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Major Political and Economic Events |
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9200
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The introduction of the Insider Trading Laws.a4 |
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960401
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ADR effective date. (Company=SLOVNAFT A.S., Exchange=OTC)a11 |
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961201
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Financial credits with a maturity of 5 years or more provided by Slovak residents to residents of OECD countries were liberalized.a3(first entry) |
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961201
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The receipt and provision of international trade credits for trade in goods and services with OECD members were liberalized on the condition that the creditor is a third party between the customer and the supplier.a3 |
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961201
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Foreign borrowings by residents with a maturity of 3 years or more were liberalized.a3 |
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961201
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The acquisition of real estate by Slovak residents in OECD member countries was liberalized.a3 |
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961201
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Direct investment by Slovak residents in OECD member countries was liberalized.a3 |
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9701
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The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSE) announced it would delist illiquid shares and transfer them to the second board. |
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9703
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The Slovak Parliament postponed the privatization of two major banks and two financial institutions until late 2003. The IMF expressed concern about Slovakia's rapidly deteriorating current account deficit. |
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9704
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Importers were required to post 20% deposits in non-interest-bearing accounts for 180 days. |
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9706
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Slovakia was excluded from the first wave of integration into Western organizations such as NATO. |
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9710
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The government announced plans to halt voucher privatization and replace it with a "bond" system. |
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980221
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(Provisions specific to commercial banks and other credit institutions) Nonresidents may invest in banks on the basis of the same rules as nonresidents.a3 |
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9803
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President Michal Kovac stepped down with no prospect of swift replacement. |
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980401
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(Controls on capital and money market instruments) No permission is required for residents of OECD countries when the securities are marketable in the main market of the foreign stock exchange. (Controls on real estate transactions) Foreign bank branches may acquire real estate for pursuing bank activities, but only in the case of their construction or reconstruction.a3 |
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9809
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The general elections failed to elect a new president. |
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9810
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The unpopular coalition government was dismissed. Mikulas Dzurinda was elected as the new Premier. The government announced that it was unable to pay on time the interest on a $35 million syndicated loan. The Slovak National Bank abolished its 7% fluctuation band. |
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9812
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Both Slovakia's biggest bank Slovenska Sporitelna and VSZ appointed new company boards. |
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9904
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The government announced that four foreign investors were interested in acquiring steelmaker VSZ, which represented 10% of Slovakian exports and 7% of GDP. |
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9906
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Rudolf Schuster, the mayor of Slovakia's second largest city, Kosice, defeat former premier Vladimir Meciar in the presidential election. |
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990606
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(Other controls imposed by securities laws) A new Act on Securities Amendment was issued.a3 |
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990701
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The Securities Act amendment became effective. It introduced major changes in the calculation of the minimum price for takeovers and required that all publicly traded shares be in registered form. |
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990916
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(Provisions specific to commercial banks and other credit institutions) The new Banking Act came into effect.a3 |
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9910
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The government approved a plan to sell a 51% interest in Slovak Telecom to a foreign investor by the first quarter of 2000 and announced it expected to sell a portion of its stake in gas storage company Nafta in an international tender. |
