INVESTMENT GROUPS
On sale now
NEWS
Trnka fights back
The government has pro-
posed new rules for prosec-
utors, but faces criticism
from former general pro-
secutor Dobroslav Trnka,
who has now returned to a
senior position.
pg 2
RTVS chief appointed
Interim RTVS director Mi-
loslava Zemková was ap-
pointed permanently to the
merged public broadcaster's
top job after winning the
support of 80 MPs in a par-
liamentary vote.
pg 3
OPINION
Cutting the strings
Whatever justifications
business may come up with
for the golden parachutes
granted to executives, there
is no place for them in state-
owned firms – or for politic-
al nominees.
BUSINESS FOCUS
pg 5
Investment matures
In the last decade private
equity groups in Slovakia
have started to become
more sector-oriented and
extend their activities in-
to neighbouring coun-
tries.
pg 6
Looking to Europe
Investment analysts talk to
The Slovak Spectator about
what makes private equity
firms in Slovakia unique.
pg 7
CULTURE
Dubček in Rome
Former Czechoslovak
statesman and leader of the
Prague Spring, Alexander
Dubček, was commemor-
ated in Rome with a bust
of him being unveiled in
January.
pg 11
SELECT FOREX RATES
€ benchmark as of February 10
CANADA CAD 1.36
CZECH REP. CZK 24.25
HUNGARY
JAPAN
RUSSIA RUB 39.88 POLAND
GREAT BRITAIN GBP 0.85 USA
Vol. 17, No. 6
Igor Matovič, an MP for the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, voted for an opposition amendment to the Citizen-
ship Act on February 10. SaS promptly expelled him and he will now sit as an independent.
State plans to sell
heating plants
GOLDEN parachutes for CEOs, fishy
sales of excess emission quotas at a
hefty discount on the market price
and failed political nominations to
top managerial posts have brought
the subject of state-owned heating
companies under the political spot-
light. Now the government has de-
cided to put six heat producers up
for sale based on an analysis by the
country’s privatisation agency
which says that the state would, in
the long run, be better off selling at
least part of its stake in these com-
panies rather than trying to man-
age them.
Bank loan rates spotlighted
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff
THE FINANCE Ministry has
announced that it will con-
duct a close examination of
banking practices in Slovakia.
The country’s central bank
HUF 273.28
JPY 112.71
and antitrust authority will
also be taking a hard look at
the fees and interest rates that
PLN 3.93
banks operating in the Slovak
USD 1.36
market charge to lend money,
for example to finance home
purchases. Finance Minister
Ivan Mikloš said in early Feb-
ruary that it will be necessary
Monday, February 14, 2011 - Sunday, February 20, 2011
Photo: Sme
tial blocks and even city districts via
piped distribution networks, have
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff reported profits these have largely
been down to one-off sales of excess
emissions quotas – and that some of
the companies have remained loss-
The cabinet approved the sale on making even after taking such in-
February 9. Yet, as recently as Janu- come into account.
ary 20, Prime Minister Iveta Privatisation is in the public in-
Radičová said that only companies terest, Mikloš said, adding that the
that have been consistently loss- experience of keeping heating com-
making would be considered for sale. panies in state hands has shown that
Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš com- they do not develop well and have
mented that even if some of these slipped further into debt.
companies, which produce hot wa-
ter and steam to heat whole residen- See SALE pg 9
ADVERTISEMENT
CAREER & EMPLOYMENT
to check whether what he that his ministry intends to
called “high” banking charges examine them together with
are not the result of a cartel the National Bank of Slovakia
agreement across the banking and the Antitrust Office. The
sector. The minister pointed banks deny that there is any
out that mortgages provided
by banks in Slovakia are
among the most expensive in
cartel agreement and say that
the issue should be subject to
an independent audit.
COMING
the whole eurozone. Observ-
ers suggest that when, as is
“We are convinced that
there is no cartel agreement
NEXT
the case in Slovakia, three
large banks control a majority
through the banking sector;
yet this could be either con- WEEK
of the banking market then firmed or denied by an inde-
they do not really need a cartel pendent body,” Marcel Laznia,
agreement. spokesman for the Banking
“I consider the price of Association of Slovakia (SBA),
loans and banking charges to
be inappropriately high in
told The Slovak Spectator. Trends in the Slovak labour market
Slovakia,” Mikloš said, adding See RATE pg 9 and human resources
FOCUS
of this issue
Coalition
loses
another MP
Dual citizenship changes
put on ice
BY MICHAELA TERENZANI
Spectator staff
THE ISSUE of dual citizenship is proving as
controversial as ever, and led to a major
disagreement within the coalition on Feb-
ruary 10. After parliament failed to pass the
coalition’s draft amendment of the citizen-
ship law and two coalition MPs voted in fa-
vour of an opposition draft, Most-Híd
blocked parliamentary business, leading
Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) to sack reneg-
ade MP Igor Matovič from its parliament-
ary caucus.
Most-Híd leader Béla Bugár announced
that his party would not vote for other co-
alition draft laws until the situation had
been clarified, and called on fellow coali-
tion parties SaS and the Christian Demo-
cratic Movement (KDH) to deal with their
errant MPs. Matovič, who leads the four-
member Ordinary People faction within
SaS, and Radoslav Procházka, a KDH
deputy, supported a draft amendment pro-
posed by the opposition Smer party. Bugár
also called on Prime Minister Iveta
Radičová to act, and convene a session of
the Coalition Council, saying “this is a
problem for the whole coalition”.
SaS leader Richard Sulík subsequently
announced Matovič was being expelled
from the SaS parliamentary caucus, thus
making him the second independent MP,
following the recent departure of Andrej
Ďurkovský from the KDH caucus.
“If Igor Matovič doesn’t have a problem
voting with him [Fico], that’s his decision.
We have a problem voting with him [Fico],
and we also have a problem with a person
who doesn’t have such problem being
among us,” Sulík said.
See OUT pg 3
GUIDE 2011
2 February 14 – 20, 2011
Harabin seeks foreign observers
THE PRESIDENT of Slovakia’s
Judicial Council, Štefan Ha-
rabin, wants the European
Network of Councils for the
Judiciary (ENCJ) to send ob-
servers to Slovakia to monitor
the election of new judicial
council members that are ex-
pected to be held in May or
June 2012. Harabin made the
request during a February 9
meeting with the newly-elec-
ted president of the ENCJ,
Miguel Carmona Ruano.
Harabin stated that his
request was based on the
“absolutely non-standard
Court rejects complaint by Smer MPs
THE CONSTITUTIONAL
Court has rejected a com-
plaint brought by MPs from
the opposition Smer party
who argued before the court
that their constitutional
rights had been violated in
parliament’s secret ballot
vote on December 2 to select
a general prosecutor. A panel
of the court dismissed the
complaint by saying it was
lodged by a person without
proper standing and was also
groundless.
The complaint was de-
livered to the Constitutional
Court on December 3. A group
of 55 deputies from Smer, led
by former prime minister and
current deputy speaker of
parliament Robert Fico, said
Hungarian climber dies in High Tatras
A HUNGARIAN mountaineer
was killed in an avalanche in
the High Tatra mountains on
the afternoon of Saturday
February 5, Prešov Regional
Police spokesperson Jana
Karnišová told the TASR
newswire.
Two other tourists, also
Hungarians, were severely
injured in the incident
which took place in an area
near Lomnický Štít moun-
tain while another Hungari-
an mountaineer was slightly
Bratislava to see second pride parade
SLOVAKIA’s gay pride
parade, Rainbow Pride Brat-
islava, will again be held in
the capital city in 2011.
“The biggest lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) event in Slovakia will
take place on June 4,” Ro-
mana Schlesinger, the Exec-
utive Director of the event,
told the SITA newswire. She
said preparations are ongo-
ing and that the 2011 pro-
gramme will have more in-
teresting accompanying cul-
tural events and a musical
programme. She added that
she expects the parade across
Bratislava to be safer than
last year, when the first ever
pride parade in Slovakia was
disrupted in several ways.
and enormous pressure of
political power in overruling
the judiciary,” as quoted by
the SITA newswire. He also
stated that the government
had recently removed three
members of the Judicial
Council in violation of the
constitution.
Carmona said Harabin’s
request will be passed on to
the governing body of the
ECNJ, SITA wrote.
Carmona also met Justice
Minister Lucia Žitňanská
during his one-day visit to
Bratislava.
their fundamental rights and
freedoms and their right to
participate in administration
of public affairs through a
secret ballot were violated
when some MPs took photos
of their ballot papers along
with an attached MP’s ID
card in order to have evidence
of how they had voted, while
other MPs came to cast their
ballots in pairs, the SITA
newswire wrote.
Fico reacted that he had
expected such a ruling from
the Constitutional Court, say-
ing he had already stated his
concern about whether the
initiator of the complaint had
legitimate standing to submit
such a complaint, the Sme
daily wrote.
injured but was able to walk
to safety unaided. Mountain
rescue teams of 12 profes-
sionals and 4 volunteers at-
tended the scene to assist
with the rescue.
According to the Moun-
tain Rescue Service, the four
Hungarian mountaineers
triggered an avalanche while
they were climbing down
Lomnický Štít. The plunging
snow swept them down a
steep and narrow mountain
valley.
“The organisation of
Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2011
is in full swing,” Schlesinger
said. “The success of the first
year motivated us and we
cannot just stop. We would
like to establish several
unique spots for open discus-
sions about human rights.”
The organisers said
members of the public will
have an opportunity to see
several movies and theatre
performances, to take part in
discussions and to view ex-
hibitions on lesbian, gay, bi-
sexual, and transgender
rights during a week of ac-
companying events.
Compiled by Spectator staff
from press reports
NEWS
PM lays out changes
in prosecutors' offices
BY MICHAELA
TERENZANI
Spectator staff
SLOVAKIA’S state and district
offices that are charged with
prosecuting those who violate
the law are next on the
government’s agenda for what
the prime minister and justice
minister call more public con-
trol and transparency.
At the end of last year the
ruling coalition parties were
unable to select a new general
prosecutor despite a series of
votes in parliament, a debacle
that rocked the Slovak politic-
al scene. Now the post of gen-
eral prosecutor, the top pro-
secutorial position in the
country, is vacant and the
Justice Ministry is promising
that the next person in that
position will have to follow
some new rules.
The amendment to the Law
on Prosecution prepared by the
Justice Ministry has been un-
dergoing interdepartmental
review since February 4 and
will remain open for com-
ments for another three weeks.
The General Prosecutor’s Office
had the draft earlier, for its re-
view and comment.
Prime Minister Iveta
Radičová stated that the sub-
stance of the amendment is
based on feedback from cit-
izens, saying that 65 percent of
Slovaks believe that the
country’s prosecutors have
failed in cases involving organ-
ised crime or in prosecuting ‘big
fish’ and ‘white collar’ crimes.
She added that in the future
these kinds of cases should not
be swept under the rug as easily
because of several changes in-
cluded in the amendment, such
as banning so-called ‘negative
orders’ issued by higher-level
prosecutors.
Banning ‘negative orders’
Justice Minister Lucia
Žitňanská proposed in the
amendment to eliminate
‘negative orders’, a process in
which higher level prosecutors
are permitted to order subor-
dinate prosecutors to not
launch criminal prosecution
against a suspect, to not lodge
charges or have a suspect ar-
rested, or to cease criminal pro-
secution.
“We respect the hierarchic
structure of the organisation of
prosecution and therefore if the
direct superior of a prosecutor
feels that a prosecutor is not
handling a case right, he or she
can take over the case and de-
cide on it alone,” Žitňanská said.
More transparency
The justice minister has
also proposed the elimination
of the position of prosecution
clerk and instead seeks to in-
Dobroslav Trnka may run for the GP post again.
troduce the position of
prosecutor’s assistant. In this
way the minister said she
wants to open the process for
selecting new prosecutors to
all candidates who fulfil the
requirements of the position.
Currently, prosecution clerks
are favoured to become new
prosecutors, the minister
said, while noting that former
General Prosecutor Dobroslav
Trnka had refused to make
this change.
“The institute of prosecu-
tion clerks is meant for the
systematic preparation of the
clerks for the post of a prosec-
utor, both professionally and
organisationally,” Trnka
wrote in an open letter to the
justice minister dated Febru-
ary 2, his last day in office,
while also criticising all other
aspects of the ministry’s pro-
posed amendment.
To be transparent, the se-
lection process for prosecutors
should be similar to that for
judges, Žitňanská said, with all
the documentation submitted
by a candidate and information
assembled by a selection com-
mission being published. She
added that head prosecutors in
districts will be selected in this
way under the amendment
and will serve for a maximum
of two five-year terms rather
than for an indefinite period,
as is currently the case.
There is controversy over
the composition of these selec-
tion committees. The amend-
ment, following the principles
that are included in the re-
cently enacted law on judges,
states that the selection com-
mittee will consist of five
members, one nominated by
parliament’s constitutional af-
fairs committee, one nomin-
ated by Slovakia’s Council of
Prosecutors at the state level,
Photo: Sme
two nominated by the Justice
Ministry, and one person selec-
ted by the prosecutors’ council
in the district with a vacant
prosecutor’s position.
Trnka wrote that giving
the justice minister the au-
thority to pick two people who
would select prosecutors is “an
unacceptable intervention in-
to the independence of
prosecution”. Trnka’s letter la-
belled a provision that would
allow the justice minister to
start disciplinary proceedings
against a prosecutor in the
same way.
The ministry has proposed
making disciplinary proceed-
ings more open to the public by
altering the composition of a
disciplinary committee so that
it would include a member
proposed by parliament and
one proposed by the ministry.
Following up on the
Radičová government’s previ-
ous approach to making the
work of public institutions
more open to the general pub-
lic, the amendment proposes
that certain decisions be pub-
lished online: decisions by se-
lection committees, decisions
of disciplinary committees,
and decisions made by a
prosecutor’s office which do
not lead to further court pro-
cesses. Additionally, prosec-
utors’ declarations of assets
should be published on the
website of the General
Prosecutor’s Office, according
to the amendment.
Critical comments
Trnka has expressed con-
cerns that the amendment is
an attempt to politicise the
work of the country’s prosec-
utors and give more control to
the government over their de-
cision-making.
“The proposed legislation
restricts the autonomy of the
prosecution and of the general
prosecutor in relation to polit-
ical power and basically is dir-
ected only towards one aim,
the politicisation of the
prosecution,” Trnka wrote,
suggesting that if the law is
passed in its current form he
would seek review of it by the
Constitutional Court.
“A closed system always
defends itself from opening to
public control,” Žitňanská said
in reaction to Trnka’s criti-
cism.
Trnka would be eligible
The proposed amend-
ment states that a general
prosecutor (GP) will serve
only one seven-year term.
The prime minister said this
was designed “to strengthen
the independence of the GP
from politicians so that the
GP is not tempted to impress
some politicians or political
parties based on the fact that
they might vote for him or
her for the next seven years”.
But the proposed amendment
does not make this restriction
retroactive.
“I welcome that we have
reached an agreement with
the minister,” Radičová said
about the proposed law having
an initial, temporary clause
which prevents it from being
applied retroactively, thus al-
lowing previous general pro-
secutors to again seek the post
under the new law. Thus,
Trnka would be eligible to seek
the post again and could serve
for another seven years.
Even though Trnka’s term
as general prosecutor ended
on February 2, he soon re-
turned to the General
Prosecutor’s Office. Ladislav
Tichý, who is currently
serving as the temporary,
caretaker general prosecutor
until parliament makes a de-
cision on a permanent suc-
cessor, had previously served
as Trnka’s first deputy. With-
in days of Trnka’s term as gen-
eral prosecutor ending, Tichý
appointed him to the position
of deputy general prosecutor
responsible for the office’s
penal department.
Trnka is therefore still re-
sponsible for criminal cases
and in the event of Tichý’s ab-
sence he may have the top de-
cision-making power with the
General Prosecutor’s Office,
even though Trnka had told
broadcaster TV Markíza that
he was going to act as “a nor-
mal, ordinary prosecutor”
after his term elapsed. The
Sme daily wrote that it suspec-
ted that Trnka had created the
deputy’s position for himself
only shortly before his depar-
ture when he changed the
office’s organisational struc-
ture. Sme wrote that Trnka re-
fused to comment on its story.
 NEWS February 14 – 20, 2011 3

