Page 5 - bne_newspaper_July_19_2019

The Regions This Week
July 19, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
Central Europe
The EBRD said it will invest €60mn in subordinated bonds issued by Hungary’s OTP Bank, buying part of a €500mn issue of Tier 2 notes. The issue marks the first time OTP has tapped international markets with a benchmark size issue since 2006. BNP Paribas and Citigroup were the lead managers of the transaction.
Latvia’s financial market watchdog FKTK fined Rigensis Bank, the country’s 11th-biggest lender by assets, €1mn for breaching regulations on money laundering and terrorism financing. Among the irregularities pinned down by the FKTK, Rigensis Bank failed to track origins of money in its customer accounts or failed to determine beneficial owners of some of the accounts.
Polish CPI expanded 2.6% y/y in June, 0.2pp above the annual growth rate recorded the preceding month, the statistical office GUS said. The reading is in line with GUS' flash estimate, published earlier this month.
Czechia’s Prague Airport increased its net profit by 10% to CZK3.3bn (€129.7mn) y/y
in 2018, with a growth in its revenues of
3% to more than CZK11.6bn. These figures
were positively influenced by revenues from airport lounges, parking, rents, its capacity throughout the year, and y/y growth in the number of passengers of 8.97%, according to the consolidated financial statements published by the airport in its annual report.
Lithuania’s current account posted a deficit
of €116.79mn in May, the Bank of Lithuania reported. The current account deficit widened 72% m/m and 125.4% y/y, data showed. In m/m and y/y terms alike, the increase in deficit owed primarily to a steep deterioration in the balance on the goods account, as imports growth much outpaced that of exports.
The Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) issued permits for 844 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations since January 1, 2016, and 470 of those were installed by April 2019. To promote the spread
of EVs the government introduced a HUF1.5mn subsidy for e-car purchases for companies, local governments and retail buyers in 2016.
Poland's consumer sentiment index declined 0.6 points m/m to 9 in July, statistical office GUS announced. The index expanded 3.8 points in y/y terms, data also showed. Despite the decline, the index’s has been persistently strong overall in 2019 so far. That reflects the buoyed optimism of consumers that have long been the driving force behind Poland’s economic growth.
Czech gaming operator Sazka Group launched a bid to buy out the remaining shares in the Greek betting giant OPAP, the Czech News Agency (CNA) reported, and is also bidding for an Italian lottery, SuperEnalotto, as iDNES.cz informed. Sazka Group is controlled by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek’s KKCG group.
The surplus on Estonia’s current account grew 201.1% m/m to €108.4mn in May, data from Eesti Pank showed. In y/y terms, surplus expanded 74%. Growth in the headline figure owes to steep increases on the goods and services accounts in m/m and y/y terms in May.
Slovakia’s year-on-year inflation rate was 2.6% in June, down from 2.7% in May, with
core inflation standing at 2.2% and net inflation at 1.8%, data from the Slovak Statistics Office showed. Y/y prices increased for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 4.1%, food and non-alcoholic beverages by 3.9%, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 2.3%. Prices of transport went down by 2.3%.