Slovakia in Austria | Slovaks in Vienna | Bilateral Relations

Austria and Slovakia - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism

Hungary: Stable Outlook Yet Still Junk Status

In spite of Matolcsy, governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), demanding a better rating for the country’s credibility, the major rating agencies have not raised them.

December 12, 2013

Austrian Banking Industry Depends on Russia and Czech Republic

For the Austrian banking sector, the CESEE region is highly heterogeneous. In the first six months of 2013, net earnings totaled € 1.4bn in the region.

December 12, 2013

Ten Capital Market Themes for 2014 by Raiffeisenbank

Leading indicators show a recovery of global growth.

December 11, 2013

Slovakia Reverts Fiscal Strategy

The Slovak parliament has approved the government-authored corporate tax rate cut from 23% to 22%. Further cuts are expected to come.

December 10, 2013

EU/CESEE: Real Income Shrinks

In 2013, the real income will do down in Austria. Since 2010, the Austrian real income was down by 1.3%. In Hungary, real income fell by 15% in that period.

December 9, 2013

Austrian Banking Sector: € 35bn NPL

Due to the gloomy economic situation in CESEE and the stagnating domestic economy, Austrian banks suffer from growing non-performing loans.

December 9, 2013

Slovakia: Economy Accelerates Slightly

In the third quarter of 2013, the Slovak GDP year-on-year growth was up to 0.9%, according to the Slovak Statistical Office.

December 8, 2013

UniCredit Bank Ukraine and Ukrsotsbank to be Merged

CEE Division completes additional steps in business refocusing.

December 3, 2013

Sevelda: „We Are Close to the Breaking Point“

In a guest comment published by the Austrian business magazine Format, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International Karl Sevelda refers to the high burden for Austrian banks.

November 29, 2013

CESEE: Slight Growth Acceleration, but Uncertainties Persist

The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) has published the economic forecast for the CESEE region today. The economic performance varies substantially from country to country.

November 28, 2013

CESEE: Austrian Banks Face New Challenges

For Austrian banks, the assessment by the ECB may bring new difficulties. Non-performing loans in CESEE are said to be higher than officially known.

November 26, 2013

WKO: Better Framework Conditions for SMEs

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), with between 10 to 249 persons employed, are a driver of the European economy, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth. WKO calls for better framework conditions for SMEs.

November 26, 2013

Wide Parts of CESEE Region Below Pre-Crisis Level

In terms of economic output, a large number of CESEE countries have not reached the level of 2008 yet. The growth outlook remains cautious.

November 25, 2013

Slovakia Benefits Substantially from EU

In the next fiscal term from 2014 to 2020, Slovakia will receive net contributions of € 14bn. Without the EU contributions, Slovakia´s fiscal situation would be difficult.

November 23, 2013

Slovak Real Estate Market: Office Segment Weakens

In the third quarter of 2013, transactions in the office market were down substantially.

November 20, 2013

Austria: High Tax Country

According to the new tax report of PrinceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the tax burden in Austria is ten percent higher than the average tax rate in the European Union and even beats Sweden.

November 19, 2013

Nowotny: Must Avoid Bubble in CESEE

In order to avoid another asset bubble like in 2008, loan growth has to be monitored, governor of Austrian National Bank Ewald Nowotny says.

November 19, 2013

CESEE: Growth Remains Below Potential

Today, the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) has published its economic outlook for the CESEE region. The reform pressure is growing, Anthony Willams at EBRD wrote.

November 11, 2013

UniCredit: Net Income Driven By CESEE

Italian UniCredit Group´s quarterly net income was down by 40%. Losses in Italy could be more than offset by the results in Poland and Bank Austria´s contributions.

November 11, 2013

Slovakia: Weak Credit Demand

Due to the lack of credit demand, lending is below its potential. Foreign banks in Slovakia are relatively independent from their parents.

November 9, 2013

Slovakia: Property Prices on the Fall

The Slovak property market continues the downward trend. In late summer, property prices have reached a five-year low.

November 8, 2013

Unequal Retail Real Estate Investment Activity in CESEE

While investments in retail real estate in Bulgaria see an upturn, those in Romania have dropped immensely by more than 50 percent.

November 8, 2013

Banking Sector Reduces Lending

Instead of offering loans to the corporate sector, banks tend to invest in sovereign bonds. The CESEE region is particularly affected by this.

November 6, 2013

CESEE Region: Booming Exports Prevent Recession

The underlying reason for the improving economic sentiment in the CESEE region is the expanding industrial sector. However, the region remains vulnerable to foreign trade and foreign investments.

November 5, 2013

Slovakia Imposes Tax on Tax Evasion

In order to reduce the capital outflow, Slovakia imposes a 35% tax rate on transactions to tax havens.

November 4, 2013

Slovakia: Exports Are Key Driver for Growth

Last year, Slovak exports were up by 9.4%. The main export products are automotive products and electronics. Germany is Slovakia´s main trade partner.

