Overview of the latest economic events in the Czech Republic
The Czech economy closed July with moderate growth and positive signals from several key sectors. Industrial production rose by 2.2 % yoy, mainly due to higher demand for engineering and automotive products. The Czech National Bank kept the key interest rate at 3.25 %, reflecting the stabilisation of inflationary pressures. The Ministry of Industry and Trade confirmed that support for SMEs from EU funds will be increased by another CZK 8 billion in the second half of the year.

The services sector also recorded a positive development, where sales increased by 1.9 %, mainly due to the recovery in tourism. Prague and South Moravia report a significant increase in inbound tourism, which brings new opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

Foreign investment
There were several major announcements on foreign investment in July. Amazon will expand its logistics centre in Kojetin at a cost of CZK 3.7 billion, creating more than 1,500 new jobs. Another significant investment is the entry of the South Korean company LG Energy Solution into the construction of a new battery cell factory near Pilsen with a planned value of over CZK 15 billion.

French bank Société Générale is investing CZK 1.2 billion in the digital transformation of its Czech branch Komerční banka, with the aim of modernising mobile banking and expanding its online product offering. At the same time, the development centre of the US company Honeywell is being expanded in Brno, which plans to increase the number of employees by 800 by 2027.

Significant events outside the Czech Republic with global impact
On the international scene, investors are focusing on developments around the US debt ceiling. Yesterday, the US Congress passed a temporary budget measure to prevent a default. The markets reacted positively to the news, which brought a rise in European indices, including Prague's PX, which gained 0.8 %.

In Asia, the turbulence in the Chinese property market continues. Developer group Country Garden has announced a postponement of international debt repayments, which has implications for European financial institutions. Czech bank UniCredit Bank has already announced a reassessment of its exposure to Chinese bonds.

Specific business transactions and acquisitions
A significant domestic transaction is the takeover of the Czech technology start-up Rossum by the US company Salesforce for CZK 6.5 billion. Rossum, specializing in artificial intelligence in the field of document processing, has thus opened its way to global markets.

Daniel Křetínský's energy group EPH has bought the German company Rheinenergie Netzservice, which manages distribution networks, for approximately CZK 22 billion. The acquisition is expected to strengthen EPH's position in Western Europe.

Czech fund Credo Ventures has sold its stake in startup Productboard for an undisclosed amount to US investment fund Andreessen Horowitz, completing one of the largest B2B software transactions in the region.

The banking sector saw another move - Raiffeisenbank announced the purchase of the retail portfolio of Hello bank! for CZK 2.3 billion. The move will enable the bank to strengthen its client base and expand its range of services for retail savers.

The merger of the logistics companies C.S. Cargo and Dachser CZ, which was approved by the Office for the Protection of Competition, also attracted considerable interest. The combined entity will be one of the largest players in the Central European transport market.

gnews.cz - GH

Current exchange rates according to the CNB and Google Rates

CurrencyCzech National Bank exchange rate (CZK)Google Rate (CZK)
EUR24,61~24,59
USD~21,12~21,28
PLNN/A~5,75
HUF~0,06185~0,0615
GBP~29,03~28,41
CHF~26,30~26,43
CNY~2,98~2,9656
JPYN/A~0,1439
RUBN/A~0,2619

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