Chief appointed for OUT: Most-Híd blocks

parliament, MP sacked
new public broadcaster Continued from pg 1

Matovič said he voted in

BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff
SLOVAKIA’S mega public
broadcaster now has a per-
manent chief: Miloslava
Zemková, the interim direct-
or of Radio and Television of
Slovakia (RTVS), which was
created by the merger of
Slovak Radio (SRo) and Slovak
Television (STV) at the be-
ginning of 2011. She was
chosen by parliament to
carry through what Culture
Minister Daniel Krajcer has
called a significant reform of
the public media in Slovakia.
On February 10, Zemková
was supported by 80 out of
137 MPs present in a recor-
ded vote in parliament. Ac-
cording to unofficial in-
formation, along with MPs
from the ruling coalition
parties, two independent
deputies – Igor Matovič, who
was expelled from the Free-
Miloslava Zemková
dom and Solidarity deputy
caucus earlier in the day,
and Andrej Ďurkovský,
formerly of the Christian
Democratic Movement –
voted for Zemková, the SITA
newswire reported.
After a first round earlier
on February 10, Zemková
competed head-to-head with
Photo: SITA
Jaroslav Rezník, the director-
general of the TASR news-
wire. Both, Rezník and
Zemková had managed SRo
in the past. Rezník received
only a single vote after the
opposition parties abstained.
Krajcer had earlier pointed
out that Zemková has a
proven record as a successful
manager without any polit-
ical affiliation.
Among 18 candidates who
had submitted applications,
only Peter Abrahám, a former
member of Slovakia’s licens-
ing council and Fedor Flašík, a
promotions expert, as well as
Zemková and Rezník, were
dubbed as having much
chance of being elected.
In her presentation to par-
liament Zemková pointed to
the potential risks of merging
the ailing TV network with
the financially healthier radio
broadcaster, while stressing
that even if she were elected
by MPs, she would not be a
political nominee.
She stated that if the fu-
ture director failed to properly
handle the financial chal-
lenges of consolidating the
radio and television broad-
casters, it could mean the end
of public media in Slovakia,
the SITA newswire reported.
See RTVS pg 5
line with his faction’s
agreement with the Coali-
tion Council, since Smer’s
amendment was defeated (as
one Ordinary People MP
voted against it, while the
remaining two abstained),
but insisted that his vote in
favour of Smer’s amendment
was covered by the agree-
ment as he had made clear
that he wanted to vote in line
with his conscience. Matovič
added that he had been de-
ceived by the rest of the co-
alition, but did not specify in
what way.
“I’ve always voted in line
with my conscience, and I
will continue to do so,” was
his response when asked if
he would continue to sup-
port the ruling coalition as
an independent MP.
Split opinions
The Coalition Council
had met earlier, on the even-
ing of February 9, after a vote
on the coalition amendment
was postponed due to dis-
agreements within the coali-
tion, to discuss possible solu-
izenship, something made
easier by a law passed by
Budapest last year.
Matovič was not the only
rebel. The KDH’s Radoslav
Procházka announced in the
parliamentary debate on
February 9 that he would also
refuse to support the coali-
tion draft, but for rather dif-
ferent reasons. He was op-
posed to a provision which
stated that Slovakia does not
recognise the citizenship of a
person if it was not gained in
line with international law.
“It looks as if we don’t re-
cognise the effects [of such
laws] only in cases where we
specifically state so, but oth-
erwise we do recognise
them,” Procházka said, as
quoted by SITA.
Late night talks
“If anyone tries to force
me to vote against my con-
science, I will quit the
coalition,” Matovič said on
February 9, as quoted by the
SITA newswire in reaction to
voices from the coalition
suggesting that he and his
faction should support the
coalition draft.
Matovič’s determination

English becomes a must at schools tions to the situation.

