March 2010 Prague — TRW-Carr is planning the expansion of its plant in Stara Boleslav. In the plant, two- and three-point safety belts and safety belts with a switch are manufactured. Related to the plan is the creation of 350 new jobs, with the company thus employing over 1,750 people.

November 2009 Prague — The D1 highway linking Prague, Brno and Ostrava – the Czech Republic’s three largest cities – has been completed. With a new thirty-kilometre section costing CZK 7.6 billion now in operation, drivers can travel the 385 kilometres from Prague to Ostrava in relative comfort on the highway.

September 2009 Prague — Postova Banka of Slovakia is preparing to enter the Czech banking market. The bank will open a branch in Prague later this year. Postova Banka is a leader in the Slovak consumer financing market. Its Prague branch should initially serve only corporate clients in the Czech Republic. Postova Banka may become involved in retail banking early next year.

May 2009 Prague — Internal Land Registry correspondence shows that they are now recognizing that all foreigners can purchase property without an SRO or residency permit. Banks still need to change their regulations for lending.

May 2009 Prague — The American company DuPont has opened its Road Technology Centre in Prague. The centre conducts testing and provides technical and legislative advisory services and consulting for asphalt producers and companies engaged in the construction of road surfaces throughout the regions of Central and Eastern Europe.

May 2009 Prague — Toyota Motor Czech, which imports Toyota automobiles to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, has opened a new administrative centre in Prague at a cost of CZK 300 million. The new complex houses the headquarters of both Toyota Motor Czech and Toyota Financial Services Czech. Toyota decided to build an entirely new centre in order to consolidate all sales and after-sale activities, including financial services, under one roof with the possibility of further expansion.

November 2008 Prague — Czech Republic to let foreigners buy property without restriction from 05/2009. The cabinet has endorsed the amendment to an existing law but it still needs to be endorsed by the parliament and signed by the president. There are not expected to be any objections to this amendment.

June 2008 Prague — Today saw the grand opening of the new Mstětice Science and Technology Park, which will offer facilities for developers, scientists and beginning entrepreneurs in the area of transportation technologies and related fields. The project is being implemented by Eurosignal, a subsidiary of AŽD Praha, in cooperation with European Union funds and the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Transportation. The aim of the park is to support small and medium-sized enterprises and the development of new technologies intended primarily for transportation.

December 2006 Prague — Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) declared their intention of opening its center for Central and Eastern Europe in Prague. The main purpose of the Prague center is for the development of software applications but will also include an on-site call centre and support services centre. Their goal is to hire roughly 160 employees in 2007.

April 2007 Prague — Deutsche Börse, opened its Czech IT development center which assists with the development of software for the Deutsche Borse Group. Current employees are 40 but it aims to hire 150 IT specialists by the end of 2008.

May 2007 Prague — Oracle, a worldwide provider of software, announced the opening of a European sales promotion center in Prague.

April 2007 Prague — Deutsche Börse, opened its Czech IT development center which assists with the development of software for the Deutsche Borse Group. Current employees are 40 but it aims to hire 150 IT specialists by the end of 2008.

March 2010 Olomouc — Car parts manufacturer Mubea IT Spring Wire plans to build a new production hall in the Prostejov Industrial Zone. Another spring production facility is to be added to the existing plant manufacturing input stabiliser and spring materials for the automotive industry. The new factory will offer 145 new jobs, i.e. the total number of the company's employees will grow to 196. Mubea IT Spring Wire plans to launch the construction in July and complete it in February 2012.

December 2009 Olomouc — Olympus Medical Products Czech is transferring to Přerov the development and production of endoscopes from Germany and Southeast Asia, thus centralising operations and creating up to 150 highly skilled jobs.

May 2009 Olomouc — Internal Land Registry correspondence shows that they are now recognizing that all foreigners can purchase property without an SRO or residency permit. Banks still need to change their regulations for lending.