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9911
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The government cut corporate taxes from 40% to 30%. |
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991207
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(Provisions specific to institutional investors) An Act on Collective Investment came into effect, limiting securities issued by the same emitter to 10% of the whole equity. (Other controls imposed by securities laws) A new Act on Bonds Amendment was issued.a3 |
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9912
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The central bank released 17.8 billion koruna to boost capital in two banks, Slovenska Sporitelna and VUB, and insurer Slovenska Poistovna. The government planned to sell the state-controlled banks to foreign partners by the end of 2000. |
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20000101
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(Controls on capital and money market instruments) A foreign exchange permit is no longer required to trade locally foreign securities with a maturity of more than one year issued by residents of OECD countries when the the government or the NBS participates in the foreign exchange transaction, or (Controls on credit operations) for residents to grant credits to residents of OECD countries when the maturity of the loan is at least one year. (Controls on real estate transactions) Branches of foreign financial institutions were allowed to acquire real estate to operate their business.a3 |
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200001
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Construction expenditure plummeted 22.1% year-to-year, retailed sales dropped 4.5%, and unemployment rose to a record 19.5%. Inflation increased 6.1% in January and February. |
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200005
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The government approved a series of corporate tax breaks and relaxation of production requirements. |
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200007
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President Rudolf Schuster recovered and resumed duties. OECD invited Slovakia to become the thirtieth member. The government approved a law creating an independent financial market watchdog and Slovakia's Anti-Monopoly Office approved the Hungarian Oil and Gas Company (MOL)'s purchase of a 35.2% stake in the oil refinery Slovnaft. |
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200008
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The National Bank of Slovakia cut key rates. |
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200009
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Slovakia completed accession to the OECD. |
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200010
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East Slovakian Steel Works approved the takeover of the company's core activities by U.S. Steel. Slovakia closed nine chapters in accession talks with the European Commission for membership in the EU. |
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200102
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VUB, the country's largest commercial bank, was sold. |
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200106
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A 94.5% stake in VUB was sold to Italy's IntesaBCI for 550 million euros. |
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200109
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By September, Slovakia had closed 20 of the 31 chapters of the body of laws regulating activities of EU member states. |
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200110
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Slovakia completed the energy chapter of the EU's acquis communautaire. Strict requirements and timeframes were in place regarding the energy market. |
| 011217 | In a blow for Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) - the nationalist party of former PM Vladimir Meciar - won a sweeping victory in the weekend round of regional elections. According to the preliminary results, HZDS won six out of seven regional governor posts in the last electoral test before national ballots scheduled for 2002. At present, the future of Dzurinda's five-party coalition - which has already been showing signs of instability - is looking uncertain, although the current PM is fighting hard to stay in power. |
| 020206 | Slovakia's registered unemployment rate increased in January 2002 by 1.1% to reach a record high of 20.89%, according to preliminary government figures released yesterday. Compared to January 2001, when the unemployment rate was 20.81%, there seems to be little change. The jobless number is expected to peak in early February, climbing by as much as 550,000 |
| 020415 | The largest power utilities in Europe have submitted bids for Slovakia's first major power privatisation. Three power distributors are to be sold for around US$500m, as bids for the 49% stakes will be submitted by the end of the month. Bidders will be offered crucial management control and an option to increase their stakes at a later date, if amendments are made to the current legislation. Bidders included the German utilities, Energie Baden-Württemburg (EnBW), E.on and RWE, and the Austrian company, EVN. They submitted bids for Zapadoslovenske Energeticke Zavody (ZSE), the western Slovak distributor. Electricité de France (EDF), bidding with the Italian power trader ENOI, submitted the only bid for Stredoslovenske Energeticke Zavody (SSE), the central Slovak distributor. For the eastern distributor, Vychodoslovenske Energeticke Zavody (VSE), RWE, EDF, ENOI and CEZ, the Czech power generator, all submitted bids. ZSE distributes the most power, and has network links to Western Europe, while VSE is the smallest of the three. The Slovak government is hoping for different bidders to own each distributor |