BY MICHAELA TERENZANI
Spectator staff
FOREIGNERS looking for a bus stop or a
museum in Copenhagen or Stockholm
do not usually hesitate to ask a local res-
ident for help since they are almost cer-
tain to get a reply in fluent English.
This, however, is not yet the case in
Bratislava according to English teachers
in Slovak schools who have welcomed
the initiative of the Education Ministry
to strengthen the English-language
skills of current and future generations
of Slovaks. But some teachers have also
expressed doubts whether the legisla-
tion passed by the Slovak parliament,
overriding a veto by President Ivan
Gašparovič, that makes English instruc-
tion compulsory at primary schools will
be enough to do the job.
Education Minister Eugen Jurzyca
believes that giving preference to Eng-
lish, as the contemporary lingua franca,
over other languages in the mandatory
curricula of primary schools will bring
fruit in that every secondary school
graduate will be tasked with mastering
English at the B2 level of the Common
European Framework of Reference for
Languages. With that aim in mind, the
Education Ministry was able to push an
amendment to Slovakia’s Schools Act
through parliament.
English becomes compulsory
Slovakia is the 14th country in the
European Union to make English lan-
guage instruction compulsory, after the
Slovak parliament overrode a presiden-
tial veto of the amendment in early
February 2011 and gave the green light
to new rules that will become effective
on March 1. English will become com-
pulsory starting from the third grade at
all primary schools in the upcoming
school year.
Currently, only about 66 percent of
students in Slovakia learn English while in
the EU overall the percentage is as high as
90 percent. Slovak students are required to
study two foreign languages: one begin-
ning in their third year and a second one
beginning in the fifth grade. They will no
longer be able to choose the first of them –
English will be mandatory for all.
“A positive impact from this decision
will not be seen immediately but in my
opinion it was necessary to come to this
conclusion,” Jana Berešová, the head of
the Slovak Association of Teachers of Eng-
lish, told The Slovak Spectator, adding
that the law in itself will not improve
Slovak students’ English and that further
steps need to be taken, such as replacing
the old-fashioned accreditation based on
theory and literature by practical lessons
focused on skills.
Berešová compared Scandinavian
countries with Slovakia in that they are
also fairly small and their native lan-
guages will never be used by other
Europeans as target languages.
“Their language policy supports Eng-
lish as a language of communication, so in
Sweden children start learning English
very early and during their secondary
school studies they can learn another tar-
get language, but mostly languages they
think will be needed for real purposes,
such as Spanish because a large part of the
world’s population uses Spanish as their
mother tongue or as a language of
communication,” Berešová explained.
After the amendment was first passed
by Slovakia’s parliament, Education Minis-
ter Eugen Jurzyca was showered with
strongly critical reactions from many quar-
ters. President Ivan Gašparovič vetoed the
law, stating that students should be able to
pick a language of their choice as their first
foreign language. Some ambassadors to
Slovakia, according to President Gašparovič,
also objected to their country’s language be-
ing pushed aside in Slovak schools and some
schools worried that there might not be
enough qualified English teachers.
Berešová explained that studying
English at Slovak universities is not very
attractive for young people as learning
the language is not easy, the social status
of teachers is low and the expected salary
is discouraging. She suggested that one
temporary solution for the lack of Eng-
lish-language teachers would be to give
students at universities in any field of
study an opportunity to continue in
courses of English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) for six to eight semesters.
“Most non-philological faculties
stopped teaching ESP to save money,”
Berešová told The Slovak Spectator. “No
institution checked if this kind of saving
is good or bad. It seems to be bad because
many graduates are unemployed. If they
had completed ESP courses, they could
have tackled this lack of teachers for a
certain time.”
The Education Ministry told The
Slovak Spectator that at the end of
November 2009 almost 13,000 teachers
were teaching English at basic and sec-
ondary school levels and that some
schools lacked English-language teach-
ers. The ministry expects to fill any
shortage in teachers by using teachers
who are upgrading their qualifications so
they will be permitted to teach English.
Almost 4,000 teachers are now at-
tending university courses for training in
teaching foreign languages. The pro-
gramme for retraining teachers, which
had been suspended for almost six
months due to problems drawing money
from European funds, was restarted in
early 2011 when the education minister
found resources in the state budget to
fund it.
The British Council also proposed to
the Education Ministry last September
that it could offer a range of courses for
teachers that might meet the ministry’s
requirements. The British Council said it
was willing to offer these resources to the
Education Ministry for free and would
also take the responsibility for training
an initial group of trainers.
Matovič said that if his
alteration to the coalition
draft was not accepted, he
would vote for the draft
amendment proposed by the
opposition Smer party,
which was closer to his pre-
ferred version.
Matovič in particular
wanted to retain the facility
to remove Slovak citizenship
from people who acquire the
citizenship of another coun-
try if they have not lived,
worked, studied or done
business there for at least a
year, or if their relatives do
not hail from that state.
Smer’s amendment
would have allowed Slovak
citizens to obtain the cit-
izenship of a country where
they have been registered as
a resident for at least six
months. The coalition draft
revision of the Citizenship
Act, in contrast, wanted to
remove the provision that al-
lows those who acquire the
citizenship of another state
to be stripped of their Slovak
citizenship altogether, with
the exception of police,
army, intelligence services
and security officers.
Most-Híd is most exer-
cised about the changes as it
represents many Hungari-
an-speaking Slovak citizens
who could be targeted if
they seek Hungarian cit-
Bugár said the coalition agreement was broken.
has shaken the ruling coali-
tion and prompted some
strong statements, particu-
larly from Most-Híd leader
Béla Bugár, who said that if
Matovič voted with Smer, he
would consider him an op-
position MP. Speaking on TV
news channel TA3, Bugár
conceded that such an even-
tuality might lead to a
minority government. Fol-
lowing the departure of
Ďurkovský and now Matovič
the coalition commands the
votes of only 77 MPs out of
150, although Ďurkovský has
pledged to continue voting
with it.
In the end, in line with
the agreement reached in the
Coalition Council, the four
Ordinary People voted in fa-
vour of their own version of
the coalition draft, after
which Gábor Gál of Most-
Híd, one of the authors of the
coalition draft, withdrew the
original proposal. Parlia-
ment then voted on Smer’s
draft, which was defeated
despite the fact that both
Matovič and Procházka sup-
ported it.
Prior to the vote, when
Matovič announced the ar-
rangement to journalists, he
said he wanted “the result to
be a good law which will be
the result of an agreement
across the coalition and the
opposition”.
Photo: Sme
4 February 14 – 20, 2011
GDP growth forecasts released
THE ECONOMY is growing
faster than expected accord-
ing to an analysis prepared
by the Finance Ministry’s
Financial Policy Institute
which states that GDP in
Slovakia will grow by 3.4 per-
cent in 2011 and by 4.8 per-
cent in 2012, the Sme daily
reported.
The Financial Policy In-
stitute commented that the
reason behind its better pro-
gnosis is an expected im-
provement in the external
environment and positive
preliminary data for the
fourth quarter of 2010 in both
Slovakia and across the euro-
zone. The institute wrote
that in the first two years of
its prognosis, economic
Investment tax relief could broaden
THE FINANCE Ministry has
conceded that the time peri-
od for tax relief that is
provided to recipients of
government investment in-
centives might be increased
from five years to 10 years.
The Economy Ministry is
planning to push for this
longer period of time in a
draft revision to Slovakia’s
investment assistance law,
the SITA newswire reported.
The Finance Ministry
said that in principle it can
foresee this as a possible step
as it believes this form of tax
relief imposes the smallest
load on public funds from
among all kinds of fiscal
stimuli, but added that its fi-
nal position will be decided
only after a set of proposals
to improve the business en-
ICT sector blows its own trumpet
THE AUTOMOTIVE or elec-
tro-technical industries
usually jump to mind as the
main engines of Slovakia’s
economy but representat-
ives of the Slovak IT Associ-
ation (ITAS) said on Febru-
ary 8 that the information
and communications tech-
nology (ICT) sector is not
part of this ‘ranking’ even
though it outperforms the
automotive industry in
many important indicators.
The association introduced a
study prepared by INESS
Consult about the import-
ance of the ICT sector to the
Slovak economy that was
commissioned by ITAS.
“This study has confirmed
our assumptions that the ICT
industry is an important pil-
lar of Slovakia’s economy,”
said Juraj Sabaka, the presid-
ent of ITAS. “It has grown
here on a green field with
minimal state support and it
now employs tens of thou-
sands of people generating
products and services with a
high added value.”
Sabaka added that the
purpose of the study was not
growth should be primarily
triggered by foreign demand,
investments, and rebuilding
of inventory but that begin-
ning in 2012 an increase in
domestic household con-
sumption due to a better la-
bour market will contribute
more to GDP growth, the
SITA newswire reported.
The labour market will
continue to stagnate for
some time according to the
analysis. The Finance Min-
istry lowered its estimate of
employment growth for 2011
to just 0.7 percent compared
to its previous estimate of 1.2
percent growth. In 2012 em-
ployment is forecast to grow
by 0.9 percent and in 2013 by
1.2 percent, SITA reported.
vironment have been re-
viewed.
The Finance Ministry
also suggested that the duty
to deduct tax losses during
the period of tax relief
should be preserved, adding
that the state will provide
subsidies for purchase of
long-term tangible or intan-
gible assets only in excep-
tional cases, namely for stra-
tegic projects.
The Economy Ministry
wants to extend this stimu-
lus provision to small and
medium-sized businesses
and has suggested that the
minimum investment level
should be cut in half and that
for investment in technology
centres, the minimum level
of assets should be reduced to
€500,000.
to initiate an inflow of state
stimuli into the ICT sector but
to show that with minimal
interventions from the state
(positive or negative) a thriv-
ing industrial branch can
emerge that generates bene-
fits for the whole of society.
The study reported that
Slovakia’s ICT sector em-
ploys almost 40,000 people,
with nearly 30,000 of these
employees working in the
basic ICT sector, excluding
publishing, audiovisual, and
radio activities. The report
noted that the average
monthly salary in the ICT
sector is €1,500 and that em-
ployees in the ICT sector pay
more in payroll taxes than do
the workers in the automot-
ive industry. Furthermore,
the analysis stated that ICT
companies paid income
taxes of more than €170 mil-
lion in 2009 and that this was
more than the entire manu-
facturing industry and 50
times more than the auto-
motive industry.
Compiled by Spectator staff
from press reports
BUSINESS
'The airport has always
been a subject of interest'
BY ADAM VALČEK
Special to the Spectator
MAROŠ Jančula considers the
option of renting Bratislava
Airport to a strategic partner
for a long-term period a viable
option. The head of Bratislava
Airport also suggests that air-
ports elsewhere are being ren-
ted for as long as 65 years, but
points out that they remain in
the hands of the state, which
also retains partial interim
control over them, and that
after the rental period expires
they are returned to the state
in the same condition – or
even improved.
Jančula confirmed that in-
terest from investors can
already be detected. In an in-
terview with Sme daily and
The Slovak Spectator, Jančula
spoke about the development
prospects of the airport, pos-
sible new connections and the
challenges that the air ter-
minal faces.
The Slovak Spectator: Are you
currently in negotiations
with new air carriers?
Maroš Jančula (MJ): We
are negotiating with current
carriers who operate here now
about enhancement of their
operations. We are negotiat-
ing with airlines that would be
utterly new to the airport and
who have already shown an
interest in operating flights
from Bratislava.
TSS: For some time there
have been rumours about in-
terest from Turkish Airlines;
the carrier itself has publicly
declared an interest in flying
to Slovakia. Are you negoti-
ating with it?
MJ: I would like to leave po-
tential confirmation of negoti-
ations to these carriers. It would
be possible to name a list of car-
riers with whom we commu-
nicate, but so far we have not
chosen such a policy. The carri-
er is the one who bears the
biggest commercial risk, so let it
decide whether it wishes to con-
firm an interest.
TSS: Why is Bratislava so at-
tractive for classical airlines
from the East?
MJ: It is all about the satur-
ation of the market. Airports in
Vienna and Budapest are
swamped and this is what sets
the prices at different levels.
Many airlines from the East
have grown and now they want
to expand.
Bratislava has its advant-
age and disadvantage as well:
the disadvantage is the prox-
imity of Vienna, and the ad-
vantage is its free capacities.
Armavia, with its flights to
Yerevan, has made a stra-
tegic decision – this was not
about nobody wanting to fly
to Bratislava.
Bratislava Airport may seek a strategic partner.
TSS: In the past you said that
there was interest in routes
to Kiev and Moscow, but
their launch is obstructed by
bilateral agreements that
define authorised carriers
who can fly between the two
countries. Are any carriers
exerting pressure to have
these agreements changed?
MJ: The carriers know the
arrangements. Any arrange-
ment can be opened only by
two partners; in this case it is
the transport ministries of
Slovakia, Ukraine or Russia.
We can help but we are not the
ones to decide. Our task is more
or less a passive one.
TSS: Do you know if carriers
are negotiating with the
ministry?
MJ: It has been going on
for some time already. Maybe
we will soon get a positive re-
action from Moscow through
our ministry.
TSS: Can you imagine a con-
nection between Bratislava
and Moscow via a low-cost
airline?
MJ: Of course, why not?
Russian companies are ex-
panding strongly now and it
would be a very interesting al-
ternative for passengers who
currently fly with expensive
tickets from Vienna.
TSS: How are you preparing
for the upcoming Ice Hockey
World Championship?
MJ: The negotiations with
relevant organisations are un-
derway. We are also making
technical adjustments to ex-
tended boarding gates to widen
the space for passengers in the
so-called non-Schengen zone.
Maybe fans from Russia and
other parts of the world will
come. At the same time, we
want to create a space for tem-
porary expansion of services
for passengers during the
World Championship.
TSS: What is the financial
condition of the airport?
MJ: We are operating at a
profit but depreciation creates
an overall loss. We are able to
finance everything ourselves,
except for larger investments.
Photo: Sme
TSS: The draft plan for the
airport’s future says there
are serious problems with
the runway. Its reconstruc-
tion will require €233 million
over the next ten years. The
draft points to the fact that
reconstruction of the point
at which the runways inter-
sect will mean the airport is
put out of operation. Will
this mean there are no
flights from Bratislava?
MJ: Yes, exactly. Flying
would be limited entirely ac-
cording to the length of the
available part of the runway.
The runway could be used only
for some types of aircraft.
TSS: Is it realistic to limit
local flights?
MJ: It happens that air-
ports are closed for six
months or a year. The ques-
tion is whether we can afford
this, or whether we would be
better advised to look for oth-
er options.
TSS: What are those other op-
tions? The ministerial draft
mentions them too.
MJ: These would be relat-
ively major interventions in
the total reconstruction of the
runway, e.g. its extension to-
wards the Malý Dunaj River,
thus creating a total length
that would be sufficient during
reconstruction for Boeing
737-700 aircraft to land.
TSS: As an expert on aviation,
could you try to explain why
offering an operating licence
is better for Bratislava Air-
port than its sale?
MJ: This is not a question
for an aviation expert, but
rather for an economic expert.
TSS: But the ministry’s draft
lacks any economic analysis.
MJ: When taking into con-
sideration all factors currently
influencing the market, a li-
cence is probably better. The
draft presupposes that it will
be read by people who under-
stand what they are reading,
so there is no deeper analysis.
This is how it is perceived,
with all probability. It is not a
university textbook that
would also explain the founda-
tions of the economic opera-
tion of an airport.
TSS: So could you give at least
three reasons why a rental
would be better than a sale?
MJ: The airport will stay in
the state’s hands: the state will
retain partial control and,
after the rental period expires,
it be will returned to the state.
If the whole process is well-
run and the contract is good,
the airport will be returned to
the state at least in the same
state as when it was taken over
by the concessionaire, if not a
better state.
TSS: However, one cannot
make good forecasts over a
term of 20 or 30 years, to be
able to predict what might
happen. In the last ten years,
the aviation sector has made a
huge leap.
MJ: At present, airports are
rented for as many as 65 years.
Do you know what will be in 30
years? How will we travel? Will
we need to travel that often by
plane at all?
TSS: These are exactly the is-
sues that will be difficult to
take into consideration with
the knowledge we have today.
MJ: Yes, but it happens
nevertheless. It will have to be
taken into consideration also
in this contract. Today,
projects are made for an
equally long term – and not
only for airports. Nowadays,
airports are not only rented in
this way, but also built.
TSS: The ministry draft says
that by the end of next year a
licence-holder, i.e. conces-
sionaire, could be chosen. Are
there any specific dates set?
MJ: Up to the end of this
year, the requirements for a
concessionaire will just be set
out. The schedule depends on
the ministry. A concessionaire
will be chosen in 2012 at the
earliest. This is a project we
don’t have much experience
with, so someone will have to
come and advise us: an adviser
who could even change some of
the views embodied in this
concept for aviation.
TSS: Have you noticed any in-
terest so far from the more
well-known transport li-
cence-holders?
MJ: So far, nothing specific
has taken place, but they never
ask directly. As for now, they
are making a market outline, to
see what happens and how it
will happen. We know that the
airport has always been a sub-
ject of interest. And this is good
for an airport – it means that
there is something that makes
it attractive.
The Sme daily first published
a version of this interview
with Maroš Jančula
on February 7
 OPINION / NEWS February 14 – 20, 2011 5
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“I have always wanted there only to be independent MPs in
parliament, who would decide freely according to their consciences.” Cutting the strings
Igor Matovič, speaking after becoming an independent MP himself
following his sacking from the SaS parliamentary caucus on the golden chute
THE SKY of the corporate selling emissions at €0.01 per time they have to improve
Pokakať sa world is full of 24-carat golden
parachutes allowing CEOs to
bail out from businesses
tonne. The market price at the
time was around €20 per
tonne.
their personal prospects and
fill their pockets. If a manager
of a state-run enterprise is
government depends on when they get tired or when sacked for incompetence they
BY LUKÁŠ FILA SLOVAK WORD Matovič and the other three firms decide their time is should be liable for the dam-

