E15 weekly 12. 12.



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Monday, 12 December 2016 Issue 143l newsstand price CZK 24/¤ 1l www.e15.cz Xmas party peril Get ready for vomit, tears and mid-life crises at the annual office shindig TOP STORY pages 8–9 Hum of industry Blighted small town Vamberk revived by Pewag manufacturing plant SPECIAL REPORT pages 12–13 9 771803 454314 0 0 1 4 3 Daniel Novák In sight of billionaire Jiří Šimá- ně’s Albatross Golf Resort a new property development project is under way. Prague’s Getberg real estate firm, emboldened by Russian capital at its disposal, is constructing a group of low-energy apartment hou- ses in the village of Vysoký Újezd, not far from Karlštejn, southwest of the capital. The entire investment exceeds a quarter of a billion crowns (9.3 million euros). “The beginning of the project is being financed from our own resources. Eventually we’ll put to use the inves- tor and bank financing,” said Getberg managing director Egor Khlebnikov. Where private individuals’ capital is concerned, the developer is collabora- ting with investors from Russia. The first phase of the project, named Modrý platan [Blue Plane Tree] will see 12 houses built on 13,000 square metres. The buildings will each be divided into two apartments, making them duplexes. CZK 140m has been earmarked for the first stage. Getberg is planning to start the second stage, to be created on a nei- ghbouring property of around 5,000 sqm, next year. The investment com- mitment for this part of the project is around CZK 120m. Continues on page 4 Developer Getberg is targeting wealthy Russians with new apartments located by a luxury golf course near famous Karlštejn Castle From Russia with cash Photo: Profimedia.cz facebook.com/ e15weekly

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DEFENCE Pavel Otto Legislative amendments could give the govern- ment far more flexibili- ty in choosing how to react to NATO, UN and single-nation requests for assistance in the event of a natural catastrophe or industrial disaster such as a nuclear station accident. If passed, a bill to be placed be- fore MPs in the lower chamber could also mean faster assistan- ce for Czech citizens illegally held against their wishes ab- road or facing other threats. The amended law could ena- ble the dispatching of soldiers within 20 hours. The current process is sluggish involving, as it does, a meeting of Parliament. “The constitution as it stands does not make it possible to send soldiers abroad quickly. The process needs await both a lower chamber sitting in Par- liament and a Senate sitting,” said Jana Černochová MP (Ci- vic Democrat). Černochová is backing the bill of amendment in the lower chamber along with the chair of the chamber Jan Hamáček (Social Demo- crat) and other lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including opposition parties. Also supporting the bill is de- fence minister Martin Stropnic- ký (ANO) and foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek (Social De- mocrat). “I would welcome the change and not only because of the possibility of faster assi- stance from the Czech armed forces but also in terms of mee- ting obligations to NATO,” said Stropnický. The reality is that the Czech Republic needs to be capable of sending military units as part of fast-response NATO alliance task forces, but the constitutional situation as it stands complicates that ob- jective. Five ministries support the bill, while the industry and trade and transport ministries are against. Criticisms have been lodged by justice and in- terior. In their eyes, the amen- ded legislation should not al- ter the current constitutional approach to allowing foreign armed forces on to Czech soil. The sense in limiting Parlia- ment’s remit and transferring power to the cabinet could, taking into account historical experiences, be rather debata- ble and possibly dangerous, wrote interior minister Milan Chovanec (Social Democrat), giving his preliminary stan- dpoint. Problems associated with sending troops to foreign lands have been debated for yonks. The government has a mandate to make such a dispatch for up to 60 days, but the power is qualified. The constitution states that the mission must relate to fulfilling joint-response-to-an- -attack commitments made in news 2/3 Chamber to speed troop dispatches Gov’t assesses move to expand its authorisation to send military missions abroad Photo: ČTK Pupils denied human rights education EET go home! It’s nothing if not divisive: the start of the first phase of the finance ministry’s Electronic Records of Sales [EET] system triggered a demonstration on Wenceslas Square with several hundred people attracted to the Prague protest. The gathering – at which there were mutterings that digitalised EET was something like a secret police activity – was given the name “Five minutes to midnight”. It was arranged by the Association of Entrepreneurs and Managers in cooperation with North Bohemia’s District Chamber of Commerce of Jablonec nad Nisou and the Cheerful Czech Republic Minus EET movement. The first stage of EET covers catering and accommodation businesses, while the second phase, set to start in three months, moves on to retail and wholesale businesses. Firms are required to record sales in real time with the state’s central data repository via cash registers linked to the internet Photo: ČTK an international agreement, participation in a peaceful UN operation or rescue work after a natural disaster, industrial accident or environmental accident. The amended law would remove the conditio- ning of the dispatching po- wer, but ministers would be charged with informing MPs and senators about a military mission with no undue delay. Adéla Čabanová Only around half of elementary school teachers introduce their pupils to essential documents such as the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms. That’s one conclusion of a ve- rification exercise undertaken in both elementary and high schools by the Czech Schools Inspectorate [ČŠI]. The Civic Education Centre of Charles University’s Faculty of Huma- nities assisted in the project’s survey. Additional inadequacies in citizenship education were also discovered. In one-third of elementary schools and one-fifth of high schools there was no teaching of topics seen as vital in engaging pupils in democratic society, such as taking an active approach to human rights, developing ci- vic responsibility, preventing extremism and respecting cul- tural diversity. A large majority of teachers and headteachers stated that they did not have enough mate- rials and teaching aids to tackle such topics. European funds have, however, in recent years created a wealth of educational materials on human rights in- struction, support for student parliament projects, preventing phenomena seen as a risk to so- cial responsibility, forestalling xenophobia and other themes of civil society. Education minister Kateřina Valachová said the identified de- ficiencies amounted to a signifi- cantproblem.“Activecitizenship isdependentonciviceducation,” shetoldTheStudentTimesinan interview.Withoutapropercivic education,children,accordingto the minister, were not given an opportunity to grasp how the will of the majority is shaped in a democratic society, how local government functions or how manyrightswhicharetodayper- haps taken for granted do not arrive automatically.