| 020702 | Recent data released by the Slovak Statistical Office show that the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country dropped by 13.7% last year. According to the recently released data, the finance and insurance sectors topped the list of industries attracting foreign capital, followed by industrial producers, but the division of foreign capital between the Slovak regions was very unequal. A total of 78% of all FDI flows were concentrated on the Bratislava region, further entrenching its status as the richest region in the country. The slowing of financial flows to the country may be a result of the slowdown in the European economy, which has been the main source of FDI to the region. The drop established Austria as the largest net contributor to the country, following dramatic falls in capital transfers from Germany and the Netherlands |
| 020927 | The Finance Ministry yesterday announced that the budget gap would fall to -3.3% of GDP by the end of the year. The new forecast is a significant improvement on the government's previous forecast of a -4.5% of GDP deficit and its initial -3.5% of GDP forecast. The deficit forecast was upgraded earlier in the year as a result of disappointing revenues. Although revenues are still forecast to be lower than originally planned, the government now plans to use recouped Russian debt to compensate for any revenue shortfalls. Last year's budget deficit was officially recorded as -3.9% if GDP. Unlike the European Union (EU), Slovakia's deficit-calculating methodology does not include spending on debt related to costly bank restructuring, forecast at Kcs15.5bn (US$361m) this year. Including bank restructuring, the deficit is likely to be closer to -4.7% of GDP. This is much higher than the Maastricht Treaty's -3% of GDP limit, which will hardly strengthen Slovakia's case for EU membership. The earliest possible date for entry is 2004. |
| 021030 | The Slovak National Bank (NBS) yesterday announced a surprise cut in interest rates. The bank moved to reduce its key interest rate by 25 basis points, in a move that took the markets by surprise, but can largely be attributed to the recent improvements in the trade balance. The move will be welcomed by the newly elected centre-left coalition, whose appointment effectively ensured the country could be considered for membership of the European Union (EU). The reduction brings the rate down to 8% and will go some way towards relieving the soaring Slovak koruna. A rise in the value of the koruna will help relieve the inflationary effects of a rate cut, but could also ease the pressure on manufacturers which are suffering from the effects of a high-value currency. |
| 021118 | The National Bank on Friday (15 November) surprised the markets with a base rate cut of 150 basis points. |
| 030130 | Slovak railway workers have announced that they will commence with an unlimited strike tomorrow at 22:00 in order to protest the proposed rationalisation of rail services. The strike will paralyse the rail network indefinitely until the government concedes to their demands for new reform proposals to be considered. At present the government is proposing the closure of at least 235 regional lines and the cancellation of more than 200 rail links. |
| 030227 | Annual inflation in Slovakia fell to 4.3% in February from 6.2% the previous month, according to Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (SU SR). This marks the lowest level of inflation in the country's history and the lowest level of inflation since September 1996, when inflation fell to 5.2%. Slower price deregulation prior to parliamentary elections scheduled for September has been cited as a primary reason for slowing inflation in Slovakia. Apart from the delay in price liberalisation, inflation pressure has also eased as result of a decrease in the price of major import commodities and the slight appreciation of the Slovak koruna |
| 030319 | Russian gas company Gazprom will not be financing the $2.7bn acquisition of SPP, the Slovak gas importer and transporter. The other two members of the gas consortium buying the 49% stake are France's Gaz de France and Germany's Ruhrgas AG. Gazprom will be given two years to secure financing for its share purchase. Gazprom was included in the consortium because of the importance of long-term gas contracts to the profitability of the investment. The US$2.7bn figure represents 13% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). It is the largest privatisation transaction in Slovakia's history |
| 020429 | The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) raised interest rates by 50 basis points on Friday (26 April). The increase raises the NBS fortnight repo-rate to 8.25%, the one-day deposit rate to 6.5% and re-financing rate to 9.5%. The move was a reaction to Slovakia's considerable current-account deficit, a rising fiscal imbalance and slow progress on passing the policy measures required to eliminate the risks connected with these developments, an NBS spokesman told the TASR news agency. The NBS has already warned the government that the fiscal deficit could eventually come in at double the target for 2002 in breach of the country's agreement with the IMF, and has urged it to take swift measures to bring its finances back under control - a warning that the government appears to be heeding |
| 020822 | The government approved an increase in the minimum wage rate yesterday (21 August). From October 2002, the hourly minimum wage will increase from Kcs26.60 ($0.60) to Kcs32 for those working a minimum of 42.5 hours per week. The monthly minimum will increase by over 13% from Kcs4,920 to Kcs5,570. Trade Unions criticised the move, claiming that a rise to Kcs6,190 was needed. The minimum wage in Slovakia is adjusted once a year and is calculated according to the average wage of employees and on a coefficient that represents the share of minimum wage in the average salary. |
| 021008 | The centre-right administration has at last reached a coalition government agreement that sets out the formation of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda's cabinet. The agreement finally closes the door on controversial opposition leader Vladimir Meciar, who now faces a revolt from within his own party |
