Page 8 - bne_newspaper_April_20_2018

The Regions This Week
April 20, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Central Europe
Investors committed $800mn to the China-
CEE Investment Cooperation Fund II. The firm announced the first closing of the fund, but expects further commitments to boost its size to $1bn later this year, CEE Equity Partners, which serves as investment advisor to the fund, said.
A strike was averted at Kia Motors Slovakia.
Trade unions at the carmaker agreed to proposals on wage increases and bonuses, reaching an agreement after six months of tough talks.
Latvia’s state security service will scrutinise a tender in which a Russian company with ties
to Moscow’s military industry was picked to deliver trams to Latvia’s second city. Lithuania- registered Railvec, which won the €5mn tender to provide trams to Daugavpils’ public transit company, is owned by Russian conglomerate Transmashholding.
Automotive industry associations of Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary will ask the EU
to reduce limits on CO2 emissions for new cars from 2021–2030 from a projected 30% to 20%. The European Commission should also decrease its additional target of reducing emission by 2025 by 15%, Czech Automotive Industry Association (AIA) head Bohdan Wojnar said.
Private equity investor Advent International is in talks to buy Sanofi's Czech-based generics arm Zentiva. If the deal goes ahead, Advent plans to turn Zentiva into an independent European leader in generic drugs.
Slovakia’s police chief Tibor Gaspar will step down by the end of May. Gaspar was under
pressure from protestors in the wake of the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée.
The Lithuanian government announced sweeping plans to reform to the country's taxation and pensions systems, crack down on the shadow economy, boost wages in the education and healthcare sectors, and promote innovation. The goal is to improve the overall quality of life for Lithuanians, promote higher birth rates, increase life expectancy and reduce emigration.
Poland’s small stores have benefitted from the Sunday ban on large retail. Stores of up to 300 square metres in size boasted growth of 18% m/m in terms of the number of transactions and a 23% m/m increase in turnover in March.
Czechia produced 377,283 new cars in Q1, 2.6% fewer in annual terms with Skoda Auto the only carmaker to increase production (up 2.5% y/y), the Automotive Industry Association (AIA) said. The outlook is, however, positive for 2018.
A consortium made up of British Steel, investment vehicle Greybull Capital, and Estonian company Baltic Metal Holding is looking to buy bankrupt Latvian steel conglomerate KVV Liepajas Metalurgs. Assets of KVV Liepajas Metalurgs are being auctioned off after the Latvian government failed to find a suitable investor to save the steelworks.
Polish industrial production grew an unadjusted 1.8% y/y in March in constant prices, data from statistical office GUS showed. In adjusted terms, output expanded 5.1% y/y.
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