Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 1.4.2008

Kofola joined with Polish Hoop

A domestic company Kofola will join a Polish company Hoop, the biggest Polish producer of beverages. A group with yearly incomes over ten billion crowns will come into being. The new group will operate in five countries with almost 210 million inhabitants and its stocks will be traded on Warsaw exchange. The new groupment will be managed by Kofola's owners who own in it 57 percents. According to a general director of the new group, Jannise Samaras, an aim of the joining is to connect strong points of both companies. By joining both companies should achieve savings roughly 150 million crowns yearly.

Money from Operational Program Environment already aims at applicants

Although the Operational Program Environment (OPE) was signed in the second half of December 2007, a State Fund of Environment, which is a mediating subject for OPE, already processes almost two thousand applications for tens billion crowns which it has received in frame of three till this time announced challenges. Before the definitive approval of OPE by the European Commission the State Fund of Environment CR was able to open in total six from seven areas of OPE.

“Yoghurt” revolution started in the Czech Republic

A relatively stable market of milk products and yoghurts will face a turbulent change in the Czech Republic. A world giant enters the Czech Republic - a German firm Müller. It wants vigorously to fix inland competition's wagon. Definitely, yoghurts are not a small business. According to inquiry of a company GFK the Czech spend as many as 4,5 billion crowns for them. “In countries where we have a representation we are used to be a market leader. In Germany and the Great Britain we are the one”, a chief of the inland company Müller, Václav Najman, says and adds that the Czech Republic is the first country in East Europe where the firm aimed at with own affiliated branch. A former marketing manager of the chewing gum firm Wrigley, Najman, has an unambiguous aim. He plans to double sale of yoghurts Müller minimally in two years.

Petr Gandalovič: Cooperatives have to return billion property

Thousands of entrepreneurs are still waiting when the state sales them agricultural land. Still in vain thousands of restitution claimers demand payment of property from former “JZD's” (Unified Agricultural Cooperatives). More than two thousand of land owners can ten-multiply a value of their fields if the state will support development of a real land market. The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič (ODS) now tries to blunt a strengthening critique of farmers and restitution claimers who declare: After coming of right-wing government we expected that finally things will start to move - but the state does nothing. On the contrary, the minister insists that finalization of privatization and restitutions is his priority. “Just for this year we prepare changes of laws which are breaking for the finalization of privatization and restitutions”, he denies the critique.