- The 2002 state budget draft submitted to the today’s discussion in the cabinet proposes a deficit of CZK 53.9bn, including the expected loss of Konsolidacni banka. Revenues amount to CZK 690.5bn and expenditures to CZK 744.4bn. Compared with this year’s results, expenditures are planned to grow by about 9 % and revenues by 8 %. Without the KoB loss, the proposed deficit for 2002 would be CZK 10bn, in line with political agreements between CSSD and ODS. Most ministries will receive less money next year than this year, except for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice, where the opposite will be true. 2001 central government’s budget deficit is likely be CZK 40bn, 9bn less than approved.
- The cabinet should endorse Documents on the financial restructuring of IPB today. The endorsement would give green light to the transfer of bad debt from IPB to Konsolidacni banka taking place at the beginning of 2002. If approved, the move will be the state's largest bank bailout in the Czech Republic. IPB was put under forced administration due to liquidity problems last year and its assets were sold to CSOB. The price CSOB will pay for IPB's assets is yet to be set. A Czech parliamentary commission recently estimated the state's loss from the IPB failure at 13.4 % of next year's planned state budget expenditures.
- Prague's Ruzyne airport checked in 2.84m passengers in 2001H1, +15.2 % in year-on-year terms. Cargo transport fell 5 % to 14.0t tons. The number of take-offs and landings rose 4.3 % to 47t. The biggest increase in the number of passengers, +21.7 %, was recorded in June, because of a higher number of charter flights. For comparison, the airport at Ostrava-Mosnov checked in 48t passengers, (+13.5 % year-on-year) and cargo transport fell there by 72.1 % to 176 tons. The Brno-Turany airport checked in 34t passengers (+9.2 % year-on-year), and transferred 299 tons. The Karlovy Vary airport checked in only 8t passengers (+10.9 %) and was not engaged in cargo transport at all.
- Imports of used passenger cars rose 62 % year-on-year to 58.5t units in 2001H1. Another 6.5t cars were imported for spare parts. Imports of new passenger cars, on the contrary, fell by 7 % to 35.7 units. The total inflow to the Czech passenger car market (including sales of new cars produced domestically) amounted to 143.8t vehicles (+19.6 %). Experts explain the sharp increase in used car imports by a lower base in 2000H1. The average declared price of imported used cars rose 7.4 % year-on-year and accounted for 8.6 % of an average declared price of a new vehicle.
- Trading in the Czech crown was thin and there were few impulses in the market on Tuesday. Late on the day the crown was down to 33.85/88 to the euro from 33.84/87 late Monday. Against the dollar, the crown firmed to 38.70/72 from 39.01/04 late Monday.
- The longest state 6.95/16 bond rose six basis points from late Monday at 99.06/36, yielding 7.05/02 %. The state 6.75/05 gained 20 basis points to 101.00/30, with yield at 6.41/31 %.
| late July 24 | bond yield | late July 23 |
| CZK/EUR | 33.85/88 | - | 33.84/87 |
| CZK/USD | 38.70/72 | - | 39.01/04 |
| State 6.75/05 | 101.00/30 | 6.41/31 | 100.80/10 |
| State 6.95/16 | 99.06/36 | 7.05/02 | 99.00/30 |
(Martin Kupka)