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Jana Havligerová After starting out as a mere hard-working novice in the Castle’s Office of Protocol in 2002, he became pretty much indispensable. Impressively, he has served all the post-revolu- tion presidents during state visits and official occasions. “The best director of protocol which the Czech Republic has had in the past 100 years,” was the assessment of Jindřich Fo- rejt given three years ago by ex-President Václav Klaus. And Klaus’s successor, Miloš Zeman, went even further. During a visit to the Vatican he introduced Forejt to Pope Francis as “this most impor- tant, deeply faithful person and, I hope, our future ambassador to the Vatican”. Those searching the Castle for Forejt will, however, no lon- ger find him there, going by the words of the president’s spoke- sperson. He has, apparently, un- specified health problems and also plenty of accumulated days off which he must take. As for Photo: ČTK Daytime centre opens for homeless women in dire straits A new daytime centre for homeless women in social distress has opened in central Prague’s Žitná street. Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka participated in the opening. The facility – said to be the only one of its kind in the country – will be operated by the Catholic Church’s Prague Archdiocese Charity in coope- ration with the Prague 1 Parish Charity, which also runs a field program in which street workers reach out to women on the streets. Women attending the centre may do their laundry, change into a fresh set of clothes, take a shower, or get out of the freezing cold in the winter months Castle protocol chief makes obscure exit Photo: ČTK Mind your statistics Trump standing test of Time Analysts forecast that this year’s Czech sales figures will break records and that 2017’s wage hikes will lead to price increases. Meanwhile, horoscopes forecast that the first half of next year will yield positive energy conducive for good relationships. Pub owners, that long- suffering group who barely have enough these days for taxes, wages and new digital cash registers, have new hope. Finance minister Andrej Babiš took some reporters along for a visit to a pub in the village of Pohleď in the Vysočina region. He listened to concerns expressed by local mayor and pub owner Jindřich Holub about the newly up-and-running mandatory Electronic Records of Sales System (EET). The pub lack an online EET cash register. Babiš was so moved by his visit, he proposed a solution: “Well, I will sponsor a new cash register for you.” Could that be the solution for all the other aggrieved small firms too? One suspects this panacea won’t work as well without a scrum of reporters in attendance. So Donald Trump finally got his turn. He’s Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2016, having triumphed amidst “The Divided States of America”. The runner-up, handily, was Hillary Clinton. With symbolism aplenty, the crown passes to Trump from 2015 winner Angela Merkel, whom Time dubbed “Chancellor of the Free World”. Back then Trump responded with (yep) a Twitter rant: “I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite. They picked person who is ruining Germany.” But on learning of his win, the president- elect, making one of his now typical about-faces, said: “It\'s a great honor. It means a lot.” Time, which has selected its Persons of the Year both famous and infamous since 1927 (Hitler won in 1938), wrote: “To his believers, he delivers change — broad, deep, historic change, not modest measures doled out in Dixie cups; to his detractors, he inspires fear both for what he may do and what may be done in his name.” What’s to add? Perhaps that Trump gets no points for his moral standing, but rather for his power politics’ sheer rawness. In 2013, when Pope Francis won, Time said a winner needed “archival value”; they had to “stand the test of time”. It went on: “… we want our [winner] to be both a snapshot of where the world is and a picture of where it’s going. Someone, or in rare cases, something, that feels like a force of history.” Force of history? It sure feels that way right now... the diplomatic posting to the Vatican, that would seem to be done for. The news that Forejt’s office at the Castle has been sealed arrived just over a week ago. Prior to its emergence, there was mounting speculation that staff surrounding the head of state were not all pulling on the same cord. And that the ever- -present head of protocol was in serious conflict with other colleagues close to Zeman. In the past when Forejt was out of bounds, it was overlo- oked. He boasted that he was a doctor of law, but he’d never gained any such title. On his re- sumé, he stated that he had gra- duated from Prague’s Charles University [UK] and Munich’s Ludwig-Maxmilians Universi- tät. But he did not complete his UKlawstudiesandhewasnever listed as a full-time student at the Munich institution. Media have lately brought attention to the existence of a video in which Forejt is purportedly caught ta- king drugs. The Castle refused to comment on the matter. Adéla’ Čabanová’s notebook Igor Záruba’s notebook

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business 4/5 INFRASTRUCTURE Jan Šindelář Backstage in the Czech railway industry daggers are drawn. Recent weeks have seen unusual levels of en- mity among design consultancy firms. And the current abun- dance of objections, notices of appeal, queries and protests are complicating the dividing up of commissions seen as decisive to thefutureofdomesticrailtrans- port. “Sometimes these things are happening perhaps four or five times during one order and the delay then accounts for manymonths.Insuchacasethe initiation of the design phase is postponed,” said Tomáš Slaví- ček, director of design, consul- ting and engineering company Sudop Praha. Firms are mutually accusing eachotherofobstructionandof spitefully making moves which interminablystretchoutcommi- ssion tenders. Some objections arebeingfiledatthelastpossible moment or are being made by firms which ultimately do not enter the tender, according to KateřinaŠubová,spokesperson for the Administration for the RailTransportNetwork[SŽDC]. Last year, the SŽDC solved do- zens of blocked contests for orders. Obstructions can prove a lengthy hindrance to a project breaking ground or drawing downEuropeanfunds.Theove- rall value of delayed construc- tions is estimated at more than CZK 40bn. Nobody, however, is giving clear answers to the question of whoexactlyisblockingcontests and devising obstacles. But it is not difficult to guess that battle lines have been drawn by two well-known players in this rail industry sphere, namely Sudop Prahaandtherelativelyrecently established Centre for Efficient Transport(CEDOP)thinktank, founded in 2009. One of those involved in the controversy is former transport minister and ex-director of SŽDC Petr Šlegr. CEDOP has long criticised standards in the preparation Relations sour in rail design consulting Rows stall closing of contracts, value of piled up orders amounts to 40 billion crowns Angel of the Lord sequel a box office ‘miracle’ Director Jiří Strach’s Anděl Páně 2 [Angel of the Lord 2] comedy family fantasy film sequel has smashed the Czech box office record for an opening weekend. The Union of Film Distributors said the “Christmas fairy tale” attracted more than 188,000 cinema goers, a stunning increase on the previous record of nearly 50,000. “In one word, it’s a miracle,” said Strach. “Audiences fortunately do happily make time for Czech films. They want to be carried away by a clasping and caressing of earthy humanity, kind-hearted- ness and humour. And that’s what Anděl Páně 2 delivers,” he added. The first film, Anděl Páně, was released in 2005. It slowly be- came a modern-day classic among Czech audiences. The movie follows the adventures of an angel who has screwed up in heaven, causing him to be exiled to Earth, where he is incarnated as a beggar Photo: ČTK Continued from page 1 Getberg is betting that, among others, Russian bu- yers will be drawn to the premium golfing locality lo- cated between Karlštejn and Prague and a relatively short drive from Václav Havel Air- port Prague. “The potential when it comes to Russian buyers re- mains huge. Only one must persuade the Russians to buy real estate in the Czech Re- public, rather than in Spain, for instance,” said Khlebni- kov. Jiří Šimáně, one of the ri- chest Czechs, invested appro- aching half a billion crowns in creating the Albatross Golf Resort. Its course this year became the first Czech golf facility to obtain a ranking among 19 other courses in the exclusive European best golfing localities club known as the European Tour Des- tination. From Russia with cash of rail constructions, but it was limiting itself to debate. That has changed. “In the hope of improving the situation we de- cided that in cooperation with foreign entities we would enter into design consulting work on the Czech market that has been closed off for decades,” said Šlegr. A partnership of CE- DOP and France’s Egis Rail is making tender breakthroughs, but it is struggling with addi- tional order conditions, such as language requirements and other challenging areas. Often itrequestsmoreexactspecifica- tions for orders or the omitting of conditions which it considers discriminatory. And often it is eliminated from a tender. Photo: Czech Television

