| Smaller
enterprises and companies are now eligible for investment incentives
in the Czech Republic.
Prague, August 3, 2004:
Subsidies in an amount of 200,000 crowns
per newly created job opportunity and of up to 30,000 crowns for
retraining and training of employees have now become more easily
available for entrepreneurs who decide to invest in the Czech
Republic in areas with the highest unemployment rates.
This has been made possible by a new program
for the promotion of creating new jobs in those areas where they
are needed most direly: the North-west of Bohemia, Northern Moravia,
and the Hodonín area.
Unlike previous incentive schemes aimed
at large investors, the new Czech program enables even medium-sized
companies to become eligible for investment incentives.
While large companies must thus invest at
least 100 million crowns into regions with the highest unemployment
rates, the new program has brought down this limit to 10 million
crowns.
At least 5 million crowns of the investment
volume must come from the company’s own funds.
“The basic requirement is that at
least ten new jobs are created, an obligation which the company
undertakes in an agreement with the labour office,”
“The new program also incorporates
a clause whereby the newly created jobs must be maintained for
at least three years.”
- Jan Hanzl, head of the investment support
division at CzechInvest.
CzechInvest, the Investment and Business
Development Agency, has already received first applications for
investment incentives under the new scheme.
Among the first prospect beneficiaries of this form of subsidies
are for instance Kornfeil, a manufacturer of machinery for the
food industry, confectionery producer Candy Plus, meat producers
and wholesalers Maso Hodonín and Kostelecké uzeniny,
as well as others.
"... We have made state aid available
to any firm investing into the manufacturing industry, shared
services centers and customer contact centers in areas whose unemployment
rate exceeds 14%... "
" ... Incentive options thus extend
also to the districts of Ústí nad Labem, Decín,
Most, Teplice, Chomutov, Louny, Jeseník, Bruntál,
Karviná, Ostrava, Novy Jicín and Fridek –
Místek, and Hodonín.
The money for this form of public aid is drawn exclusively from
the state budget... "
- Miroslav Pribyl, head of the labour market
department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
The investment proposals submitted through
CzechInvest, are being assessed by the Ministry for Industry and
Trade, based upon whose decision the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs releases the allocated amount.
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