INVESTMENTS a modest wood cottage in Střelmá. I spent many wonderful days wandering the slopes of the Čantoryje, Sošov, Filipka and neighbourhood, in the circle of the close family, both grandmothers and grandfathers included. My brother still lives in the area and I am happy to come back whenever I have the time. Nothing compares to the places where you spent your childhood and youth.

I do recommend going to the Těšín part of the Beskyd Mountains, the amazing range of mountains between Nýdek and Hrčava (the most eastern village in the Czech Rep. at the border point of the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland). And I will never forget the delicious “placki na blasze”, fantastic potato pancakes which granny Rusnok made sweet with cream or salty with pork cracklings.

Question answered by key managers of companies and the Union for Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region: Mário Loja, CEO Semperflex Optimit What is your estimate of the development of the CZK / EUR rate by the end of 2018 and in 2019? The current prognosis of CNB (model estimate) defines the average rate in 2018 at 24.80 and in 2019 at 24.30 CZK per EUR. When do you expect the introduction of the EUR in the present political situation in the Czech Rep. and the EU (Italian election, etc.)? In autumn 2017 the Czech government announced they were not setting a particular date of joining the system ERM2 and the Eurozone as it is. Therefore we cannot expect this step in the nearest future. However, it is mostly a political decision so it will depend on the political development in the Czech Republic. Jan Skipala President of the Association of Industrial Companies of Moravia and Silesia in Ostrava What impact will the problems of the Chinese bank CEFC and J&T have on investments? As for the overall Czech economy, even a single Chinese company’s difficulties may have a considerable effect. However, this company is most probably going to be acquired by a significant semi-state-owned investor, so there is hardly any dramatic impact to be expected on Czech business partners. In the banking

segment of J&T Group the Chinese investor is a minor shareholder, and the bank itself runs on standard capital and normal operation. Bohuslav Čížek CEO Economic Policy Section of the Confederation of Industry and Transport of Czech Republic What do you see as “normal” interest rates in Czech environment for near future? What increase should business expect? This year we expect only a mild increase in commercial interest rates on the Czech market, I estimate it at only a few tenths of a percentage point. In 2019 the interest rate may increase more, our prognosis estimates the average rate at 3M PRIBOR at 1.7%. What risks of instability and what factors limiting the increase of the Czech economy do you see from your position and from the view of targeting inflation? As I’ve said before, in the short term (including 2019), I feel optimistic. The greatest obstacle of a faster increase remains in the lack of a labour force. The insecurities relate to political tension worldwide, and efforts to limit free market and trade. Targeting inflation does not tend to change the standard operation with central banks anywhere in the world. The same applies to CNB. Thank you for the interview. The interview was conducted on April 10, 2018.

Text a foto: Aleš Vítek a ČNB

POSITIV 1/2018

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