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Dušan Kütner Devilish Special, Winter’s Fourteen and Christmas Star – some of the names of non-tra- ditional beers being marketed by industrial-size breweries as they strive to bring consumers back to tapped beer and rever- se the trend of the past several years in which bottled beer has been getting the upper hand. Another motive also lies be- hind the growing presence of special beers produced by large breweries. The big play- ers want to reclaim some of the territory seized by small-sized competitors. According to web server pivovary.info, the small breweries have come up with more than four dozen Chris- tmas specials to help their consumers lubricate the end of the year. The small breweries know that this time around they are certainly not the only produ- cers making unconventional beers. Plenty of their more muscular rivals have embarked on the same route. These inclu- de Starobrno, which is owned by Heineken, Staropramen’s Big breweries join Christmas specials incursion Photo: ČTK up and down Simona Kijonková Entrepreneur The owner of mail-order business Zásilkovna has invested several millions of crowns into new online options which offer customers services available in their neighbourhood. Jiří Strach Film director His long-awaited Christmas fairy tale sequel Anděl páně 2 [Angel of the Lord 2] made a mo- dern record opening weekend start at Czech cinemas. Over four days, audiences numbering some 188,000 viewers saw the movie, which has earned rave reviews from critics. The director was originally minded not to make a sequel. Matteo Renzi Italian PM After a stinging loss in a referendum on proposed constitutional changes, he quit three days later ending Italy’s 63rd government in 70 years. The changes were meant to enable a limbering up of the country’s moribund economy. The populist pull of the Five Star Movement was decisive in the ‘no’ vote. Guillaume Faury CEO, Airbus Helicopters His company is the favourite in a tough tender to supply the Czech Republic with multi-pur- pose helicopters. The French-German firm stepped forward with the most appealing offer: 10 helicopters for CZK 4.8bn. British-Ita- lian AgustaWestland has reportedly not given up on the contest. It is said to be preparing price cuts. Jindřich Forejt Head of protocol, Prague Castle So often appraised as indispensable during his 14 years serving a series of post-revolution presidents, he appears to have been given the boot. Rumours have spread of rows with colleagues while there has been some media speculation over a video allegedly showing him taking drugs. Association pursues EU geographical ID mark to protect Czech blue poppy seeds After years of preparation, the official request has gone in for the recognition of Czech blue poppy seeds with a European Union Protected Geographical Identification (PGI). “The enrolment on the PGI register would serve to limit imports of cheap technical-grade poppy seeds, which particularly pour in from Spain, France, Hungary and Australia,” said Stanislava Koprdová, head of the Czech Blue Poppy Association. Technical-grade poppy seeds are primarily produced abroad for the pharmaceutical industry. But some firms are known to blend them into poppy seed mixes, which they then pass off as entirely Czech products Ostravar, PMS group mem- ber Zubr, Rebel Havlíčkův Brod and Lobkowicz’s Jihlava brewery. “The reasoning is three- -pronged: the big breweries are battling for the consumer, com- peting with the small ones and attempting to stem the beer consumption decline. They are thus being forced to come up with something novel on top of their traditional 10-de- gree and 12-degree beers,” said Jan Veselý, an expert on the brewing industry who is the former head of the Czech Union of Breweries and Malt- -houses [ČSPS]. “Industrial-si- zed breweries have gone into making unconventional beers in an attempt to lure consu- mers back to restaurants and pubs with something unusual,” he added. Zubr, one of the big breweries based in Přerov, Central Moravia, has for exam- ple produced 1,400 hectolitres of its holiday-season special Maxxim, 20-percent more than last year. “The trend that sees consumers giving new beers a try started about a decade ago. It has developed in recent years into an outright demand for a broad range of non-tra- ditional beers,” said Tomáš Pluháček, CEO of Zubr. But the season’s specials don’t always come cheap. Some of them, as well as Christmas editions of tra- ditional products, can cost as much as CZK 100 a go or more. Reserva, brewed by Starobrno, costs CZK 100 for a 0.75-litre serving. Although Pilsen’s Prazdroj has produced a special brew for this winter season, it offers its lager in an unconventional one-litre bottle designed by Maxim Velčovský. And it shows in the price tag: CZK 179. Family brewery Bernard has joined forces with 40-times wi- nner of the country’s Singer of the Year poll, Karel Gott. On top of his vocal prowess, he is also a prolific painter. The brewery can thus boast of its season’s special, Bernard Ale, being adorned by a reproduc- tion of one of its star artist’s paintings. E15 weekly, economic and business news magazine | www.e15.cz Igor Záruba, Executive Editor, igor.zaruba@cninvest.cz; Marian Hronek, Editor, marian.hronek@cninvest.cz | Translation: TextMasters, textmasters@textmasters.cz Contact: Adéla Nová, Secretary | Call (+420) 225 977 668 Postal address: Komunardů 1584/42, 170 00 Praha 7 | Published CN Invest a. s., Pařížská 130/26, 110 00 Praha 1 Josefov, IČ 04312945 Advertising: Šárka Kamarýtová, Sales Manager, sarka.kamarytova@cncenter.cz Production: vyroba@cninvest.cz | Distribution: distribuce@cninvest.cz Registration: E 21420 E15 weekly, ISSN 2464-711X Reprints & Permissions: The Publisher will consider requests for reprints or any other reproduction | Printed by EUROPRINT a. s. facebook.com/ e15weekly

