the Foreign Ministry said in a press release The officials assessed relations between the countries as very good and said they would make efforts to enhance cooperation in all areas They agreed that economic cooperation could be boosted via the port of Koper Ster acquainted Moritan with the 18 month programme of the EU presidency by the troika of Germany Portugal and Slovenia from 2007 to mid 2008 and the priorities of Slovenia s stint at the helm of the EU including energy and intercultural dialogue The officials also discussed the situation in the Western Balkans and the EU enlargement with Ster saying that Slovenia would support further expansion if the EU introduced institutional reforms Moritan meanwhile acquainted Ster with the situation in Latin America regional cooperation as part of the Mercosur Treaty and broader political cooperation in the region the release says Rupel Meets Livni Seeks Views on Mid East
View Full Document
Unlocking...