May 2009 Olomouc — In spite of the currently unfavourable economic situation, Olympus will open a new technology centre focused on development and production of medical instruments this year in Prerov. Following the successful launch and operation of two highly specialised repair centres, Olympus is building a centre that will develop and produce new endoscopic instruments for customers around the world. The centre should employ up to 150 people by the end of 2011.

July 2007 Olomouc — The Japanese company Olympus has opened a unique centre for the repair of endoscopes in Prerov, Czech Republic. 'The operation currently employs 25 people, though within nine months this number should grow to 58. Nine months is the maximum period for training new employees depending on the type of work to be performed. For example, cementing endoscopes is a highly specialised activity,' says Petr Hanzlik, director of the parent company Olympus C&S.

March 2010 Ostrava — QAPS Czech Republic will build a centre for surface treatment of planes with two paint halls at the Leos Janacek airport facility in Ostrava. It will create 57 jobs. Construction should begin in June 2010 and be completed in April 2011.

November 2009 Ostrava — The D1 highway linking Prague, Brno and Ostrava – the Czech Republic’s three largest cities – has been completed. With a new thirty-kilometre section costing CZK 7.6 billion now in operation, drivers can travel the 385 kilometres from Prague to Ostrava in relative comfort on the highway.

September 2009 Ostrava — Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, has started production at its plant in the North Moravian town of Nošovice. The production capacity of the plant, in which Hyundai invested EUR 1 billion (approx. CZK 25 billion), is now 200,000 vehicles annually. Eighty thousand new cars have rolled off its assembly lines so far.

May 2009 Ostrava — Internal Land Registry correspondence shows that they are now recognizing that all foreigners can purchase property without an SRO or residency permit. Banks still need to change their regulations for lending.

February 2009 Ostrava — The Hyundai plant in Nošovice has increased production to full capacity after cutting output in January due to low demand.

January 2009 Ostrava — The Czech Republic got a record 213 new investment projects through the agency CzechInvest last year, a yr/yr growth of 12, but their value dropped by Kc41bn on the year to Kc30bn, CzechInvest management told reporters Thursday.

By Czech regions, Jihomoravsky region in southern Moravia reported again the highest amount of projects, 37, with one in three firms being involved in IT and software development. Moravskoslezsky region in northern Moravia ranked second with 30 new projects, followed by Stredocesky region in central Bohemia with 27 new projects.

November 2008 Ostrava — The first Czech-made Hyundai cars are leaving the Nošovice plant. By 2010, the new plant should manufacture 300,000 cars a year and employ roughly 3,400 people.

May 2008 Ostrava — Faurecia’s industrial development enters a new phase in the Czech Republic. This plan includes: 1. The planned creation of a new plant in Karviná (additional 300 jobs created) 2. The reinforcement of the Písek industrial site (additional 700 jobs created)

October 2007 Ostrava — Car component producer Pyeong Hwa Automotive Czech from South Korea, is currently working on a plant to be completed by May 2008. It will employ 200 people and cooperate with the new Hyundai car plant in Nosovice and the Kia plant in southern Slovakia.

July 2007 Ostrava — Leoš Janácek airport in Mošnov, Ostrava will begin substantial development of the airport. Over the next five years, 12 new international routes will begin to operate including connections to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Zurich, Helsinki, Warsaw, Kiev and Moscow.

March 2007 Ostrava — Briggs & Stratton Corporation, a leading name in the outdoor power equipment industry, built its first assembly factory in Europe. It is based near Ostrava, Czech Republic.

October 2007 Ostrava — Car component producer Pyeong Hwa Automotive Czech from South Korea, is currently working on a plant to be completed by May 2008. It will employ 200 people and cooperate with the new Hyundai car plant in Nosovice and the Kia plant in southern Slovakia.

May 2007 Ostrava — Sungwoo Hitech, a South Korean auto-body part manufacturer, will build a new production shop in the Ostrava-Hrabova industrial zone. The firm plans to double its existing employee base of 800.