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Italy stomped its foot, while Austria breathed a sigh of relief – the Eu- ropean Union has much soul-sear- ching ahead The “No” result of the constitutional referen- dum backed by Italian PM Matteo Renzi was likely down to three factors – high voter turnout; the rise of the populist Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo, as well as the xenophobic regionalist Lega Nord [Northern League]; and finally the unpopularity of the PM, who vowed to step down after losing the vote. The constitutional changes were pushed as a way of streamli- ning the legislative process and kick-starting the troubled Italian economy. Voters didn’t buy it. “Those who fight for an idea cannot lose,” Renzi insisted. Soothing words perhaps. But voters largely saw the election as a referendum on the econo- mic legacy of the PM, in office since 2014. His reign was cha- racterised not just by economic malaise, but by a combative sty- le of governance which sought to demonise his predecessors. But the 41-year-old leader of the centre-left Democratic Par- ty is likely not entirely finished with Italian politics just yet. More important than the fate of the Italian PM, however, are the actual consequences of the “No” vote for Italy and also the EU as a whole. The reforms Renzi has so far ma- naged to push through were far from ideal. But at least they represented genuine efforts. Tackling a rigid labour market and dysfunctional schools; bac- king registered partnerships... The referendum also sought to curb the powers of the Italian Senate. The very thought of even proposing such reforms would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. Alas, it wasn’t to be. The EU may perceive the “No” vote as representing a threat to the fu- ture of the world’s oldest bank, the beleaguered Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The EU had sought to find a way to as- sist the bank, which has failed stress tests and which saw its share value plunge in the wake of the referendum result. The prospect of continued Italian instability appears to spell an end for such aid, and that in turn may mean trouble for the stability of Italy’s banking system, and perhaps the Euro- pean one, too. Peppe Grillo implored vo- ters to decide with their hearts and not their heads. Meanwhi- le in Austria, such thinking was decidedly rejected. In yet another re-run of the presiden- tial election, the 72-year-old Green Party icon and econo- mics professor Alexander Van der Bellen decidedly defeated far-right Freedom Party [FPÖ] candidate Norbert Hofer. The first Van der Bellen victory was back in May, but the Constitu- tional Court annulled the elec- tion due to irregularities. Fears of a Brexit-Trump headwind for Hofer in the fresh election proved unfounded, however, and Europe can breathe a sigh of relief. But not quite... Ho- fer’s failure won’t stop the ascent of the FPÖ, currently well ahead in opinion polls. And Hofer’s 45 percent can still be considered a success of sorts for his side. The next Austrian general election is ex- pected in the autumn of 2018. And FPÖ chairman Heinz- -Christian Strache is making no secret of his ambitions to become chancellor. For Europe, Van der Belle- n’s election represents a mere pause. Holland faces the spectre of Geert Wilders; in France there is Marine Le Pen; in Germany the Alternative für Deutschland. All three of these represent the politics of extre- mism. And all three countries face elections not too long from now. The nascent wave of anti- -establishment feeling placing the old parties into survival, if not panic mode, continues una- bated. And a transatlantic wave from Donald Trump certainly underscores that very point... opinion 6/7 joke Jana Havligerová’s diary Bruises and ruses in post-truth politics Parliament has passed a revised version of new conflict of interest legisla- tion, previously bounced back to the lower cham- ber by the Senate. And Agrofert owner and ANO leader Andrej Babiš is not a happy chappy. Accor- ding to Babiš, the finance minister, PM Bohuslav Sobotka, along with other Social Democrat MPs, lied when they supposedly claimed that the revised changes would only impact future ministers. A good tip, especially for public servants: better to be guided by the facts than assertions; and certainly occasionally read the legislation making its way through the chamber. The Czech Republic is to do battle against me- dia and internet-fuelled disinformation. So says Social Democratic interior minister Milan Chovanec. His ministry is supposedly seeking to help cultivate a system for a fair and free adversarial political environment, which would help citizens to make sense of the issues. “What is needed is a focus on creating a system which ensures that people gain the relevant information and are able to orient themselves as to what is a lie and what is true,” explained Chovanec. Of course his ministry has absolutely no intention of becoming some kind of censor. Which sounds about as logical as a de- lightfully contradictory mantra once pushed in the media: cut back, but don’t miss out! President Miloš Zeman has repeatedly urged the Czech military to equip itself with unpiloted aircraft. Firstly, surveillan- ce drones, and then, in a second wave, pilot-less attack aircraft. We’d reco- mmend sticking to the first option. It’s always better to stick to the part of an observer in wars... Photo: ČTK “This week’s sermon is about how we all need to simplify our lives. Unfortunately, I lost the whole thing when my computer crashed.“ g Igor Záruba The nascent wave of anti- establishment feeling, making old parties panic, continues unabated Italy No, Austria Ja, Europe..? 255869/186 T INZERCE

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POLITICS opinions interviews NEWS markets business THE ECONOMY THE ONLY ENGLISH LANGUAGE BUSINESS WEEKLY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