| 021010 | The governor of the central bank, Marian Jusko, was quoted yesterday as stating that he sees scope for a cut in interest rates. The governor cited an improved political and economic climate. Investors have welcomed the recent parliamentary vote which returned a centre-left coalition, and kept out the single most powerful party in the country, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) of former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Concerns held by the bank over the country's external gap have been easing, whilst the country is enjoying sustained low inflation. |
| 021123 | The National Bank yesterday came good on a promise to take the heat out of the sharply appreciating koruna. The koruna has proved particularly robust post the September elections. The Bank bought foreign currency and flooded the market, bringing the koruna down by 1% on the day. However, working against the Bank was an upgrade yesterday of all eight Central European enlargement candidate countries by ratings agency Moody's. The Moody's upgrade will only serve to heighten expectations amongst market players that Central Europe is looking like an increasingly good bond and currency play in the run-up to enlargement. |
| 021203 | On-going debate over the controversial Hungarian status law appears to have forced a small crack in a coalition government that until now has proved both united and resolute |
| 030117 | French carmaker PSA Peugeot-Citroën has chosen Slovakia as the location of its Central European car plant in order to fulfil its ambition of selling 4m cars worldwide by 2006, opting for the country over other locations in the region. PSA is already building a car plant in the Czech Republic in collaboration with Toyota. With these new facilities, the carmaker will increase its yearly production in and supply to the region and position itself at the heart of Europe. The carmaker is to site its factory in Trnava, some 45 kilometres north of the capital Bratislava, after investigating other possible sites in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. |
| 030207 | Headline inflation for January was recorded at 5.3% on a month-on-month basis, it was reported on 6 February, bringing the annual rate of inflation up to 7.3% for the month. The spike, long expected by economists, was the result of a number of price liberalisations by the government. Core inflation stripped of headline distortions - the figure targeted by the National Bank - stood at just 1.9% in January on a year-on-year basis, the same figure as in December 2002 |
| 030313 | The government has sent its new labour legislation to parliament, although unions say that they are still prepared to strike if it is not approved in the agreed form |
| 030429 | The Slovak government has approved a single flat tax rate of 20% for personal and corporate income tax from 2004.The planned legislation also includes measures to simplify tax paying. The flat tax is directly modelled on that introduced in Russia with considerable success, albeit at the much lower level of 13% in the case of personal income tax. It is a model that has also attracted the attention of the Czech opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in its 2002 election manifesto, again at a lower rate for personal tax. The flat tax would also apply to value-added tax (VAT), which currently ranges from 14-20%, but would be standardised at the relatively high rate of 20%. |
| 030603 | According to the Finance Ministry, the central state budget deficit climbed to Kcs30.58bn (US$878m) in January-May, compared with the Kcs23.79bn gap posted at the end of April. Budget revenue totalled Kcs79.06bn in the first five months of the year, or 33.6% of the full-year forecast. Expenditure stood at Kcs109.64bn, or 37.6%. The full-year deficit ceiling target is Kcs56.04bn. |
| 030730 | Slovakia's central bank yesterday opted to hold leading interest rate, the two-week repo rate, steady at 6.5%. The move was largely expected given that month-on-month inflation remains fairly buoyant, with June prices experiencing a sharp 0.4% month-on month rise, pushing annualised inflation to a high of 8.4%. Further mitigating the pressure to ease rates was the fact that pressures on the crown have eased in the last month as investors have shown greater caution in their approach to the accession economies in Central Europe. |
| 030810 | Gross Foreign Debt has breached the US$14bn mark, according to figures released by the National Bank of Slovakia after increases in the stock of both long-term debt and short-term debt, which currently accounts for US$4.8bn of the total debt stock. |
| 030819 | The Slovak government is considering new issues worth Kcs144.7bn (US$3.81bn) in 2004 in order to cover maturing debts. Both domestic and foreign markets will be targeted in a move that will roll over state debt, probably at a cheaper rate than is currently offered on the maturing paper. Slovakia issued a 500m euro eurobond in May and was awarded a 'BBB' rating by Fitch. |
| 030910 | Slovak inflation edged up further in August on the back of planned increases in excise taxes that added a further 1% to the annualised inflation rate. Month-on-month inflation stood at 1%, whilst compared to the same period a year earlier prices rose by 9.2%, according to data released by the Slovak Statistical Office. |
| 030926 | The Slovak Central Bank caught many market players unawares with a 25-basis-points rate cut yesterday. The move sees the two-week repo rate ease back to 6.25%. Rate cuts totaling 150 basis points were widely predicted at the beginning of the year. However, the Bank had failed to deliver until yesterday, fearing that the stimulus to domestic demand could fuel inflation. |
| 031007 | Slovakia posted a trade surplus of Kcs1.39bn (US$39.7m) in August, according to data released by the Slovak Statistical Office. Export growth jumped 25% in August, up from 17.8 % in July, while imports grew only 13.8%. Cars and transport equipment led exports, adding 64.6 % in the first eight months of 2003. |
