Investment News
Czech economy growing faster than expected It is highly probable that a period of strong growth awaits the Czech economy. The initial statistics for 2015 are better than expected. In the first quarter of 2015, the Czech Republic’s gross domestic product grew 4.2% year-on-year, which was 0.3 percentage point higher than the preliminary estimate. The revised estimate confirmed that the Czech economy’s growth accelerated markedly at the beginning of the year, while favourable economic development is apparent across the whole domestic economy. “Overall, the outcome significantly exceeded the expectations of the Czech
National Bank. According to the CNB forecast, the economy will continue to grow this year. Accelerating external demand, low oil prices, easy domestic monetary conditions due to the weakened koruna and exceptionally low interest rates, and a rise in government investment will lead to GDP growth. Economic growth will accelerate further next year despite falling government investment, thanks mainly to a further pick-up in external demand growth,” said Tomáš Holub, Executive Director of the Monetary Department of the Czech National Bank.
Year-on-year GDP development
2.3 %
2.0 %
2010
2011
2012
2013
-0.9 %
-0.5 %
2.0 %
3.9 %
2.5 %
2014
2015
2016
Source: Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, 2015
Foxconn plans to invest in the Czech Republic Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Taiwanes company Foxconn. The company is planning to invest CZK 2.5 billion (EUR 92.6 million) in the Czech Republic. An additional CZK 3.7 billion (EUR 137 million) will go into human resources, as the investment will lead to the creation of 2,000 jobs. The planned investment will be focused on a full range of areas, including research and development, solutions for automation and digitisation, infrastructure and e-commerce. “Foxconn’s expansion is an opportunity for current and future university students, as it will allow them to gain experience with a global technology leader. We are therefore engaging in discussions with the highest representatives of our leading technical universities on possible cooperation,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek.
2 I CZECH FOCUS
Eaton expands its R&D facilities near Prague
ber to as many as 300 in the coming years in response to strong demand from customers in the region. The Czech facility is one of Eaton’s five main innovation centres, the others being in the United States, India and China.
Amazon opens new Czech corporate offices
The power management company Eaton celebrated the expansion of its European Innovation Centre on 9 June 2015. The new building is part of the science and technology park in Roztoky u Prahy, which is a global research centre focused on innovation for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Seventy-five people are currently employed at the innovation centre. The company plans to increase that num-
Amazon opened its new corporate offices in Prague’s Dejvice district on 22 June 2015. Up to 500 people will be employed at the new facility in management and