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8/9 top story Photos: Getty images, Profimedia.cz The Nightmare before Christmas

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Czech film director Jiří Menzel loves to say that every good comedy contains a hidden nightmare within it – meaning tragedy underlies many a positive event. That can certainly be said of the office Christmas party, a time for coming together with colleagues and friends from the office – a nightmare scenario that can only be survived with strict discipline Milan Tesař The office Christmas party is a strange phenomenon during which time seems to stand still. We often fall victim to the delusion that all those things that we failed to solve during the year can suddenly and bravely be tackled thanks to downing more than a few drinks. Of course, such blind faith – if taken to ex- cess – can easily lead to one standing in line at the unemployment office, having lost one’s spouse, children and friends. Bosses who fobbed you off for 12 months in the year with a less than generous paycheck, and always made sure to grumble at the slightest display of tardiness, suddenly become the very essence of a sunny, jovial disposition: “Hello there Mildo, you rascal! Chris- tmas time is here, and aren’t we all just one big happy family?” And blah blah... Such waffle usually takes place amidst a gilded cage decorated with tasteless and tacky Xmas decor, usually assisted by some marketing agency, which helps the company in question to spend the necessary allotted funds which sim- ply must be used up somehow by the year’s end. Attendance at such office parties is not mandatory, at least on paper. But the chance for a “drink with the boss” pretty much means that one had be- tter go, or else. The party may be held at some bizarre location, for example on a steam ship, in a casino, in a zoo Taken from the magazine terrarium, or by a sewage outlet (one’s imagination can run riot). Anything just to be original. And a “very special night” is promised, usually designed to sufficiently loosen up (read: humi- liate) the collective workforce. Such invites are never for two. Meaning fa- mily members are not welcome. No-one says that out aloud, but everyone knows why. Especially if some poor wretch is hauled off to some spooky, tacky hotel sufficiently far from Prague to ensure an uninterrupted night’s sleep. The very manifestation of a mid-life crisis – out of control behaviour that leads to wea- ring the trousers of a female colleague from accounts over one’s head. It all seemed like such a fun idea. Despite the entirely predictable outcome of such evenings (vomit and tears), each such event is still very much a journey onto the unknown. Very few bosses end up taking staff to a Sting concert like billionaire businessman Petr Kellner. Far more likely is yet ano- ther dose of the company’s philosophy. “What we really need here is a team spirit.” Which then for some reason leads to one partaking in teambuilding exercises involving jumping around in some bouncy bag with an orange under one’s chin, or sealed together with a co- lleague from IT in one of those giant spheres rolling out of control down some muddy hill. Oh, dear. Which is why turning to alcohol increasingly becomes the only possible avenue of escape. Not that this is written on the invites, mind you. It is hard to find a better example of feeling like a fish out of water in the most familiar of places than at the Christmas office party. And by way of a memento it’s good to never forget that (just like everyone else) you’re continually being filmed by at least one cellphone at all times. You risk becoming a posing attention-seeker. Then there’s the danger of some clip being posted to Facebook of you smo- oching with whomever. The potential for misunderstanding is huge; besides 3am is definitely not a good time to be drastically upending your family life. Sending inebriated SMS messages along the lines of: “I want a divorce! Take everything. I want to live again!” is surprisingly common among men over 50. Of course, by morning, a more sober view returns... Female participants at such Chris- tmas office parties are a chapter in it- self. Especially those trying to stick to some kind of rigid diet – only to begin the night with three welcome drinks of champagne, followed by a large Be- cherovka. Usually these are high-level female managers, who suddenly cast caution to the wind. A sudden bre- akdown in self-restraint can lead to corsets being unbuttoned and inelegant displays of transparent and excessively short clothing. Such attire isn’t ideally suited to the dance floor, at least for tho- se seeking to preserve some semblance of dignity. But at least it’s a way for such stuffy managers to finally reveal that “Health and Beauty” tattoo plastered on their rear-end. And once again: be careful of mobile phones! Those videos of female collea- gues dancing around drunk and half- -naked might not make the husband, at home reading stories to his children, very happy once posted for all the world to see. Then there are the usually quiet offi- ce workers. Anonymous and usually sat quietly behind a computer or leafing through paperwork. The archetypal pale bureaucrats, short on warmth or social graces. But here, too, a trans- formation occurs. After a few drinks, Dutch courage finally enables some ice-breaking chatter with the female colleague he has been too nervous to even look at before. After a while, the inebriated bravado turns to obnoxious- ness. The voice gets a little too loud. Now everyone needs to listen to his views on how best the firm should be run. Cue the awkward moment when the boss he has been criticising publicly is discovered to be angrily standing right behind his back. The only way out is to now get the boss so drunk that they won’t remember the bad-mouthing ever happened. Alas, those idiots tend to remember – everything... Female managers assist an unwell colleague. Prior to such social events, many such women hold diets to look their best – which only makes the effects of alcohol worse Some employers are determined to foster a festive atmosphere at all costs. This Christmas partygoer was locked in a toilet “for a laugh” during one such event

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10/11 face to face Photos: E15 Anna Vacková MICHAL ŠNOBR PKN Orlen’s Unipetrol ownership conduct is intolerable Jan Stuchlík You recently filed a lawsuit against re- finer and petrochemical producer Uni- petrol over its acquisition of chemical company Spolana Neratovice. What do you hope to achieve through your court action? This came about because we deman- ded the scheduling of an extraordina- ry general meeting. We requested it in the proper manner, as prescribed by law. We proposed some 10 topics for discussion. Upon the expiry of all deadlines the Unipetrol board told us that requests by a shareholder with a 25-percent holding in the company were not considered relevant. I can- not recall a single case of this sort, not even from the wild 1990s, and I cannot fathom how the majority shareholder [Polish state-controlled oil and petro- chemicals group PKN Orlen, which owns 63 percent of Unipetrol] can dare to not call a general meeting to discuss objective topics, one of which is, for example, a proposal for an extraordi- nary dividend. Do you expect the court to order Unipe- trol to call the meeting? We’ll leave it to the court to examine our reasons and perhaps authorise us as minority shareholders to summon the meeting. We will be preparing ano- ther extraordinary general meeting in the meantime. We are sure to have one. By the way, this is the first time ever that shareholders associated with J&T have requested an EGM. And we have It’s eight years since investors linked to J&T acquired their initial shareholding in Unipetrol and their patience seems exhausted. An extraordinary general meeting as well as an extraordinary dividend have been demanded. “We insist that Unipetrol should make use of its full potential and we want it recognised that that potential is not the majority shareholder’s exclusive domain,” protests Michal Šnobr, an energy industry adviser to J&T and a representative of Unipetrol’s minority shareholders

