ECONOMY. Second quarter closes with 9.2 percent growth.
Unemployment still not licked
While economic growth in Europe is slowing down, the Slovak economy is quickly coming to the fore. In the second quarter-year the Gross Domestic Product grew by 9.2 percent n permanent prices against the same period last year, while the average among the European 27 increased its performance by a mere 2,8 percent.
The dramatic growth figures are helping to bring Slovakia closer to the median standard of living in the continent's more developed nations, but a wide gap still exists. In an expression of GDP per person, our purchasing power last year equalled almost 60 percent of the European average. According to Eurostat calculations, this year should bring Slovakia up to 63.5 percent.
Employment growth is following the GDP, with figures for those employed increasing by 2 percent in the second quarter. Paradoxically however from November 2006, Slovakia is the country with the highest unemployment level in the Union, according to reworked Eurostat data. Although Slovakia's attractiveness as an investment haven is already on the downturn, more large-scale investment could significantly turn this situation around -- "Without this, the space for quickening the dynamic is closing", stated analyst Marek Gábriš. August 15
Rosnefť new owner of 49 % of Transpetrol shares
The Russian state-controlled oil colossus Rosnefť, in an auction Wednesday picked up the foreign assets of the bankrupt Jukos company, including a 49-percent share in the Slovak Transpetrol firm. Through its daughter company Promnefťstroj, Rosnefť paid 7,8 bln. Rubles, slightly more than the 7,6 bln. RUB opening price, for Jukos International UK B.V., seated in Holland, the owner of the Transpetrol shares. The Jukos Liquidation Administrator Eduard Rebgun informed that the Jukos International UK B.V company has, along with its Transpetrol holdings, a minimum of 1,5 bln. USD in its portfolio. August 15
Gas company gives out 16 billion Crowns
State takes eight billion from special dividends.
This year, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel vyplatí (Slovak Gas Industry) paid its shareholders a special dividend amounting to 16 billion Crowns. According to yesterday's Government decision, since the state is the owner of 51-percent of the company about 8 billion of this will flow into the state treasury. The remainder is to be distributed among foreign investors -- E.ON Ruhrgas and Gaz de France. SPP thus remains the state's largest "donor".
According to Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek, the Government plans to use its SPP windfall for paying off part of the interest on the national debt as well as state bond payouts. Juraj Pekár of the Agency for Debt and Liquidity Administration as of yesterday had no information on these future resources, but calculated that Slovakia needs roughly 27 billion Sk per year for interest and bond return payments, thus three and a half times the SPP injection.
The decision on the use of the dividend is still not definitive -- "The money will first become part of the state's financial assets, then the Government must decide on their usage", explained Finance Ministry State Secretary František Palko. "But I don't see any obstacle to their being used to service debt financing".
August 13