| 031029 | An amendment to Slovakia's Income Tax Act was passed by parliament yesterday, which will replace the current progressive taxation system and see the rate fall to a flat 19% for individuals and businesses. The approval of the taxation system's simplification was seen as a positive assessment of the government and Finance Minister Ivan Miklos' overall tax reform package. |
| 031113 | Slovak consumer prices rose 9.6% year-on-year during October, according to Interfax. This represents a slight increase of 0.1% on the September figure, although the rate of increase decelerated on the month |
| 031203 | Government ministers and coalition deputies have united to prove they can agree on the 2004 budget provisions. The governing centre-right coalition is comprised of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU), the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), the Alliance for a New Citizen (ANO) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), but the defection of deputies earlier in the year, including three ANO deputies, lost the government its concrete majority. |
| 031218 | President Rudolf Schuster has discussed Slovak involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq with the Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, according to press reports. Schuster sees that co-operation with Turkish companies could be a way for Slovakia to participate in the reconstruction efforts, via coordinating efforts of construction companies. Schuster expressed his backing for Turkish membership to the European Union (EU), currently still in the negotiation stages. |
| 031222 | Slovakia's Central Bank has continued its rate-cutting cycle by moving to cut its leading two-week repo rate by 25 basis points, leaving year-end interest rates at 6%. |
| 040108 | Slovakia suffered a sharp rise in unemployment during December, as a traditional end to seasonal job creation brought to a close an uninterrupted nine-month run of falling unemployment. It was a strong increase, with the rate of unemployment rising by 1.42% to stand at 15.6% in December, according to preliminary data released by the National Labour Office. |
| 040401 | Slovakia's Central Bank Governor Marian Jusko has warned that currency dealers should not expect the Bank to allow an unchecked appreciation of the crown. The Central Bank has previously been very active in its defence of Kcs40.80:1 euro rate, though this has long been breached. Statements from the Finance Ministry have suggested that it would not oppose further appreciation, though the Bank is more sanguine, and warned that it will move to contain the appreciation pressures if they persist. |
| 040203 | The Slovak Economy Ministry is planning a cash injection of Kcs3bn that will enhance the country's industrial parks, with the express intent of attracting more foreign investment. |
| 040519 | Pressure on the government to complete an 80km stretch of highway in the north of the country by 2006 could be eased by investment from a US firm. Sovereign Financial Group has agreed to an investment of US$200m in the highway between Zilina and the Slovak capital, Bratislava, on the condition that guarantees are provided that the cash will be available to start the project within two weeks. However, the provision of state guarantees has proved to be an obstacle to earlier deals with the European Investment Bank. The EIB has already agreed to a Kcs19bn (US$568m) loan for the construction but with the financing only available from 2005, which would delay completion of the highway. |
| 040528 | Slovak deputies have approved revised conflict-of-interest legislation after the initial draft had been withdrawn by Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic. The legislation requires public officials to make property declarations for themselves, but also for their spouses and any co-habiting children. The first form of the bill was rescinded by Lipsic when he felt that the parliamentary revisions made had watered down the legislation so that it lost its force |
| 040609 | Retail sales rose by 7.4% year-on-year in April 2004, according to data released by the Slovak statistical office, displaying the first signs of a stronger recovery in domestic demand. The rise is significant in that household demand, and indeed domestic demand as a whole, has been relatively subdued over the past 12-months as a result of the sharp uptick in inflation and the downward pressure this has exerted on real incomes. Notably, a sharp rise in energy prices arising from an administered hike in fuel prices as well as value-added tax (VAT) hikes caused a sharp cut-back in household spending. |
| 040630 | The Slovak Central Bank has drained almost all excess liquidity from the inter-bank market yesterday during a two-week repo auction in a move that took most market participants by surprise. The bank sold Kcs119.276bn (Kcs3.63bn) in the liquidity-draining repo auction, which ran contrary to recent bank use of repo tenders to combat appreciation pressures on the crown. The bank has therefore refrained from excessive liquidity drainage in order to keep deposit rates down and lower inflows. |
| 040708 | Slovak industrial output accelerated from April into May, according to the latest data released by the country's statistics office. Output rose by 8% year-on-year in real terms, up from more subdued growth of 5% in April, as a slowdown in auto industry output was offset by renewed vigour in the production of machinery and utilities output. |
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Regulations on Foreign Investors |
|
1998
|
Restrictions: Ownership at 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%, or more than 65% of any publicly traded issue requires a disclosure of ownership report. Any acquisition of more than 30% of an issue triggers a public offer. Taxation: 15% withholding dividend and interest tax except when received from government securities. Double taxation agreements exist where the specified amount is withheld at the source. No capital-gains tax.a6 |
|
2003 |
no changes through 2003 |