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been shareholders [in Unipetrol] for some eight years. This is no abuse of a minority shareholder’s position. But we certainly have the feeling that the majority shareholder’s conduct is way past reasonable. What is it that you wish to discuss du- ring the meeting? We propose that an extraordinary divi- dend be paid given Unipetrol’s financial and economic standing. And we wish to have our position on the acquisition of Spolana heard [lossmaking Spolana, which is burdened by old technology, has been reacquired by Unipetrol af- ter a decade in the hands of a sister company –Ed.]. We want to hear why Unipetrol, instead of hoarding cash, does not use loans – at a time of histo- rically low interest rates – to finance acquisitions, as any responsible and reasonable manager would. And we also want to know why Unipetrol is pursuing a completely different strate- gy to that of its parent company PKN Orlen. We also want to be updated on the situation surrounding the explosion at the ethylene steam cracker unit in Litvínov, [North Bohemia], including the indemnification received from insu- rers, something that Unipetrol has fai- led to disclose in full. We further want to discover more about the insurance situation regarding the accident at the Kralupy nad Vltavou refinery [a blast which led to a prolonged closure of the facility –Ed.]. Unipetrol provides information on developments concerning insurance related to accidents in its quarterly re- ports. Is that not enough? It is true that they do that but it is far from detailed and complete as a sour- ce of information. What is reported is the bare minimum. The ethylene unit accident knocked out four of Unipet- rol’s main operation lines. The results for 2016 will therefore rest not on the operating performance but on payouts received from the insurers. We were told at the June general meeting that once the case is closed we would be pro- vided with comprehensive information. What is it that you would like to learn? For starters, we’d like to know what caused the accidents in the first pla- ce. Then we would like to know more about specific responsibilities for the resulting damages, about impacts on the insurance cover going forward, the impacts on the company’s financial per- formance including its cash flow, and many other things. Unipetrol claims that its medium-term strategy, including the dividend policy which you have been demanding, will be presented early next year. Do you not believe those claims? They have been telling us pretty much the same thing for the past three years. They keep promising to publish something and then [for instance] we simply learn that without any prior discussion the company has acqui- red Spolana for one million euros, that Paramo Asfalt has vanished from the holding’s structure and plenty of other negative news. With no prior discussion, joint stock refinery com- pany Česká rafinérská merged with the limited liability petrochemical company Unipetrol RPA, formerly known as Chemopetrol. That came as news entirely out of the blue to us. The merger creates a smoke screen that prevents you from seeing how the individual segments are perfor- ming. It goes completely against the previously transparent holding structure of Unipetrol. We are the- refore worried about the value of the company’s assets due to a number of hazy transactions, such as the acqui- sition of Spolana. Are you strong enough to challenge or even reverse some of these transac- tions? We can certainly call them into ques- tion. We intend to do just that in the case of Spolana. But it won’t be easy since the board has refused to make available any of the relevant documen- tation upon which it based its decision to make the acquisition at a cost of one million euros. We have not seen a single expert statement. We only know Spola- na’s results from previous years when it regularly reported losses and declined to a situation in 2015 when it should havedeclaredbankruptcy.Thecompany was only saved by a financial shot in the arm directly from [previous owner and fellow polyvinyl chloride (PVC) produ- cer] Anwil, a member of the PKN Orlen group. We also know that Spolana is facing another crisis as its integrated permit for production expires in the middle of the next year. Unipetrol claims that Spolana now fits better into its overall production cha- in. How? Spolana is far from interesting in terms of its production capacity and it is unsatisfactory in terms of its techno- logy, plus it makes a loss. The previous owner, PKN’s Anwil, did nothing during the decade of its ownership of Spolana. Anwil let the situation deteriorate to the point at which it was absolutely clear that no new production could be started by mid-2017. That is why PKN shifted the burden of Spolana from its wholly owned subsidiary Anwil to Unipetrol where it holds a 63-percent stake, in effect making minority share- holders bear some of the losses and the costs of necessary investments. That is why we are determined to fight the decision and battle things out, not just against Unipetrol as a whole but also against individual members of Unipe- trol’s board. It is the board members who are responsible for the steps that have been taken. Unipetrol’s new CEO Andrzej Modrze- jewski says that the company is to be- gin borrowing. How high do you think the debt should go? We are convinced that the company has excess liquidity of more than 50 crowns per share, or about CZK 10bn. We have based our estimates on the fact that Unipetrol is to report EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depre- ciation and amortisation] of around 10 billion crowns for both 2016 and 2017. An indebtedness of some 1.5-ti- mes EBITDA is perfectly healthy and natural. In other words, all the com- pany investment projects, including operating capital, as planned by Uni- petrol, could be financed by loans. The excess liquidity could be shared with PKN and minority shareholders over a relatively short time. Besides that, we expect a long-term dividend policy to be defined at last. It may look to the observer that your sole interest is to drain as much money out of Unipetrol in dividends as you can. Are you not interested in investing in the future? Yes, we do want an extraordinary dividend and we are also demanding that a regular dividend policy linked to the company’s financial results is put in place. Anyone who understands finance is well aware that a safe level of debt is healthy and actually increases the return on the company’s own ca- pital. That goes down as a boon for all shareholders. Besides, Unipetrol would be perfectly able to fund most of its planned investments through lo- ans that are exceptionally cheap right now and are easily accessible to the company. We want to hear why Unipetrol does not use loans – at a time of historically low interest rates – to finance acquisitions, as any responsible and reasonable manager would