Special to the Spectator
IT’S NOT usual to hear politi-
cians talk about pooping. But
then again, these are excep-
tional times. Mainly thanks to
renegade MP Igor Matovič.
First, he outraged coali-
tion colleagues with an inter-
view for the Sme.sk website in
which he suggested that on
average, each MP has at least
10 nominees in state firms
and institutions, which buys
their loyalty and glues the co-
alition together. He later cor-
rected his statements. But
only to say that the average is
more likely close to 20.
In the same interview, he
suggested that one of the co-
alition leaders voted for gen-
eral prosecutor candidate
Dobroslav Trnka, in breach of
coalition agreements. He gave
no names, but his description
fit only Most-Híd chairman
Béla Bugár.
What's that smell? Igor Matovič says he does not like political parties. Photo: Sme - Vladimír Šimíček
OF THE WEEK
And then finally came
Matovič’s vote on dual cit-
izenship, and his subsequent
expulsion from the Freedom
and Solidarity (SaS) parlia-
mentary caucus, for which he
had a simple explanation – SaS
boss Richard Sulík was
frightened and pooped
(pokakal sa).
What really is frightening
is the fact that the fate of this
“Ordinary People” faction
members, without whom the
coalition has no majority. And
the countless unknowns the
recent development creates:
Will Matovič vote for coalition
legislation? How about votes
of confidence? How long will
it take before one of the other
coalition parties gets fed up
with not being able to govern
and starts talking to Smer?
Are there enough votes to
support the public vote on the
general prosecutor? If the
vote is secret, can Dobroslav
Trnka win? If Trnka wins, will
Prime Minister Radičová
really step down? And what
happens then?
It does not seem that
Matovič has even a vague
idea of where all this is head-
ing. What he does realise is
that blocking the coalition
will do for him what pooping
does for children – win atten-
tion. And that seems to be his
top priority.
past. When Time magazine
dug into the history of golden
parachutes it discovered price
tags exceeding $35 million,
plus deals guaranteeing lav-
ish consultancy fees for the
manager being shoved out of
the corporate jet. Doubtless,
there have been some dia-
mond parachutes worth mul-
tiples of these sums.
Slovakia’s sky has its para-
chutes too and even if the
price tag is only a fraction of
these famous ones, they are
still enough to outrage the
public and even politicians.
A pair of one-time man-
agers at the Košice-based
heating plant TEKO recently
received severance payments
of €100,000 and €90,000 re-
spectively, despite holding
their posts at the company for
only a few weeks or months.
What makes their situation
more piquant is that TEKO is a
state-owned company and
the managers in question
were nominated to their jobs
by political parties.
Other heat-producing
companies have been making
headlines in Slovakia not only
because of outrageous golden
parachutes but also due to the
mess that some political
nominees have left behind, as
well as some rather unfortu-
nate picks by parties which
have helped turned the prac-
tice of political nominations
into a complete farce.
In one example, the
Žilinská Teplárenská heating
company, while led by a Slov-
ak National Party (SNS) nom-
inee during the government
of Robert Fico, in 2008 sold
60,000 tonnes of excess emis-
sions quotas at half the mar-
ket price. The Trnava heating
plant, under its previous
management did even better
between 2008 and 2009,
EDITORIAL
age they cause rather than be-
ing given a parachute.
In the light of all these
developments Prime Minis-
ter Iveta Radičová has said
that the era of political nom-
inations will end and that
managers will in future be
picked via a competitive pro-
cess – and that those chosen
will not get offered a golden
parachute. But it remains to
be seen if this will become
reality, and if so if it will be
applied to the present gov-
ernment.
Those who have been
running Slovakia for the past
two decades have not con-
ceded some important defin-
itions: that party interest
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ does not equal the public in-
Spectator staff terest or the interest of the
state. Or, indeed, that the in-
terests of the state do not al-
This is the extent of the ways coincide with the in-
managerial skills of some terests of the public.
political nominees. Yet, in The recent statement by
this Slovak fairytale, they MP Igor Matovič that each
were even paid when asked to Slovak deputy had installed
leave. Businesses have in the as many as 10 people to vari-
past produced their own eth- ous positions was probably
ical justifications for golden intended to impress the me-
parachutes, but in the cases dia and get attention, but
of the Slovak heating com- nevertheless he has a point.
panies none of these apply. It is disappointing that
For example, advocates of politicians after each elec-
golden parachutes claim that tion cling to political nom-
offering them makes it easier inations to state-owned
to head-hunt someone for a businesses. They still some-
position, and then provides how pretend to believe that
more security and the pro- being someone’s cousin, or
spect of keeping the same getting a job simply because
managers from yielding to of- of loyalty, or from being
fers from other companies. close to a party means that a
Yet if the Slovak version of nominee will be just as good
the golden parachute opens a manager as a professional
after just a couple of weeks on with years of experience.
the job, it almost invites polit- Why do party headquarters
ical nominees – who in fact think they are better suited
know that their job prospects to pick managers than inde-
last only as long as their polit- pendent bodies? And why do
ical sponsors remain in power ‘independent bodies’ so of-
– not so much to strive for ten pick nominees along
success as to use the limited party lines?

RTVS: Financial stability now the focus

Continued from pg 3
Rezník called his
presentation “Building a
strong brand” and said that
programming is the most
important thing since view-
ers are not interested in the
financial problems of STV,
which he called “a factory
producing debts”. Rezník
said that the dire financial
situation cannot be remedied
without additional state
support.
Flašík advocated merging
the state-owned TASR
newswire into RTVS while
also building a greenfield
media centre, a concept sim-
ilar to one favoured by
former culture minister
Marek Maďarič, who is now
an MP for opposition party
Smer. Flašík’s wife, Monika
Flašíková Beňová, is a prom-
inent member of Smer.
The mega broadcaster
The legislation establish-
ing RTVS came into force on
January 1, 2011. President
Ivan Gašparovič vetoed the
law twice but parliament
overrode his vetoes. Shortly
thereafter Zemková was
named interim director of
RTVS, joined by deputies
Ľuboš Machaj, formerly SRo
programme director, and
Daniela Vašinová, formerly
financial director of SRo.
Krajcer said that merging
the two broadcasters into
RTVS should save the state
€1.65 million in just the first
year. But the overall debt of
STV for 2011 is expected to
reach €36 million.
Krajcer called the merger
the first step in a broader re-
form of public-service media
in Slovakia which he said
would take about three years
and involve a fundamental
change in its method of finan-
cing. Beginning in 2012, the
public-service broadcaster
will no longer receive revenue
from the so-called concession-
ary fee paid by all electricity
consumers in Slovakia.
The consolidation is also
expected to include moving
the two broadcasters into a
single building at some point
in the future.
When the interim man-
agement took over they said
no major reshuffling would
occur within the television
arm of RTVS but some per-
sonnel changes were made.
The career of former STV dir-
ector general Štefan
Nižňanský, who had signed
some large contracts in
December just before leaving
office, was brought to an end.
Some of Nižňanský’s de-
cisions as director had evoked
strong concern among some
media professionals and even
though Krajcer stressed last
year that the merger was not
designed to remove
Nižňanský from his position,
the parties of the governing
coalition never hid their cri-
ticism of his work.
Officials of other Slovak
media outlets speculated
throughout 2010 that STV
was on the verge of financial
collapse.
J ÁN PAL LO - Publisher
EDITORIAL
B E ATA B AL O G OVÁ - Editor - In - Chief
J AM E S THO M S O N - Assistant Editor
D O NAL D S PATZ - Assistant Editor
J ANA L IP TÁKOVÁ - Staff Writer
M IC H AE LA TER ENZANI - Staff Writer
ZUZANA V IL IKOVS K Á - Staff Writer
D O M INIK A UH R ÍKOVÁ - Staff Writer
LAYOUT, WEB & IT
TATIANA ŠTR AUC HOVÁ - Graphic Designer
R O M AN K R Á Ľ - IT
TO M Á Š PAL L O - Online Publishing
SALES - FINANCES
B EATA F OJ TÍKOVÁ - Sales Executive
M AR TINA Š M ATL ÁKOVÁ - PR and Marketing Manager
M AR TA F UK AS OVÁ - Advertising Assistant
D ÁŠA R EH ÁKOVÁ - Circulation Manager
The Slovak Spectator is an independent newspaper published every Monday by The Rock, s.r.o.
Subscriptions: Inquiries should be made to The Slovak Spectator’s business office at (+421-2) 59 233 300.
Printing: Petit Press a.s. Distribution: Interpress Slovakia s.r.o., Mediaprint-kapa s.r.o., Slovenská po‰ta a.s.
Mail Distribution: ABOPRESS. EV 544/08. © 2010 The Rock, s.r.o. All rights reserved. Any reproduction
in whole or in part without permission is prohibited by law. The authors of articles published in this issue,
represented by the publisher, reserve the right to give their approval for reproducing and public transmission
of articles marked ©The Slovak Spectator, as well as for the public circulation of reproductions of these articles,
in compliance with the 33rd article and 1st paragraph of the Copyright Law. Media monitoring is provided
by Newton, IT, SMA and Slovakia Online with the approval of the publisher. Advertising material contained herein
is the responsibility of the advertiser and is not a written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such
commercial enterprises or ventures by The Slovak Spectator or The Rock s.r.o. ISSN 1335-9843.
Address: The Rock, s.r.o., Lazaretská 12, 811 08 Bratislava. IâO: 313 86 237.
6 February 14 – 20, 2011

INVESTMENT GROUPS
BUSINESS FOCUS Next issue:
Looking to Europe
Geothermal energy eyed
INNOVATION

Following more Investment groups

Arca Capital
active in Slovakia

sophisticated paths Arca Capital is a private equity group active primarily in

The maturing
of Slovak
investment
and private
equity groups
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Spectator staff
THE FALL of the communist
regime in November 1989 in
Czechoslovakia and the en-
suing transformation of a
state-controlled economy in-
to a market economy opened
new horizons and brought
previously unknown busi-
ness opportunities to those
who were ready for the risks
of doing business. The 1990s
was a period of both small
and large privatisations in
Slovakia and the mushroom-
ing of new businesses, a dec-
ade sometimes referred to as
the ‘wild times’. It was also
when the first investment
and private equity groups
emerged in Slovakia.
In the 21st century, mak-
ing private investments in
Slovakia has become more
sophisticated and attuned to
Western standards. Private
equity groups started to be
more sector-oriented and be-
cause of the relatively small
The energy sector has proved attractive. Photo: Jana Liptáková
size of the Slovak market they schoolmates who wanted to
extended their activities into become entrepreneurs and
neighbouring countries and founded Penta Brokers in 1993.
beyond. What remains some- Between 1994 and 1997 the
what different in Slovakia firm acted as typical stock-
compared with private equity brokerage and invested
firms abroad is that Slovak mostly in options. The firm’s
private equity groups say they breakthrough deal came in
are typically investing the 1996 when Penta gained con-
funds of their owners, while trol of VÚB Kupón, the largest
foreign private equity firms investment fund in Slovakia.
more often draw on funds Penta writes on its website
from institutional investors. that this deal brought a major
The original investment change in its focus.
companies began to emerge in “After VÚB Kupón, we had
Slovakia in the mid 1990s and enough capital to gain major-
subsequently transformed ity stakes in companies, re-
themselves into private equity structure them, increase their
groups. For instance, Penta, value and then sell at a profit,”
one of the oldest investment Marek Dospiva, one of the
firms in Slovakia, started as an founding members of Penta
initiative of a group of writes on its website. “These
are the principles of Penta's
success to this day.”
In 2005, Penta changed its
structure to that of a private
equity company but Penta
notes that it is different from a
typical private equity fund in
that it is only capital from its
five partners that is invested
through an evergreen fund
and it has not raised funds
from other investors.
“The fundraising question
appears periodically but we
have always decided that
freedom and flexibility in de-
cision-making is our top
priority,” writes Jozef
Oravkin, a Penta partner, on
the firm’s website.
Penta later penetrated
markets in the Czech Republic
and Poland and diversified its
portfolio and began investing
in real estate.
The history of J&T Group is
similar in that it also started
as an activity of two school-
mates, Patrik Tkáč and Ivan
Jakabovič. Slovintegra, on the
other hand, was launched
with the aim of enabling em-
ployees of the Slovnaft oil re-
finery to participate in the
firm’s privatisation. Slovin-
tegra writes on its website
that the firm withdrew from
Slovnaft in late 2005 and
transformed itself into an in-
vestment company.
See INVEST pg 8
supplying venture capital in central and eastern Europe.
It is active in the construction, machine engineering,
information and communication technology, energy,
food and geodesy industries. It has current investments
in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Arca Capital
has offices in Bratislava, Prague, London and Kiev.
Arca Capital was established in 2003 through trans-
formation of a group of companies belonging to All
Finance Services which had been active in the Slovak
capital market since 1994.
www.arcacapital.com
ISTROKAPITAL SLOVENSKO
ISTROKAPITAL SE is a Cyprus-based investment group
dating back to 1996 which owns 100 percent of
ISTROKAPITAL SLOVENSKO. The companies in the group
are primarily involved in banking (Poštová Banka) and
other areas of finance.
www.istrokapital.eu
J&T Group
J&T Group dates back to 1995 and provides services in
private banking, asset management for private clients
and institutions, investment banking and project
financing. It has investments in the food processing,
energy, finance, retail and wholesale, tourism,
entertainment and real estate industries. Its projects
include construction of the River Park development,
reconstruction of Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras
and Tower 115, among others. The group is primarily
active in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Russian
Federation.
www.jtfg.com
Penta Investments
Penta Investments is a central European investment
group specialising in private equity and real estate
investments. Penta was established in 1993, first as
a securities trader. In 2000, Penta began investing in
private equity projects and in 2005 added real estate as a
new business line. Penta is active in the energy, retail,