November 1, 2013

Slovak Banking Industry Records Growing Net Income

In the first nine months of 2013, Slovakia´s banking sector recorded a total net profit of € 449m.

November 1, 2013

Visegrad Countries Encourage Western Balkans to Join EU

Representatives from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary support the EU accession of Western Balkan countries.

October 31, 2013

Slovakia: Economic Sentiment Up Slightly

According to the results published by the Slovak Statistical Office, the economic sentiment indicator indicates a moderate economic upward trend.

October 29, 2013

CESEE: Poland is Most Business-Friendly

According to the latest “Doing Business” report published by the World Bank, Poland is the most business-friendly country in the CESEE region.

October 29, 2013

CESEE: „The Growth Model Was not Sustainable“

Franz Seiringer, economist at EBRD, underlines that the CESEE countries are on the right track. The region is working on a new growth model, he told “Wirtschaftsblatt”.

October 29, 2013

Czech Republic: Social Democrats to Win

Tomorrow, the Czech Republic will hold early elections. All polls are indicating a clear change in power. Bohuslav Sobotka is expected to become the next head of government.

October 25, 2013

Public Debt: CESEE Countries Below EU Average

At the end of the first half of 2013, the EU public debt quota reached 86.8% of GDP. Western Europe´s public debt level is significantly higher than in Eastern Europe.

October 23, 2013

Slovakia: New Burden for Insurance Industry

The Slovak government extends special taxes for companies operating regulated sectors. The bank tax will be abolished in the course of the next years.

October 21, 2013

“Problems in the CESEE Region Are Mainly Fundamental”

In an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, Reza Moghadam, director of the IMF´s European Department, says that the weakness of the CESEE region is not only cyclical.

October 18, 2013

IMF Warns of Financial Instability in CESEE

Due to the high non-performing loan quota and the deleveraging of Western banks, the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe are still far from financial stability.

October 18, 2013

„Czech Republic Does Not Fully Use Its Potential“

Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok thinks that the performance of the Czech economy is not dramatically bad. However, the Czech Republic must use its opportunities more effectively.

October 17, 2013

Poland: 70 Percent against Introduction of Euro

According to a recent survey carried out by Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) as many as 70 percent reject the idea of introducing the Euro to Poland.

October 15, 2013

Moody’s: Poland Threatened by Outflow of Foreign Funds

Rating agency Moody’s evaluates the country being moderately exposed to the risk of foreign outflows.

October 14, 2013

Slovakia: Mixed Employment Situation

In Slovakia, employment fell in the construction industry and in the manufacturing industry. Wages were up in most sectors.

October 11, 2013

Slovakia: Industrial Production Grows Moderately

Industrial production index (IPI) increased by 4,4 % in August, compared with August 2012 as a result of a rise in manufacturing by 6,4 %. Production fell in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply by 7,1 %, in mining and quarrying by 11,7 %.

October 10, 2013

FriedlResearch has Published the Q3-2013 Company Report of Erste Group Bank AG

This report contains in depth information and data about Erste Group and its operations and markets. It contains a company overview, business and strategy description, financial ratios, valuation & forecast data, SWOT analysis, plus data on key events.

October 8, 2013

Latest Edition of the SWOT Report of Raiffeisen Bank International has been Published

FriedlResearch has announced the publication of the latest edition of the "Raiffeisen Bank International AG - SWOT Analysis & Company Report". This report contains in depth information and data about RBI and its operations and markets.

October 8, 2013

UK: Growth Potential in CESEE

According to the IMF, the UK economy is not diversified sufficiently. Now, UK promotes exports to the CESEE region.

October 5, 2013

Raiffeisen Research: CESEE Deserves Better Credit Ratings

Analysts of Raiffeisen Research think that Austria´s sovereign debt rating is worse than the rating agencies say. The CESEE region, by contrast, is seen too critically, Raiffeisen Research argues.

October 4, 2013

CESEE: Recovery Slow, but Stable

Corporate sentiment improving in major CEE countries as well, as the economic recovery begins to take root. Low point in interest rates has essentially been reached, rises in yields to follow trends in the developed markets, RZB says.

October 4, 2013

World Bank Supports Financial Reporting in CESEE

The World Bank launched a new program to strengthen corporate financial reporting in the countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership.

October 3, 2013

Austrian Competitiveness Under Pressure

Last year, Austrian labor costs grew stronger than productivity.

October 1, 2013

CESEE: Consumer Loans Decline Considerably

Since 2008, Austrian consumers tend to refrain from consumer credits. In the CESEE countries, the downward trend is even more obvious.

September 29, 2013

Slovakia: Economic Upward Trend Supports Fiscal Targets

After six consecutive quarters of economic deceleration, Slovakia faces better economic data. The positive trend helps Slovakia´s government.

September 26, 2013