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12/13 special report Photos: E15 Michael Tomeš Daniel Novák It is two in the afternoon and Pewag’s existing Vamberk-based factory, pro- ducing snow chains and other types of heavy-duty metal chains, is a flur- ry of activity. A fresh group of wor- kers arrives replacing the first shift carrying out the firm’s uninterrupted production line operations. The wel- ding section is one example of such heightened activity. With sparks fly- ing, and molten metal all around, the scene evokes the days of the Industrial Revolution. A few metres on, a new machine is busily churning away. Several wor- kers are hard at work attending to and monitoring the production process. Pewag recently imported the machine from abroad so as to facilitate em- ployee training. The new production facility, which is soon to be built here, will mean such skills come in handy. Pewag’s new factory will costs hun- dreds of millions of crowns to esta- blish and will require a team of 100 staff to operate it – which represents something of a problem. Because the Rychnov nad Kněžnou district has some of the lowest unemployment le- vels in the Czech Republic. Reasons for this include a nearby Škoda factory in Kvasiny, which recently saw the beginning of production of the new SUV Kodiaq. Look elsewhere for the weakest link Up until last year the small town of Vamberk, 100 kilometres east of Prague, was blighted by an abandoned former military base which used to store tanks. But now the cleared out plots of land are being readied for new construction. By the summer of 2017, Austrian industrial manufacturing group Pewag is due to have fresh production up and running at the site Chrenek: supplier and competitor But Škoda is also a key recipient of Pe- wag snow chains. When the firm’s new Kodiaq model was still in the top-secret production phase, Pewag managing di- rector for the Czech Republic Martin Lenfeld was already at Škoda HQ in Mladá Boleslav to test the custom made snow chains for the new model. Firms such as Mercedes, Porsche and Volvo also source custom chains from Rych- nov nad Kněžnou. Most materials heading to the eas- tern Bohemian production operation come from Czech ironworks. These include the Moravian Třinec Iron and Steel Works owned by billionaire Tomáš Not simply for cars. Asides from automobile wheel chains, Pewag also produces chains for technical and industrial usage

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Chrenek. His FINITRADING group also owns the Jeseník-based Řetězár- na firm, a direct Czech competitor to Pewag. The Czech Republic represented Pewag’s first expansion beyond the borders of Austria. Asides from its Vam- berk operation, the company also has factories in Česká Třebová and a drop forge plant in Chrudim. Pewag’s global operations include factories in Holland, France and the US. The firm is also wrapping up production in Italy, divi- ding the relocated operations to Austria and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Pewag’s production stra- tegy is to make as much as possible in- -house. “The aim is to retain as much value added in the business as possible,” explains Lenfeld. And that means that the firm even operates a small textile factory in Vamberk for braiding springs. Ready for winter The strength of the chains produced at Vamberk is tested with a special machi- ne which can produce up to 200 tonnes of tension. Pewag’s snow chain-making methodology is even protected by pa- tents. The individual links are made especially so as to reduce impact stress and also provide the best possible grip for vehicles. The firm also pays close attention to weather reports; but such awareness does not represent the core of Pewag’s success. Because once it snows, then it’s already too late to increase production in response. “Summer is always the busiest time. That is when sellers stock up for the winter,” explains Lenfeld. But the mild winters of recent years are hardly conducive to increased demand for snow chains. Each year around 200,000 pairs of snow chains are produced at Vamberk. But ideal factory capacity is four times higher than that. Pewag reacted to the recent spate of mild winters by buying up its com- petitors in Europe. Among its acquisi- tions were the snow chain division of Swedish firm Thule. Previously, it was actually Thule who had been eyeing the purchase of Pewag’s snow chain operations. The Austrian firm is also benefiting from securing military contracts. And increased military spending across Eu- rope and beyond is expanding such potential. One such recent example was a large order of traction chains for US military vehicles. “However, we’re not yet seeing much success in supplying the Czech military,” says Len- feld. Pewag has undertaken a number of attempts to offer its products to the Czech army, for example chains for armoured Pandur vehicles – but to no avail. Meek unions Warm winters and the seasonal nature of production mean that employment levels at Vamberk pendulate. Some staff are only provided contracts for specified periods; once the work is done they are let go. And yet the unions have hardly been up in arms about that. When Czech Pewag unionised a few years back, the Austrians didn’t know what to make of it. But they soon came to understand that Czech unions work differently than the ones abroad. “We can enjoy a good dialogue with the unions, and when we reach a deal then it is stuck to,” says Lenfeld. During the early 1990s, when Pe- wag’s owners were seeking to ascer- tain the business environment of the post-communist Czech Republic, wages were 10 times lower than in Austria. And productivity seven times lower. “Now we are at half the wage level of what they have in Austria. But the effectiveness of the labour output is comparable. Which means that manufacturing here is far more advantageous than ever before,” says Lenfeld. In a single eight-hour period, Czech workers can produce as many as 150 snow chains. But the Austrian owners of Pewag have come to terms with the fact that one day Czech wage levels will be on a par with those of their southern ne- ighbour. And apparently that will be sooner rather than later. This year alone will see factory workers at Pe- wag enjoying a five percent increase in wages. The same is planned for next year. Add to that some additional bonuses. Metallic bathing. Chains are zinc-plated to resist corrosion in a special process called galvanising Hard work. During one shift as many as 150 chains may pass through the hands of assembly workers Pewag’s Czech managing director Martin Lenfeld