The crisis delivered a ‘tough lecture’
Real estate was
a mixed blessing for
investment groups
BY JANA LIPTáKOVÁ
Spectator staff
INVESTMENT and private equity groups
eyed the boom in building and property
sales in the early years of this decade and
many entered what they thought was an
unfailingly lucrative market by building
office complexes, logistics parks, residen-
tial properties and other kinds of commer-
cial facilities. The economic and financial
crisis over the past several years was a
very cold shower for those who had active
real estate projects and Slovakia’s invest-
ment groups did not totally escape from
the chilly water.
“Just during the deepest crisis period
in the fall of 2008, J&T Real Estate spun off
from the J&T Group and under the owner-
ship of Peter Korbačka created an inde-
pendent holding,” Pavel Pelikán, the ex-
ecutive director of J&T Real Estate told The
Slovak Spectator. “This shows that even
the crisis did not distract us from our trust
in real estate projects.”
Pelikán conceded that J&T Real Estate
felt some blows from the crisis but em-
phasised that this led to a change in its ap-
proach to projects, leading the firm to pay
more attention to the needs and require-
ments of its clients.
Among the most well-known of J&T’s
real estate projects is the River Park com-
plex on the north bank of the Danube
River in Bratislava, with its apartments,
office space, hotel, restaurants, and other
attractions, including a seasonal outdoor
ice skating rink.
Real estate projects represent about 55
percent of Arca Capital’s investments.
“Our group has historically not carried
out overly ambitious projects; we rather
went into smaller projects or projects with
a possibility of gradual realisation of the
investment, such as in phases,” Rastislav
Velič, the financial and project manager of
Arca Capital, told The Slovak Spectator.
“Our biggest investment in either Slov-
akia or the Czech Republic is the Liptovská
Osada tourist resort. We have projects
comparable in size and extent in Ukraine
but in the Ukrainian context these are
smaller or mid-sized projects. But these
focus on the residential sector and
logistics.”
According to Velič, the crisis has
clearly defined certain limits in particular
real estate investment sectors and
brought a broader variety of projects.
“The crisis showed that a well-chosen
concept in a good locality is prospective
during any phase of the economic cycle,”
said Velič, adding that projects which did
not take into consideration broader rela-
tionships had to be changed and exagger-
ated expectations had to be corrected. But
Velič sees this as natural in an environ-
ment where demand is the driving force in
the market.
Penta Group began investing in the
real estate sector only in 2005. Currently,
real estate developments represent less
than 20 percent of Penta’s invested assets,
said Martin Danko, Penta’s PR manager,
adding that the investment group has 11
ongoing projects in Slovakia and the
Czech Republic.
See PROPERTY pg 8
health-care, aerospace, machine engineering, private
banking, telecommunications, facility management and
entertainment industries. Its investments in the
banking sector include Privatbanka and in the
health-care sector it owns health insurer Dôvera, the
network of Dr. Max pharmacies and ProCare medical
centres. Penta is active in more than 10 European
countries, with offices in Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw,
Limassol (Cyprus) and Amsterdam.
www.pentainvestments.com
Slavia Capital
Slavia Capital dates back to 1995 and its priority areas of
investment are the energy, food, primary agriculture,
machine engineering, and chemical industries and
receivables and debt-collection. It has investments
in 11 European countries but has a focus on central and
eastern Europe.
www.slaviacapital.com
Slovintegra Group
Slovintegra Group was established in 1995 and has
investments in the health-care, energy and
manufacturing industries.
www.slovintegra.sk
Source: Investment groups, Book of Lists 2011
Compiled by Spectator staff
 BUSINESS FOCUS February 14 – 20, 2011 7

Looking to Europe FOCUS shorts

BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Spectator staff
THE SMALL size of the Slovak
market places limits on the
activities of local investment
and private equity groups but
this characteristic is not
unique to Slovakia. The main
difference, when compared
with abroad, is that Slovak
private equity groups typic-
ally invest the money of their
owners, while foreign private
equity groups invest money
on behalf of other institu-
tional investors.
The Slovak Spectator
spoke with Stanislav Šumský,
director of the mergers and
acquisitions department at
KPMG in Slovakia, Rastislav
Gajarský, manager of Price-
waterhouseCoopers Slov-
ensko, and Jozef Mathia,
senior manager in transac-
tion advisory services at
Ernst & Young in the Slovak
Republic, about local invest-
ment and private equity
groups, their appetite for ac-
quisitions, and whether the
crisis has brought them some
cheap purchases.
The Slovak Spectator (TSS):
How would you assess the
activity of Slovak invest-
ment and private equity
groups in Slovakia? What is
their current appetite for
investment?
Stanislav Šumský (SŠ):
With regards to its size Slov-
akia is an insufficiently at-
tractive market for important
foreign sectoral investors and
locally owned companies do
not usually meet the required
size criteria. Transactions
which abroad are considered
to be small or medium-sized,
exceeding €100 million in
value, occur only very rarely
in Slovakia. In Slovakia,
transactions of between €10
million and €30 million, the
size that is attractive for local
financial investors and
private equity groups, are re-
garded as large.
But this is not a special
characteristic of Slovakia: in
general it is valid for the
whole of central Europe, ex-
cept Poland. This situation
creates an opportunity for
financial investors and
private equity groups who, by
consolidating more compan-
ies, optimally at the central
and eastern European (CEE)
regional level, can manage to
create entities which by their
size and scope can draw the
attention of global players.
Rastislav Gajarský (RG):
To assess their activity at the
moment I would not focus
only on Slovakia as these
groups have ‘grown up’ to be
regional central and eastern
European players with ambi-
tions to become players on a
European level. In this re-
spect I would assess their
activity positively, as these
private equity groups repres-
ent a limited number of Slov-
ak investors that make ac-
quisitions abroad and are
present on markets other
than Slovakia.
In terms of investment
appetite I believe that all
Slovak private equity groups
are looking for opportunities
that fulfil their investment
criteria. Some Slovak private
equity groups are becoming
more sector-focused. For ex-
ample, Penta focuses on
healthcare, energy, banking
and real estate, and J&T on
banking, hotels and the en-
ergy sector. This helps them
to become experts in respect-
ive sectors and realise oppor-
tunities more quickly and
more efficiently.
Jozef Mathia (JM): Let’s
divide the question into two
parts, i.e. operation of global
and local investment and
private equity groups. While
the operation of global players
in Slovakia is negligible, the
operation of local players was
active prior to the crisis. The
reason for the absence of
global players is quite simple.
The small market generates
insufficiently large invest-
ment opportunities, with rel-
atively small revenues. These
fall through the investment
net of the global players.
Czech, Slovak and central
European financial investors
are starting to be optimistic
and feel an improvement, es-
pecially in financial condi-
tions, i.e. loans available to
carry out new transactions.
TSS: What effect has the
economic decline had on
these groups?
SŠ: There are only two
preconditions for carrying out
a transaction. The first one is
that there is a seller with a
realistic estimate of the value
of their company, and on the
other side there is a buyer
who has enough funds at their
disposal to wrap up the trans-
action and is willing to reflect
the value of the company in
their offer.
Between 2009 and 2010 we
saw a drop in activity in terms
of the number of realised
transactions. But this does
not mean that financial in-
vestors and private equity
groups had no interest in ac-
quiring companies. Instead,
the crisis affected the expect-
ations of financial investors.
See SURVEY pg 8
Slavia eyes geothermal energy
THE INVESTMENT group
Slavia Capital announced
last May that it planned to
invest in geothermal energy
in eastern Slovakia, specific-
ally in the village of Ter-
iakovce near Prešov. That
month Peter Gabalec, the
chairman of the board of dir-
ectors of Slavia Capital,
signed a memorandum of
understanding with Pavel
Hagyari, the mayor of
Prešov, and Miroslav
Angelovič, the mayor of
Teriakovce, to begin joint
implementation of the
Arca buys Natura Food Additives
THE CLOSED-END fund Arca
Capital CEE acquired 80 per-
cent of Natura Food Addit-
ives company, the TASR
newswire reported in
November, writing that this
acquisition was part of Arca’s
main investment strategy: to
make private equity invest-
ments in small and medium-
sized companies in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.
Arca used its own re-
sources as well as funds from
an acquisition loan from a
bank for the purchase, TASR
wrote.
project, the SITA newswire
wrote in May.
The goal is to use geo-
thermal energy in the vil-
lage to generate electricity
and heat, and to develop
leisure-time activities such
as an aquapark and a salt
spa to support tourism in
the region, as well to heat
greenhouses for agricultural
purposes. The total invest-
ment in the project will be
known only after a feasibil-
ity study is completed but
first estimates were around
€30 million.
Natura Food Additives is
a Czech company active in
production of additives for
all segments of the food in-
dustry as well as serving as a
technological consultancy.
Arca Capital stated that it
believes the food industry is
highly stable and that this
was proven during the eco-
nomic downturn when
much of the industry main-
tained its sales and profits.
Compiled by Spectator staff
For more focus shorts go to
www.spectator.sk

ADVERTISEMENT

real results

We passed the million mark!

With over one million square meters leased in Central and Eastern Europe last year,
esto
ark Nové M
ProLogis P nobody met more needs for distribution space than ProLogis.

Find out why so many customers trust Europe’s leader to get results.
Call us at +421 232 170 000.

