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August 8th, 2008
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July 9th, 2008 | Archives

Under the back door
Vexed by firming crown, exporters shift to euros

BRIEFS


MUTUAL FUNDS Only a small minority of domestic mutual funds were profitable in the first half of 2008, many of them reporting losses in H1, according to the Czech Capital Market Association AKAT. The biggest losses came from mixed funds, funds of funds and equity funds with an average of 15 percent, while slighter losses came from bond funds. Money market funds reported low yields. The overarching factor, according to analysts, is the firming of the crown.

CROWN The crown hit a new record in the past week culminating in a breakthrough of the 23.50 Kč threshold against the euro on Monday at 23.47 Kč. The mark was significant as well in that there was no relevant domestic news pushing the crown. On Monday the crown initially paused as it neared 23.50 Kč, due to what some analysts said was a psychological response.
INTEL CAPITAL World investment fund Intel Capital is planning further investments in the Czech Republic after gaining a minority stake in Internet Mall, the largest Czech group of e-shops. A spokesperson told the Hospodařské noviny daily an “interesting investment” would be announced this year and that Central and Eastern Europe was the right place to invest right now. He added that of the 300 to 500 opportunities in the region considered each year, the majority of them are in the Czech Republic.
BANKS Czech banks issued 8.74 million payment cards in the first three months of 2008, growing over 650,000 from last year, according to the Association for Banking Cards. Credit cards in particular grew 288,000 to 1.24 million. By the end of 2009, the number of credit cards is expected to reach 5 million. Banks are beginning to offer new services to entice customers in order to boost credit card sales.

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