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Small, black and American Pařížská 24, Prague 1 BCBGMAXAZRIA has opened its first outlet in Prague, right next door to fashion icons such as Prada and Hermés. The American fashion brand sells items that work equally well at the workplace or while out enjoying an evening drink. Select from a range of co cktail dresses and a brand new collection of knitwear. prague rambler 14/15 6ix terrific tips Text Viola Černodrinská Illustrations Tereza Kovandová Lasting love for analogue Kostelní 22, Prague 7 If you are still passionate about analogue photography then a Temná komora [Dark Chamber] workshop at Prague’s Letná is definitely for you. A friendly team of art students will share the secrets of developing photographs in the dark room plus you will get a good cup of coffee. Duende & Flamenco dancer 12 December, Jazz Dock, Janáčkovo nábřeží [riverbank] 1, Prague 5 Sophisticated jazz with world music features. Du- ende is a multi-genre band whose original compos- itions are comprised of Latin-American music with elements of flamenco, African music and jazz. LEMARKET at Mánes 17 and 18 December, Masarykovo nábřeží [riverbank] 1, Prague 1 The Mánes Gallery will transform into a marketplace for the mid-December weekend once more! LEMARKET will feature presentations by around one hundred carefully selected Czech and Slovak designers, cosmetics makers, shoemakers and chocolatiers. Avoid gluten with Marks Wenceslas Square 38, Prague 1 If, like this correspondent, you sometimes search in vain for gluten-free oven-ready food to fend off a hunger attack, make sure of visiting Marks & Spencer. The chain has just expanded its coeliac diet section, assisting those who fear gut symptoms from eating gluten. You can thus, for example, try a delicious New York gluten-free cheese- cake or spaghetti bolognese. Recycling responsibly! Across Prague, www.cervenekontejnery.cz Are you at loss as to what to do with your broken toaster? Or with your mobile phone past its prime? Your knackered hair dryer? You’ve done right by not tossing any of the gadgets in the regular dustbin. Instead, look out for one of the red-coloured ASEKOL containers that will take all your unwanted appliances for environmentally friendly disposal. Everything collected is dismantled at a special facility with as much as 90 percent of recovered materials put to reuse

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society Maths help project a knockout success in start-ups competition, world finals await Biggest international start-ups contest Get in the Ring has this year also been pla- yed out in the Czech Republic. Six projects made it into the Czech round. Emerging as the winner was Techambition, a complementary tool for teaching high school mathematics, which in the spring next year will represent this country in the world finals. Worldwide, more than 10,000 start-ups from 100 countries got in the ring. “Techambition is a system which manages to recognise the needs of students. At the same time it yields valuable feedback to teachers and provides a guide against which they can find the student’s weak points,” said project creator Jakub Stránský (pictured on the left) Photo: MCCAN Prague Photo: elai Photo: restu.cz Coworking firm Opero throws opening party at revamped modernist address New Prague coworking centre operator Opero is now providing work spaces in a stand-out early 20th century building classed as one of the best examples of Czech early modernist architecture. The address, in Prague 1’s Salvátorská street, has been extensively fitted out to enable up to 350 professionals from various fields to work there. Pictured at the opening party, from left, are centre investors Luboš Černý, Pavel Přikryl and Pavel Bouška (owner of the successful animal food firm VAFO) to- gether with Viola Škabradová (right), granddaugher of the building’s original owner, publisher and founder of the Mánes Society of Fine Arts (created in 1887), Jan Štenc advertising 257996/39 Top restaurant award goes to Prague’s Čestr The Čestr restaurant has been voted the Best Gastronomic Enter- prise of 2016 in the annual RESTU survey. Prizes were handed out at an event held in Prague’s Benedictine Břevnovský Monastery. As well as the top prize, Čestr, located in Legerova street, Prague 1, also carried away the TOP Chef award. The votes were cast by guests of Czech restaurants. For what was the third edition of the poll, they submitted more than 100,000 evaluations to the RESTU restaurant guide. Pictured from left are Jiří Moskal, the director of Restu.cz, Václav Hromas, executive director of Čestr and Pavel Straka, head chef at Čestr

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16 diversions King Bibi’s mixed day Tel Aviv residents queued to take selfies with a golden guerrilla art statue of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared overnight… and then accepted a request from the artist behind it, Itay Zalait, to help topple it. The artwork satirised the reputed imperial tendencies and taste for fine living of ‘King Bibi’, but ministers quickly let it be known they were not amused, with right-wing culture supremo Miri Regev decrying “this expression of hatred to Netanyahu”. Officials warned Zalait he was in for a fine if he didn’t get rid of the sculpture toot sweet invitations picture of the week Photos: Archive Photo: Reuters GIG Wax Tailor at Lucerna A big hit on the instrumental hip-hop and downtempo scenes, Wax Tailor has performed over 600 shows in 50 countries, delivering an enticing mix of hip-hop, soul and funk. 16 December, Lucerna Music Bar, Prague. ART EXHIBITION Artistic rebirth at Kampa Museum Until 15 January, the Prague venue hosts Jiří Valenta and the Mystery of Artistic Rebirth / Art Informel Tendencies in the 1950s and 1960s. Art Informel was response to the communist regime’s appropriation of the right to supervise Czechoslovakia’s cultural life. CINEMA Office Christmas Party (2016) When uptight CEO (Jennifer Aniston) threatens to shut down her hard-partying brother’s company branch, he throws an epic Christmas do to land a big client and save the day. But things get way out of hand... Directors: Josh Gordon, Will Speck. Various cinemas. GIG High Contrast at Roxy This Welsh drum & bass legend is billed as one of the most adored electronic producers of all time. On his return to Prague, High Contrast, aka Lincoln Barret, will be accompanied by British DJ Dimension and some Czech support. 16 December. EXHIBITION Landscapes at Krkonoše Museum If you’re visiting the Krkonoše Mountains pop into the local museum in Vrchlabí to take in works of Czech graphic artist Jaroslav Skrbek (1888-1954). Some depict ordinary life in Krkonoše, others landscapes painted during trips around Europe. Until 27 January. About us. E15 Weekly is one of a group of business and economics-oriented publications printed by CN Invest a. s. It is a sister title to the E15 daily. Both periodicals, as well as a number of others, came under new ownership in the spring of 2016 when part of a portfolio formerly published by Mladá fronta a. s. was acquired. CN Invest a. s. publishes a broad range of print and online titles. In addition to other business-minded titles, the company also publishes lifestyle and women’s magazines (Maminka, Dieta, Moje psychologie) and children’s titles (Mateřídouška, Sluníčko). The publishing house also enjoys a considerable presence in the segment of technical and men’s online titles. CN Invest, and its sister company CZECH NEWS CENTER a. s. (the biggest publishing house in the Czech Republic, with titles such as Blesk, Reflex, Svět motorů, ABC), are members of the media concern CZECH MEDIA INVEST a. s.

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