www.prologis.com/real

relationships service experience innovation The leader in industrial real estate

SP90477/1
8 February 14 – 20, 2011 BUSINESS FOCUS

INVEST: Firms adapted to big changes SURVEY: Double

Continued from pg 6
There are six main in-
vestment and private equity
groups currently active in
Slovakia, of which Penta and
J&T are the biggest. Over time
all of these groups have be-
come more focused on specific
business sectors.
“Penta invests primarily
into the energy, retail, health
care, aerospace, machine en-
gineering, private banking,
telecommunications, facility
management and enter-
tainment industries,” Martin
Danko, the PR manager of
Penta, told The Slovak Spec-
tator. “Its partners are
mostly prominent financial
institutions operating in
central Europe and con-
sultancy companies.”
J&T Group’s range of busi-
ness investments is also ex-
tensive and includes the en-
ergy, banking, tourism and
entertainment sectors.
Slavia Capital, which ori-
ginated as a stockbroker in its
early days and later became a
major institution providing
opportunities to invest in se-
curities that drew interest in-
come from international mar-
kets, has now established stra-
tegic priority sectors to which
it targets its investments.
“These include the energy
sector, fuels and renewable
resources, the food industry
and agricultural production,
mechanical engineering, the
chemical industry and debt-
collection business,” Peter
Benčúrik, the spokesperson of
Slavia Capital told The Slovak
Spectator, adding that the
group does not exclude any
other investment opportunit-
ies with an attractive return
on investment and that its
current geographic priority is
the region of central and east-
ern Europe.
Benčúrik pointed out,
however, that via the
products that are made by
companies within Slavia Cap-
ital, the group is known on
almost all continents, citing
the mine sweeper Božena
that is made in Slovakia as
well as its Locust building
mechanism.
Arca Capital is a private
equity group active mainly in
supplying venture capital in
central and eastern Europe.
Rastislav Velič, the finan-
cial and project manager for
Arca Capital, told The Slovak
Spectator that the group has
primarily focused its invest-
ments in the construction,
machine, information and
communication technolo-
gies, energy, food and
geodesy industries.
“This does not mean that
we avoid so-called opportun-
ity investments in other
segments,” Velič added.
“Within the investment pro-
cess we cooperate with con-
sultancy companies and bank-
ing houses and afterwards
each project has its own spe-
cific circle of partners.”
Few ‘fire sales’
materialised
“The economic crisis has a
global character and it more or
less hit all segments of the
market,” said Velič of Arca
Capital. “Of course, it affected
us as well. The impacts of the
crisis are visible in acquisition
financing as well as in in-
vestment expectations, either
ours or those of our partners.
When assessing opportunities
we are more careful. Pre-crisis
development scenarios which
were characterised as pessim-
istic have become realistic
and optimistic scenarios have
had to be re-written. But the
market has already adapted
to the changes and we can
again apply economic models
which already take into ac-
count the changes in the
market environment.”
Velič said Arca Capital has
not needed to change any of
its criteria in terms of the size
of an investment or its rate of
return.
Some investment groups
had expected that the eco-
nomic crisis would bring new
acquisition opportunities but
these have not come true.
“The expectations that we
had in 2008 have not
materialised,” said Danko of
Penta. “During the economic
decline the [purchase] price of
companies has not decreased
significantly. Thus between
2008 and 2010 there were only
a few acquisition opportunit-
ies via so-called ‘fire sales’.”
Slavia Capital’s Benčúrik
noted that the economic crisis
has suppressed demand and
has also prolonged the period
required to keep investments,
pointing out that one of the
most negative impacts of the
crisis was the drop in em-
ployment as companies re-
duced costs through layoffs.
But as every cloud has a
silver lining, representatives
of the investments groups
note that the crisis has
brought new opportunities
and forced their firms to be
more active and look for new
approaches.
“The economic crisis has
increased the acquisition po-
tential of industrial assets
and markets,” Benčúrik said.
“During the time being our
companies are attacking new
territories. The behaviour of
global players has changed.
They are looking for local
partners in efforts to reach
economic effectiveness. As a
consequence, we have sever-
al cooperative projects, for
example with the Yanmar
concern. Also due to the
crisis, the potential for our
business with collecting re-
ceivables has been growing.
We are working on a number
of acquisition targets which
we could reach this year if
there is a positive develop-
ment in the market.”
In 2009 and 2010 Penta
completed 17 transactions;
most were acquisitions.
“We have entered new
branches. For example, in late
2010 we signed a contract for
the purchase of a majority
stake in Dexia Banka Slov-
ensko and in this way we have
entered the retail banking
sector,” said Danko of Penta.
“We also consider equally im-
portant the acquisition of Ig-
lokrak and its fusion with Ig-
lotex that has made Penta and
its partners the most import-
ant market player in the pro-
duction and distribution of
frozen food in Poland.”
Velič of Arca Capital sees a
new opportunity in recover-
ing failed loans, either cor-
porate or personal, saying
that banks in general are not
prepared to fully bear losses
and thus purchasing and
managing receivables could
be economically viable. He
also sees purchases of com-
panies as appealing, saying
that after years of optimism
and investment madness,
owners are coming back to
the earth and prices have be-
come more realistic.
“We will focus on cases
where after re-structuring on
the side of liabilities it is real-
istic to expect survival and
development of a project or an
investment,” said Velič. “Or
we want to orient toward pur-
chase of claims and their act-
ive management, through
which it is possible to reach an
economic return.”
effect of the crisis
Continued from pg 7
They assumed that sellers
would reflect the worsened
performance of their compan-
ies in lower price expecta-
tions, and that investors
would acquire them more
cheaply than before the crisis.
This has obviously not
happened to the extent that
investors had assumed.
RG: The economic crisis
had a double effect on the
activities of private equity
groups. The first was on the
amount and price of external
capital (debt) to finance their
acquisitions and ongoing in-
vestments. The second was
in the form of disrupted IRR
(internal rate of return) ex-
pectations in some of their
portfolio companies. Basic-
ally, all private equity groups
needed to reassess their ex-
pectations in IRR terms for
some of their portfolio com-
panies. Slovak private equity
groups were no exception.
JM: Globally the number
as well as the value of acquisi-
tions carried out by private
equity companies decreased.
In total, private equity com-
panies carried out 1,612 ac-
quisitions in 2009, 35 percent
less than in 2008. Deal value
shrank by as much as 56 per-
cent. We saw a similar trend
also in Slovakia.
In 2011 we expect an in-
crease in the number of an-
nounced and completed
transactions, but the volume
of individual transactions will
be probably lower than during
the pre-crisis years.
In general we can say
that expectations for returns
on investment are lower
than they were in 2008. This
trend was significantly vis-
ible already in 2009.
TSS: Do investment and
and increasing the value of
their investments.
RG: The main difference
is that Slovak private equity
groups typically invest the
money of their owners (phys-
ical persons) while foreign
private equity groups invest
the money of other institu-
tional investors such as pen-
sion funds and insurance
companies.
JM: Global private equity
groups enter projects in Slov-
akia rather as partners in fin-
ancing projects for which
smaller players in the region
lack funds. Or they enter
Slovakia via acquisitions of
international firms which
have Slovak subsidiaries. Ba-
sically, each of them wants a
maximal increase in the value
of their investment at a level
somewhere between 15 and 30
percent annually. On the oth-
er hand, each of them has
specific characteristics, in-
vestment criteria, markets
and branches where they in-
vest and especially access to
individual investments, and
this is the main distinction.
TSS: What benefits or down-
sides do you see in the activ-
ities of investment and
private equity groups for
Slovakia and its economy?
SŠ: In general, the bene-
fits as well as the negatives of
investment activities and
private equity groups in
Slovakia are the same as
anywhere abroad. A special
characteristic is that with re-
gards to the absence of a cap-
ital market in Slovakia,
private equity investments
are basically the only oppor-
tunity to obtain financing via
equity as an alternative to
debt financing. In some seg-
ments private equity groups
represent the only possible
buyer, thereby creating an

PROPERTY: Becoming more selective private equity groups in

Continued from pg 6
“Penta is focusing on office space, re-
tail trade, and leisure-time and enter-
tainment activities as well as prepara-
tion of sites for new projects,” Danko
told The Slovak Spectator. “Penta’s
planned real estate investments will
total €1.1 billion by 2018.”
The crisis slowed down some of
Penta’s projects as it has had to respond to
the market situation and falling demand.
“We put stress especially on projects
which were in the most advanced
phase,” Danko said. “For example, the
third phase of the Digital Park office
project, where the approval process is
soon to be completed will see construc-
tion start in March.”
The third phase of Digital Park will
bring more than 21,000 square metres of
office space to the Bratislava market
and it is expected to be finished by the
end of 2012.
Penta expects that the real estate
market in the future will demand that in-
vestors be more selective in choosing
projects than they were before the crisis.
“For example, in residential construc-
tion the end-user who wants to buy an
apartment for living and not as a
Digital Park II won an architecture award.
Photo: Courtesy of Cigler Marani Architects
‘speculative’ investment will dominate,”
said Danko. “Projects which will be as
close as possible to the optimal ratio
between price, quality and locality will
have the best chance of success.”
Pelikán of J&T Real Estate expects a
more balanced ratio in supply and de-
mand and a greater degree of realism, say-
ing that one should not expect massive
construction of speculative projects,
either in the office or residential segment,
like in the past when potential tenants
were sought only after construction had
begun or even after a project was finished.
“Balancing supply and demand will
also put price levels of projects on a more
realistic basis: bad projects will be sold for
low prices, or not at all, and good projects
which offer clients an added value be-
cause of location, services or amenities
will have a chance of higher prices and
good selling rates,” Pelikán said.
Velič agreed that the crisis has fixed
certain distortions in the real estate mar-
ket and in 2011 his company expects a re-
vival of investment in residential real es-
tate because many of Slovakia’s ‘panelák’
apartment buildings are approaching the
end of their useful life, in industrial real
estate because production is increasing
and bringing demand for new logistic
centres, and in tourist facilities as that
sector is also waking up.
“But the lecture [delivered by the
crisis] was tough and for that reason
growth in the real estate sector will be
gradual and more cautious,” Velič said,
adding: “But only until we forget this
lecture and again slip into exaggerated
optimism.”
Slovakia differ in any way
from those operating
abroad?
SŠ: It is necessary to dis-
tinguish investment groups,
which we can regard rather as
loose groupings of investors,
from private equity, which is
a standardised term abroad.
The latter represents a com-
pany which via its funds ad-
ministers investments in
clearly defined sectors and/or
countries, has publicly
known investment criteria,
returns on investments, a
way of assessing assets, stable
and specialised teams, is able
to obtain new financing, etc.
In this respect it is necessary
to say that the private equity
groups operating in Slovakia
are taking a more and more
standardised path and that
we have seen significant
headway over recent years.
This is especially true for the
most active private equity
groups, which are eyeing
many potential acquisition
targets, taking part in stand-
ard tenders, actively working
with acquired companies
exit opportunity for com-
pany owners. Otherwise
owners would have no pos-
sibility to leave their busi-
nesses in a standard way.
JM: Investment and
private equity groups are mo-
tivated especially by returns
on investment. These repres-
ent in most cases 20-30 per-
cent annually. This means
that these groups invest
mostly in companies in
strongly developing segments
(for example the internet in
the early 1990s) or in seg-
ments where they see space
for consolidation of the mar-
ket (for example a lot of smal-
ler companies which can util-
ise synergies). Thus we think
that these companies repres-
ent certain benefits for Slov-
akia because they support de-
velopment of the market
where it is difficult to obtain
financial capital directly from
banks. On the other hand, it is
a bit of a pity that they do not
employ their rich experience
from various branches to
carry out more acquisitions in
segments and companies
where returns are lower.

