- Qualified workforce at lower cost amongst countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region
- Excellent incentives for businesses from year 2010 onwards
Singapore, Monday, 25 January 2010 - The seminar on Business Opportunities in Czech Republic & Networking Session 2010, jointly organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and CzechInvest, the investment and business development agency, provided useful information on the country's business opportunities in the Aerospace, ICT and High-tech Manufacturing sectors; as well as the legal and financial aspect of doing business in this CEE member state.
The seminar, attended by some 50 local business representatives from various sectors, underscored the Czech Republic as one of the preferred partners for Singapore companies in their venture into the CEE region.
Mr. Martin Yuoon, Assistant Executive Director of SBF in his welcome address, noted that the Czech Republic and Singapore have shared a common ground of being small, open economies strategically located in their respective regions.
Elaborating on Czech Republic's strengths, Mr. Ondrej Votruba, Executive Director (Japan Operations) of CzechInvest, cited the country's attractive business perks, which included reduced corporate tax rate; highly skilled but low cost workforce; the continuing liberalization of foreign investment regulations; and business opportunities in key sectors.
On the highlighted sectors, the Czech Republic Aerospace manufacturing clusters are located in two main cities- Prague and Kunovice. The sector is currently undergoing privatization and presents ample opportunities for investors. ICT is one key sector which has been growing steadily over the years in the European region. Mr. Votruba mentioned that Czech Republic has a competitive advantage in providing skilled and well-educated IT workers at a fraction of the cost of other countries in the region. Participants were also updated on the geographical and sectoral incentive schemes in the country as well as the financial support available from the European Structured Funds.
Participants also benefitted from the engaging Q&A session, moderated by Mr. Martin Yuoon. Panelists Mr. Theo Speelmans, Managing Director of KBC N.V. Bank, and Mr. Martin Felenda, Managing Partner of Schaffer and Partner provided insights on the regulatory issues of setting up businesses in the Czech market such as corporate taxation, obtaining employment pass, minimum wage and on company registration. There were also candid discussions on business language issue and the investment security of doing business in the market. Mr Votruba advised that the new incentive schemes would be made known in March 2010 and that all market information is accessible through the CzechInvest website http://www.czechinvest.org/en.
Being one of the new CEE member states of the European Union, Czech Republic is one country likely to experience positive GDP growth especially after the recent global financial economic crisis. Based on the positive feedback from the participants about the developments in the country, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) will look to increasing its engagement of the market in the coming years.
About Czech Republic
The country is considered one of the most dynamic and industralised countries in Central Europe, thanks to its advantageous geographical position, liberal regime for foreign capital, and highly skilled workforce. Inflows of foreign direct investment were roughly US$10.73 billion in 2008. Trade between both countries continue to soar, reaching SGD 963.2 million in 2008, a decent 44.8% increase in trade value from 2007. Czech Republic is ranked as Singapore's 58th largest trading partner in 2008 with the balance of trade in Singapore's favor. With the population's growing affluence and buying power, together with the developments in the political sphere, it is not surprising that the country is earmarked as one of the four central European countries for focus. Some of the companies who have successfully established their presence there are Flextronics International Ltd, System Access Ltd and Amtek Engineering Ltd.
On bilateral front, our governments have signed cooperative agreements to enhance business exchanges between our businessmen. The Investment Guarantee Agreement and the Avoidance of Double Taxation Treaty are two good examples.
For more information on Czech Republic events, please contact
Ms. Cindy Chua
Executive, GBD Europe & Central Asia
Singapore Business Federation
Email: markets.amea@sbf.org.sg
Tel: 6827 6887
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