November 2009 Brno — The D1 highway linking Prague, Brno and Ostrava – the Czech Republic’s three largest cities – has been completed. With a new thirty-kilometre section costing CZK 7.6 billion now in operation, drivers can travel the 385 kilometres from Prague to Ostrava in relative comfort on the highway.

September 2009 Brno — The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron is expanding production at the company’s Brno facility in order to keep pace with company growth and to ensure fulfilment of customers’ requirements. The company currently produces desktop PCs and servers at its facility at CTPark. From this year onward, its portfolio of products will be expanded with the addition of LCD monitors and televisions.

May 2009 Brno — Internal Land Registry correspondence shows that they are now recognizing that all foreigners can purchase property without an SRO or residency permit. Banks still need to change their regulations for lending.

May 2009 Brno — Synthon, a Dutch pharmaceuticals producer, has completed construction of a new production plant and research centre in Blansko. At a cost of approximately CZK 450 million, the company converted a former chemical-production facility into a plant for producing and developing active medicinal substances used in the manufacture of drugs.

January 2009 Brno — The Czech Republic and Austria signed an agreement on Friday (23/01/2009) to complete a motorway connection between Brno and Vienna. The Czech R52 and Austrian A5 will meet in Mikulov.

January 2009 Brno — The Czech Republic got a record 213 new investment projects through the agency CzechInvest last year, a yr/yr growth of 12, but their value dropped by Kc41bn on the year to Kc30bn, CzechInvest management told reporters Thursday.

By Czech regions, Jihomoravsky region in southern Moravia reported again the highest amount of projects, 37, with one in three firms being involved in IT and software development. Moravskoslezsky region in northern Moravia ranked second with 30 new projects, followed by Stredocesky region in central Bohemia with 27 new projects.

May 2008 Brno — Honeywell opened a center for the development and testing of turbo-superchargers in Brno. The center will employ roughly 300 people.

March 2008 Brno — With the opening of the IBA Group’s development centre, the value of supported sophisticated investments in Brno has exceeded CZK 1 billion. With CzechInvest’s assistance, the city of Brno has obtained investments in applied research and business support services valued at over CZK 1 billion in recent years. The latest such project is the development centre of IBA Group, which has invested more than CZK 50 million in new office spaces and is planning to employ approximately 100 IT specialists by 2010.

March 2008 Brno — IBA Group (www.ibacz.eu), a global IT service provider headquartered in Prague, is expanding its development center in Brno, Czech Republic. IBA Group is the largest IT service provider in Eastern Europe performing onshore, near-shore and offshore projects with more than 2,100 professionals. Within the project, IBA is planning to create 50 new jobs for Brno IT professionals, including local university graduates.

September 2007 Brno — DSG International (www.dsgiplc.com), owner of the chains Dixons, Dixons Tax Free, Currys, Currys.digital and PC World as well as the Electro World chain in Czech Republic, will move its financial center from the UK to Brno as of September 7. To start with the center will employ 50 but it should have 200 employees in a matter of two years. DSG International is one of Europe's largest electronics chains.

May 2007 Brno — Psida, originally from the US, will hire 25 new top engineers over the next two years. The firm is on the cutting edge for the design, development, verification and testing of modern integrated circuits.

April 2007 Brno — Infosys Technologies, an Indian company, has expanded its facility in Brno to provide extra IT service capacity. The center has 400 seats and offers 24-hour service in 20 languages.

October 2007 Brno — Designing a complete brewery or dairy, for example, will be the work of more than 100 specialists whom Invensys APV will employ in the South Moravia region. The company today opened its new development centre in Brno, which will employ 120 specialists, mostly with university degrees in technical fields.

October 2007 Brno — MANN+HUMMEL has opened a new development and design office in the Technology Park in Brno. Intended for the development of automotive filtration technology, the centre is the company’s first such facility in Central and Eastern Europe. By 2010 an expected 70 employees will work here.

June 2008 Zlin — Tomáš Baťa University (TBU) is planning to attract firms focused on information technologies to Zlín. In order to achieve this goal, within the next two years the university wants to build a science and technology park focused particularly on the development of security software.