SALE: Six plants may go on the block
Continued from pg 1
The state privatisation agency, the Na-
tional Property Fund (FNM), has now been
tasked with designing a privatisation pro-
cess. The sale will happen in the form of a
tender and the state will be looking for
strategic investors.
The heating plants affected are located
in Bratislava, Trnava, Žilina, Martin (in
Žilina region), Zvolen (Banská Bystrica
Region) and Košice.
Robert Fico, the leader of Slovakia’s
largest opposition party, Smer, said that
he would be keeping an eye on the planned
privatisation, which he dubbed “one of the
biggest robberies ever seen in Slovakia”.
“We rejected this sale of state
property,” Fico said, as quoted by the
SITA newswire, referring to the gov-
ernment he led between 2006 and 2010.
“It was worth it, because the firms were
providing households with heat in a
stable manner at stable prices. This
privatisation has no other goal than to
fill someone’s pocket. It is senseless be-
cause privatisation will increase the
prices of heat.”
However, the FNM in its analysis
leans towards a sale of state shares in
the heating companies, citing a long-
term fall in the volume of heat sold and a
related drop in profits. The FNM also
pointed to the need for investment to
make the heating plants more envir-
onmentally friendly, and to reduce their
debt burden.
The generally outdated heat-produ-
cing technology in use and the need for
investment in development, as well as
huge opportunities for cost-cutting
were also listed by the FNM as reasons
why the companies should be sold. Oth-
er factors supporting a sale were their
record of disadvantageous procure-
ment, low return on investment and de-
clining competitiveness.
According to the FNM, the existing
management teams have preferred to
pursue short-term goals rather than
long-term needs, in fundamental contra-
diction to the needs of businesses in the
heat production sector.
“We expect that after privatisation
investors will speed up the introduction
of modern ways of management and ser-
vices with added value,” the FNM wrote
in its analysis. “Improved management
of the companies will bring higher prof-
itability and higher collection of taxes for
the state budget.”
Though the exact volume of shares
that will be put up for sale has not yet been
decided, the state will sell at least 51 per-
cent of its stake in the companies. Accord-
ing to Mikloš, an analysis by relevant min-
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE
For RENT
- apartments & houses:
• 1-3-room apartments – Vajnorská,
Bôrik, downtow, historical center...
• 4-5-room apartments – Bôrik hill,
Mudroňova, city center, Koliba,.....
• family houses – Kramáre, Horský
park, Polus, Ružinov,Vrakuňa and
many, many others...
www.madison.sk, 0905 - 659 156
madison@nextra.sk
C 3655
RELIGIOUS SERVICES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORSHIP
Bratislava International Church
Sundays, 9:30 at historic
Small Lutheran Church
(Malý evanjelický kostol) in central Bratislava
(near Hodzovo namestie);
on Lycejna at intersection
with Panenska 26/28.
Children's Sunday School provided.
Everyone Welcome.
Information at 02-5443-3263
Web Site:
www.bratislavainternationalchurch.org
C 3573
BUSINESS February 14 – 20, 2011 9
RATE: Pricey mortgages
Continued from pg 1 The IFP recommended
Ongoing problems troubles that setting the interest rate
Vladimír Dohnal, direct- for a loan should be made
One issue that has attracted signific- or of Symsite Research, a more transparent by defin-
ant media attention is the golden para- think tank, said he has no in- ing it as a market bench-
chutes given to managers at Košice-based formation about cartel mark plus a client risk sur-
heating plant TEKO, where two execut- agreements and does not charge based on the
ives received severance payments of consider it likely that any applicant’s risk profile.
€100,000 and €90,000 respectively, des- formal arrangement exists. However, Laznia, repres-
pite holding their posts in the company “Banks do not have to enting lenders, cited a
for only a few weeks or months. create any formal cartel; European Commission sur-
Radičová admitted that the practice when three banks control 75 vey from 2009 which he said
of selecting and remunerating managers percent of the market they found bank fees in Slovakia to
in companies where the state holds have quite extensive power be among the lowest not just
stakes has proved problematic and the to control prices and other across the European Union
government is therefore planning to in- conditions without formal but also among the EU’s new-
troduce normal competitive selection agreements,” Dohnal told er member states.
Košice heating plant. Photo: TASR procedures with the results made public. The Slovak Spectator. Nonetheless, Dohnal said
“The coalition is moving away from The Financial Policy In- that mortgage interest rates
istries and the privatisation agency will political nominations,” Radičová said, stitute (IFP), a think tank here are too high, considering
decide the share that will be sold. adding that her team does not want to which is part of the Finance Slovakia’s economic funda-
One day before the cabinet made its pursue a pattern followed by its prede- Ministry, on February 4 re- mentals.
decision, Cofely, an energy company, cessors which had been proved wrong. leased a report suggesting “A concentrated market
stated that it fully supported the Economy Minister Juraj Miškov, a that Slovakia’s citizens are does not bode well for
government’s plan to privatise the heat- nominee of the Freedom and Solidarity probably paying too much competition,” Dohnal said,
producing companies. The company in- (SaS) party, suggested that he would pro- for their mortgages. It ar- adding that clients them-
dicated it would be interested in invest- pose banning political nominees in state- gued that changes might selves have a way of influen-
ing if the privatisations were to go ahead. owned companies from receiving sever- now be necessary. cing this situation.
“We’re convinced that privatisation ance payments, or would at least place According to the IFP, “If clients, in large num-
of the heating plants is a good way to se- limits on them. property loans make up two bers, started using cheaper
cure effective management and the fu- “State nominees on management thirds of total loans to offers by smaller banks – be-
ture of the energy sector in Slovakia,” boards and supervisory boards won’t be households and regular cause in general it is true that
Cofely general director and management entitled to any severance payments monthly mortgage payments smaller and medium-sized
board chairman Peter Strýček said in a whatsoever,” Miškov said, as quoted by significantly burden the banks offer cheaper loans
statement. the TASR newswire. budgets of families and indi- than the three large banks –
Cofely is part of the GDF Suez energy Media reports suggest that consid- viduals. The IFP highlighted the larger banks would have
group and has been involved in heating erable mismanagement at some heating what it called a relatively un- to reduce their prices,”
management in Slovakia since 2009, when companies took place under the derdeveloped rental housing Dohnal said.
it became part of Hetech Services Holding. 2006-2010 Fico government. Specific- segment in Slovakia and Mikloš also said that an-
It is also the biggest company in the sphere ally, several questions have been raised wrote that for most Slovaks other problem is a certain “in-
of facility management in Slovakia, man- about activities under managers nom- taking out a loan is the only formation asymmetry”
aging more that 2,000 properties. inated by Fico’s junior coalition partner, way to buy property. between a loan applicant and
Another company, Dalkia, has also the Slovak National Party (SNS). In one In long-term loans like the bank, which puts clients
indicated an interest, with Vincent Bar- example, the Žilinská Teplárenská heat- mortgages even a small into a rather weak negotiating
bier confirming that the company would ing company, while headed by an SNS change in the interest rate position in relation to the
enter negotiations about conditions for nominee, Juraj Králik, sold 60,000 can mean a relatively large bank when a new interest rate
the sale. However, he also said that at tonnes of excess emissions quotas in difference in the amount of is being decided, the TASR
this point, due to the fact that over the 2008 at half the market price. SaS sub- the monthly payment, the newswire reported.
past five years the economic conditions sequently nominated Králik to a senior IFP stated. Dohnal stated it is neces-
of the heating companies have changed, position at another heating company The IFP also noted that sary to increase the level of
it is not possible for the company to spe- after last year’s election. The party said the market is displaying public access to information,
cify which heating companies Dalkia after the publication of reports about signs of significant concen- and said the Finance Ministry
would target. the dubious sale of emissions quotas at tration among the largest can help.
The Union of Towns and Cities of Žilinská Teplárenská that Králik would banks. “Increasing the total in-
Slovakia said that the cities the compan- be dismissed. At the same time, it said, formation literacy of clients
ies serve should be allowed to obtain The Trnava heating company, now mortgage providers have would help and here the state
either 100 percent, a majority share of 51 controlled by the Most-Híd party, also accumulated an informa- could, for example, help by
percent, or at least a minority share in had its own scandal over a dubious sale of tion advantage. And, ac- changing the curricula and
the firms being sold. emissions quotas. Between 2008 and 2009 cording to the IFP, banks adding an emphasis on finan-
“Heating production is unambigu- the company sold emission quotas at may have profited to the cial literacy at schools,”
ously a business of local importance, €0.01 per tonne despite the market price tune of tens of millions of Dohnal said.
which means that it is not a strategic being around €20 per tonne. Most-Híd euros at the expense of cli- Laznia said that the SBA
property and it can be successfully de- said it had instructed the new director of ents because of deficiencies will not resist the efforts of the
veloped only when it intertwined, in the company to sack two managers. in the way rules governing Finance Ministry to make cli-
terms of property, with the payment of the state sub- ents better informed, as long
municipalities,” Marián Minarovič, the Adam Valček contributed sidy for mortgage loans as the proposal is meaningful.
union’s chairman, wrote in a statement. to this report were drafted. “However, we think that
The IFP compared in- the state should not forget
terest rates in Slovakia and about activities aimed at in-
six other countries in the creasing the financial literacy
FOR RENT: eurozone. The countries of the population,” he said.
A renovated, corner building apartment, 2nd floor, on were picked based on sever- To back his point Laznia
Kozia and Konventna ideal for a couple without children, al criteria such as geograph- cited the example of an indic-
someone wanting a peaceful, central pied-à-terre in ic proximity or similarity in ator of annual percentage rate
Bratislava or running a small business from home.
the structure of their eco- costs which has been used in
nomies. Slovakia for comparing con-
The 135 sq m light-filled apartment has high ceilings and
natural oiled oak parquet flooring throughout. The doors are all Within this comparison, sumer loans for more than 10
solid oak, with glass panels to lighten the space. The reception Slovakia had the highest in- years.
room is a magnificent 45 sq m corner room, with seven high terest rates for all fixed-rate He says that an SBA sur-
windows on two sides. The kitchen has handmade cupboards, property loans. The interest vey found that less than a fifth
a new stainless steel and cast iron Baumatic cooker, and rate for loans with one-year of Slovaks were able to under-
a large Liebherr fridge freezer. A Buderus gas-fired boiler provides fixed-rates in October 2010 stand it.
hot water and heat. The bedroom has a modern-style solid stood at 5.7 percent in Slov- The Finance Ministry has
oak bed with a new, high quality mattress. The bathroom has akia, while the eurozone av- prepared several changes to
Hansgrohe fittings and Huppe shower cabinet. The lighting
erage was 3.8 percent – and the system that subsidises
is simple Murano glass. Airconditioning, telecoms and LAN
cabling throughout. the rate in Austria was only housing loans; these are now
The apartment is for rent at 1250 EUR per month, with 3.3 percent, the IFP reported. undergoing interdepartment-
a minimum rental period of 18 months starting April 2011. Interest rates in Slov- al review.
A deposit of 2500 EUR is payable on contract signature. akia did not mimic trends The ministry also in-
For further information and images of the space, please observed in other countries, tends to foster more compet-
contact info@candole.com where there was a signific- ition among the banks,
ant drop in interest rates which it says should result in
Strictly no agencies
during 2009. lower banking fees.
C 3634 C 3670
10 February 14 – 20, 2011 CULTURE

Devínska Nová Ves’ Croats Western SLOVAKIA

Bratislava
l MUSICAL: Rámajána – This
original Slovak musical, in-
EVENTS COUNTRYWIDE
spired by an ancient Indian
epic, combines the story of
Prince Rama with modern
European culture. Composed
by Ľubomír Dolný and cho-
reographed by Mariana
Malatincová, it is directed by
Igor Šimeg.
Starts: February 15, 10:00
and 19:00; DK Dúbravka,
Saratovská 2/A. Admission:
€10. Tel: 02/6920-3030; 02/5293
-3321, www.ticketportal.sk,
www.ramajana.sk.
Bratislava THE CENTRAL European Jazz Connection was put together by
l BALKAN GYPSY MUSIC: Polish pianist Kuba Stankiewicz and apart from him, it includes
THIS PHOTO of Devínska had back home – through agri- place to another did little to Boban I Marko Markovič Czech counterbass player Jaromír Honzak, Hungarian trum-
Nová Ves dates back to 1933 – culture and viticulture. burnish their image. Orkestar – The Serbian gypsy peter Kornél Fekete-Kovács, Slovenian saxophonist Primož
tornado Boban, with his son
the period before the muni- Cultural and tempera- However, gradually they Fleischman, Slovak drummer Marián Ševčík and Slovak guitarist
Marko and his band, has
cipality was swallowed by mental differences brought settled in and melted in. already visited and enchanted Matúš Jakabčic. Jazz is an international language that can non-
Bratislava. problems when it came to co- Not in Devínska Nová Slovakia. Now he’s back. etheless also include national specifics, as visitors will experi-
The village was once existing with the locals, at Ves, however. Croats re- Starts: February 15, 20:00; ence at a concert on Thursday, February 17, in Bratislava’s Klub
called Chorvátska tained their culture Majestic Music Club, Kar- za Zrkadlom, Rovniankova 3; tickets cost €5-€7. For more in-
Nová Ves (Croatian and language and patská 2. Admission: €19.90- formation, please visit www.kzp.sk. Photo: Courtesy of KZP
New Village) – not
coincidentally, as
Croat refugees flee-
HISTORY TALKS in the 16th century
there were more
Croat residents
€25. Tel: 02/5293-3321; www.
majestic.sk.
ness) initiative highlights the Starts: February 20, 16:00;
Bratislava fact that as well as Jews and Central Slovak Museum,
ing the Balkans than Slovaks in l LIVE MUSIC: Krst CD Michal other ethnic and religious Thurzov dom, SNP Square 4.
from Ottoman invaders chose least at first. The Croats’ Devínska Nová Ves. Bugala Group – A new Slovak groups and political oppon- Admission: €3.50. Tel: 048/
it as their new home. demonstrative nature and The village preserved its CD is launched in traditional ents, the Nazis also perse- 4125-897; www.stredoslovens
The newcomers quickly self-confidence were often predominantly Croat charac- style with a “krst”, i.e. bap- cuted homosexuals, bisexuals kemuzeum.sk.
adapted to this environment perceived negatively by Slov- ter until the end of the 19th tism, offering a combination and transsexuals.
and started earning their liv- aks, and their habit of fre- century. of jazz and electronic music, Open: Tue-Sun 14:00-19:00 Námestovo
ing in the same way as they quently moving from one By Branislav Chovan supported by DJ Lion Dee. until February 25; OPEN Gal- l EXHIBITION: Oravská
Starts: February 14, 21:00; lery, Baštová 5. Admission: drevená plastika / Orava Wood
ADVERTISEMENT Nu Spirit Club, Šafárikovo free. Tel: 02/5441-3316; www. Carving – An exhibition of
Square 7. Admission: €5. Tel: ncsu.sk. items from the collection of
0948/855-449; www. the Orava Cultural Centre in-
nuspirit.sk. Skalica cluding wooden statues by A.
l LIVE BLUES: Bonzo & The Smoleň, J. Podskalan, S. On-
Bratislava Resonators – Within the Hud- drík, R. Veselý, P. Pohucký, Ľ.
l EXHIBITION: Bratislavské ba v meste / Music in the Orság, J. Špuler and J. Šeliga.
konfrontácie 1961-1965 – The Town concert programme, Open: Weekdays 9:00-
Bratislava Confrontations ex- this performance brings a 16:00 until March 4;
hibition presents the works of veteran of the Slovak blues Námestovo House of Culture.
the members of an informal scene to the local audience. Admission: free. Tel: 043/5864-
artists' association (M. Starts: February 18, 20:00; 978; www. osvetadk.sk.
Čunderlík, J. Jankovič, R. Fila, Corgoň Pub, Pod Hájkom.
J. Kočiš, E. Ovčáček, M. Admission: €2. Tel: 034/6648- Eastern SLOVAKIA

Anna
Urbásek, and others) who or- 152; www.hvm.lubosbena.sk.

Erwin
ganised an underground ex- Prešov
hibition to compare their Central SLOVAKIA l MUSEUM: Kapitoly z dejín

Netrebko Schrott
works at least among them-
selves during communism.
Open: Tue-Sat 14:00-18:00
until February 26; Galéria C.
Majerníka, Ventúrska 9. Ad-
mission: free. Tel: 02/
www.snd.sk
odievania / Chapters from the
Banská Bystrica History of Clothing; Portréty
l FLAMENCO LIVE: Los panovníkov a šľachty
Remedios Trio – The Zelené Rakúsko-uhorskej monarchie
tóny / Green Tones cycle of in- / Portraits of Emperors and
timate concerts begins with a Nobles of the Austro-Hun-

5920-1605. performance by the three garian Monarchy – These two

members of Los Remedios, exhibitions offer an overview
Bratislava who play genuine flamenco of two quite different periods
l EXHIBITION: Berlin-Yog- music combined with other in local history.
jakarta – An exhibition organ- ethnic, world and jazz influ- Open: Tue-Fri 9:00-17:00,
ised by the Inakosť (Other- ences. Sun 14:00-18:00 until February
G r a n di o s e h ig h lig ht 28; Krajské múzeum, Hlavná
86. Admission: €0.60-€2. Tel:
of the ball season 051/7734-708; www.muzeum-
in S lovakia! 2011, 7pm presov.sk.
March 5th,
lding of SND Košice
The new bui
l EXHIBITION: Slovensko
pomáha / SlovakAid - Slovakia
helps – This exhibition shows
a selection of pictures from
humanitarian projects, to-
gether with S čím sa hrajú /
P r e s t i g i o u s c u l t u r a l e v e n t w i t h t h e w o r l d s t a r s o f o p e r a! What They Play With, an ex-
hibition of original toys of
Most popular and glamorous diva, operatic soprano
children from the poorest re-
A n n a N e t r e b ko gions of our planet.
Tickets available at: Great operatic bass-baritone
SND Box offices and www.ticketportal.sk THE 6TH Slovak Championship in riding the traditional “krne” Open: Mon-Fri (except
HOTLINE: +421 2 204 72 297 Erwin Schrott Organizers: Slovak National Theatre
wooden sleigh, Krňačkové Preteky 2011, also marks the 38th year Tues) 8:00-19:45, Sat
in cooperation with the organizer
A prominent operatic tenor of Crystal Wing
of the Krížna Prize & STV Cup competition. It takes place at the 8:00-13:00 until February 28;
General partner: Main partners:
José Cura Crystal Public Library of J. Bocatio,
Turecká ski resort near Banská Bystrica on February 19 and the
Wing Hviezdoslavova 5. Admission:
traditional Slovak “horny” sleighs – made from a single piece of free. Tel: 055/6225-290;
wood, without any nails – are expected to draw visitors from far www.vkjb.sk
Partners: Media partners:
and wide. www.fotoklubnova.sk.
Photo: Sme - Ján Krošlák By Zuzana Vilikovská
SP 90250/6

N A M E D A Y F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Weather updates and forecasts from across Slovakia Valentín Pravoslav Ida Miloslava Jaromír Vlasta Lívia
Liana
can now be found at www.spectator.sk.
February 14 February 15 February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20

A Slovak’s name day (meniny) is as important as his or her birthday. It is traditional to present friends or co-workers with a small gift,
In cooperation with the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute such as chocolates or flowers, and to wish them Všetko najlepšie k meninám (Happy name day)
 CULTURE
Bust of Dubček unveiled in Rome
Italy helped
Speaker Hrušovský, told the
TASR newswire after the ce-
bring the Slovak remony.
He added that this is a suc-
politician to cess in Slovak diplomacy and
prominence means further development of
contacts between Italy and
Slovakia as well as Rome and
Bratislava.
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ It was also during his
Spectator staff travel to Rome and Bologna
that the deep relationship
between Dubček and Italian
A CITY square in Rome has a President Napolitano was
new addition: a bust of reform- born, Vallo added.
ist communist leader Alexan- Largo Bratislava in Rome now features a bust of Alexander It was Napolitano who
der Dubček that is within sight Dubček. Photo: Courtesy of the Slovak Embassy in Rome successfully pressured the
of the building housing the Italian Communist Party to
Italian Foreign Affairs Min- teemed political figure in Italy. Vallo further quoted a condemn the invasion, led by
istry. The Dubček bust was un- Before the Velvet Revolution, statement made by Dubček in the Soviet Union, of Warsaw
veiled in a square now called which started in November a book by Luciano Antonetti Pact troops into Czechoslov-
Largo Bratislava – Capitale 1989, the University of Bologna to emphasise why placing his akia in August 1968, the ČTK
della Repubblica Slovacca – on had granted him an honorary monument in Rome is so jus- newswire wrote.
January 20 in the presence of doctoral degree for his work tified and how the degree The invasion swept away
top-ranking Italian guests, advocating human rights. from the Italian university the leadership of the
many of whom knew Dubček “It was Italy which lifted helped Dubček to return to in- Czechoslovak Communist
personally. the taboo laying on Dubček ternational political promin- Party (KSČ) under Dubček.
Italian President Giorgio and keeping him hidden, even ence. When answering a Dubček (1921 – 1992) was one of
Napolitano, Italian Foreign non-existent and isolated in question by a French journal- main leaders of the reformist
Minister Franco Frattini and Bratislava, for almost 20 ist about his journey from one wing of the KSČ and the prin-
other leading representatives years,” Stanislav Vallo, the capital, Bratislava, to the fed- cipal organiser of the Prague
of Italian political, economic Slovak Ambassador to Italy, eral capital of Prague where Spring movement. After the re-
and social life were present. said in a speech at the cere- he became speaker of federal form process was suppressed,
The Slovak delegation was led mony explaining the close re- parliament after 1989, Dubček Dubček resigned from his top
by Pavol Hrušovský, Slovakia’s lationship between Dubček, said “the way from Bratislava position in the party and was
deputy speaker of parliament, Italy and Slovakia. “In Novem- to Prague was uncomfortable later ousted as a member.
representatives of Bratislava ber 1988, the University of Bo- and, in particular, long from Dubček returned to polit-
City Council and Dubček’s logna granted Alexander both the view of time as well ical life after the fall of the to-
sons, Pavol and Peter. The Dubček an honorary doctoral as geography because I trav- talitarian regime, becoming
bronze bust is a work by Slovak degree and the Czechoslovak elled first via Rome and Italy”. the speaker of the new federal
sculptor Igor Mosný mounted state representatives were “For us it was a great ges- parliament. He died in
on a travertine stand. forced to allow him to travel to ture and honour,” Tomáš November 1992 from injuries
Dubček is a highly es- Italy to receive the degree.” Zálešák, an adviser to Deputy suffered in a car crash.
ADVERTISEMENT
Books in English now available
Freedom. Jonathan
Franzen. Fourth Estate,
2010.
In his first novel since
The Corrections – which won
the National Book Award in
2001 – Jonathan Franzen has
given us an epic of contem-
porary love and marriage via
the family of Patty and Wal-
ter Berglund. Freedom com-
ically and tragically captures
the temptations and burdens
of too much liberty: the
thrills of teenage lust; the
shaken compromises of
middle age; the wages of
suburban sprawl; the heavy
weight of empire. In chart-
ing the mistakes and joys of
the intensely realised char-
acters as they struggle to
learn how to live in an ever
more confusing world, Fran-
zen has produced an in-
delible and deeply moving
portrait of our time.
Room. Emma
Donoghue. Picador Fiction,
2010.
Another book by Emma
Donoghue, an Irish writer
living in Canada, this is a
sober, simple but disturb-
ingly and provokingly told
story of a small boy who lives
with his Ma in the Room,
which is just 11 feet by 11 feet
large and has a locked door
and a skylight. He watches
TV and understands that the
things he views are not real,
and that reality is just the
Room and him and Ma. Until
SP90481/1
Slovak bestseller now
has an English version
KNIHA o cintoríne (Book
About a Cemetery), a novella
written by Daniela
Kapitáňová but originally
published under the pseud-
onym Samko Tále, who is the
story’s main character, has
been translated into English
by Julia Sherwood with the
title Samko Tále’s Cemetery
Book. Sherwood began trans-
lating the book into English
immediately after she had
finished reading the original
version, without even having
a contract. After the transla-
tion was completed, she
offered it to a publishing
house specialising in eastern
Europe but was rejected.
However, Garnett Press ac-
cepted the manuscript and
following its initial success,
it seems that a second book by
Kapitáňová, Nech to zostane
v rodine (Let It Stay in the
Family), could also be pub-
lished in English.
The translator, who has
Slovak origins and had first-
hand experience of the com-
munist regime, told the Sme
daily she was enchanted and
moved by Kniha o cintoríne
as it truly evoked the grim
atmosphere of 1970s
Czechoslovakia in which con-
formism was encouraged and
free thinking and free living
were suppressed.
Kapitáňová’s first work,
one day Ma admits that there
is a world outside… Room
was shortlisted for the Man
Booker Prize 2010.
Kim. Rudyard Kipling.
Edited and with an intro-
duction by Alan Sandison.
Oxford World’s Classics, re-
issued 2008.
Kim, by Indian-born Brit-
ish author Rudyard Kipling
(1865-1936), who spent much
of his youth in the region he
describes here, is the story of
Kimball O’Hara, the
orphaned son of an Irish sol-
dier who spends his child-
hood as a vagabond in
Lahore, India (now Pakistan).
With an old Tibetan lama he
travels through India, en-
thralled by the “roaring
whirl” of the landscape and
cities of richly coloured
bazaars and immense di-
versity of people. Kipling
created a vision of harmony –
and of India – that unites the
secular and the spiritual, the
life of action with that of
contemplation.
Perceptions of Kipling’s
works, although they en-
joyed contemporary acclaim
and popularity, have since
been influenced by criticism
of his political opinions.
This book, published long
after his death with an ex-
pert preface, introduction
and explanatory notes,
provides an opportunity to
reconsider his remarkable
lieftime achievements.
February 14 – 20, 2011 11
originally published in 2000 in
Slovak and since reprinted
three times, was translated in-
to eight languages, including
Arabic and Belarusian.
Rajendra A. Chitnis, who
teaches Russian, Czech and
Slovak languages and liter-
ature from the 19th century
to the present at Bristol Uni-
versity, wrote in a review
published in The Times’ Lit-
erary Supplement entitled
Hell in a Handcart: “Samko
Tále is a physically and men-
tally stunted, forty-three-
year-old resident of the Slov-
ak border town of Komárno,
who supplements his disabil-
ity pension by collecting
cardboard, and is writing his
‘book about a cemetery’ be-
cause an alcoholic at the sta-
tion pub predicted it. His ed-
dying ‘stream-of-conscious-
ness’ takes in the period from
his grand- mother’s wartime
acquisition of Jewish property
(‘why would Jews need things
like a piano in a concentration
camp, right?’), the Commun-
ist period and post-independ-
ence Slovakia. Observing
people on his rounds, Samko
notes behaviour that he con-
siders to be against ‘the law’
and reports it to the ‘High-
Ups’, as he has done since his
schooldays under
Communism.”
Compiled by Spectator staff
The Cobra. Frederick
Forsyth. Bantam Press
2010.
Bestselling thriller-
writer Frederick Forsyth in
this book peels back the real-
ity of the global cocaine
business, from jungle air-
strips in Brazil to the man-
grove swamps of Guinea-Bis-
sau, from the barrios of
Bogotá to the boardrooms of
Washington. One man, Paul
Deveraux, intellectual, ded-
icated, utterly ruthless and
ex-CIA special ops, is given
what seems like an im-
possible task: stop the drug
barons, whatever the cost. At
his disposal is anything he
wants – but he must not
cease until his mission is
completed.
Up till now, the drug car-
tels have been accustomed to
the forces of global law and
order attempting to prevent
them plying their trade. And
up to now those forces have
played by the rules. But that
is about to change. The rules
no longer apply – and a dirty
war is about to get a whole
lot dirtier.
This column is a selection by The
Slovak Spectator of English-lan-
guage books recently released in
Slovakia; it does not represent
an endorsement of any of the
books selected. The column is
prepared in cooperation with the
Oxford Bookshop Bratislava,
located at Laurinská 9.

Namaskar –
A Warm Welcome!
7000 kilometers of coastline with
tropical dream beaches, paradise
islands with fantastic dive sites,
3000 kilometers of spectacular
Himalayan scenery with some of
the highest mountain peaks on the
planet, vast nature reserves with
the largest tiger population world-
wide, important world heritage si-
tes, magni-ficent maharaja palaces
converted into luxury hotels, a rich
colonial heritage …
India Tourism
Baseler Str. 48 . 60329 Frankfurt
Tel. 069-2429490, info@india-tourism.com
www.india-tourism.com
www.incredibleindia.org
India-50 Advi_258x345_GB.indd 1
The Ultimate Travel Destination
India is a superlative travel desti-
nation with unlimited holiday
options. Whether culture, water
sports, nature and animals, activity
or wellness holidays: India offers
something for everybody and
frequently in combinations. Often
the beach is not far from world-
renowned cultural sites, and there
is a good chance that outstanding
nature parks with a unique fauna
and flora are nearby.
Unlimited Holiday Opportunities
Culture lovers may simply combine
arts and cultural highlights with
a beach or wellness holiday in the
country of origin of Ayurveda and
Yoga. Enthusiasts of outdoor holy-
days are spoilt for choice by a large
variety of activities: from ballooning
to trekking. Or how about hang-gli-
ding, skiing in the Himalayas, camel
safari in the fascinating desert of
Rajasthan?
Invitation to a Magical Journey
We are inviting you to a magical
journey. Come with us to the most
beautiful beaches, discover enchan-
ting palaces and mystical temples,
join us for a pilgrimage to the holy
sites of Buddhism, go on a tiger
safari or immerse yourself into the
stunning world of the Himalayas,
its spiritual monasteries, colourful
markets and magical festivals.
09.02.2011 15:47:23 Uhr