czech MBas: Welcome to the jungle
Transcription
czech MBas: Welcome to the jungle
The alert buyer EU Commissioner Věra Jourová wants to awaken the consumer to their rights face to face pages 10–11 Black gold in the sands 73 Issue 73 l newsstand price CZK 24/¤ 1 l www.e15.cz 9 771803 454314 Monday, 1 June 2015 Canadian wilderness oil deposits offer a Czech firm super-rich revenues feature pages 12–13 czech MBas: Welcome to the jungle Petr Weikert A round 10 years ago, Petr Mašín was faced with a major decision. The trained mechanical engineer was serving as the head of a medium-sized manufacturing company. Although he knew the ropes very well, he felt uneasy about making management-type decisions affecting the future of his company. And so Mašín sat down at a computer and tried to discover how he might gain a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, which arms a graduate with practical managerial skills. In the Czech Republic, MBAs are popular, but they are also much maligned. “When a person reaches a certain phase of life, they seek out new paths for potential development,” explains Mašín. “As a manager, I wanted to know more about business economics, management and financial analyses.” Ultimately, Mašín decided upon the Prague-based University of Economics and Management [VŠEM] for his MBA. “One piece of important information that I learned at the start of the course was that – as is often the case – I might not be able to practically apply all the knowledge I learn. So studying for an MBA helps far more in terms of gaining a means to communicate with the people who have climbed to the top of their respective fields. In essence, we learn what to discuss with company economists, marketing specialists and others,” adds Mašín. Unlike many who ultimately drop out along the way, Mašín persevered in his studies. The course began with two classes of 25 freshmen each. By the second year, 25 students remained, merged into just one class. Only seven completed the course in the allotted period. “That is one reason why I chose this school – that it wasn’t simply issuing degrees to order. I wanted to actually learn something for my money,” explains Mašín. Continues on page 8 Photo: Shutterstock Hundreds of thousands of crowns are spent unnecessarily in the country’s unregulated MBA degree industry 2/3 news Prague wants to terminate its membership of a financial institution with no viable strategy for survival Banking Jaroslav Bukovský T he Czech finance ministry plans to initiate negotiations for a dividend from the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC). The IBEC and the International Investment Bank (IIB) are two surviving financial institutions that were created by the former Eastern Bloc’s Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), which was scrapped in 1991. The Czech Republic is represented in the IBEC’s management side by side with countries including Mongolia and Vietnam. However, the Czech Republic has the advantage of a strong position within the bank. With a stake worth around CZK 10bn, Prague is second only to Moscow when it comes to negotiating power. But the only business the bank does nowadays comprises the leasing of several sprawling buildings in downtown Moscow. “Where paying out shares of profit is concerned the bank’s board has the power to make decisions in response to an initiative from one or more member states. It is the intention of the Czech Republic to table the issue for the June meeting of the IBEC board,” said a Czech finance ministry spokesman. The Czech Republic obtained CZK 73m last year as its share of the bank’s profits after the IBEC distributed the retained profits of previous The IBEC was established in 1963. The former Czechoslovakia was one of its founding members. The main reason for the bank’s existence was to provide clearing for mutual deliveries of goods and services among the Comecon member states. Following the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, the IBEC was transformed into a regular international commercial bank of regional importance. Photo: ČTK An artefact of history Future wide open. The Comecon building completed in 1970 was designed to look like an open book. It is now used by Moscow City Council years following a prod from Prague. The Czech stake in the bank amounts to 13.34 percent, corresponding to an accounting value of about CZK 1.25bn. The majority of the bank’s assets lie in a group of buildings in Moscow leased out to Russian financial tycoons. “The bank owns buildings at 11 Masha Poryvayeva Street, near the Academician Sakharov Prospect,” the finance ministry said. In addition to being a home to the IBEC itself, the building hosts the headquarters of prominent Russian banks such as Rosbank and Alfa Bank. Sources close to the ministry told E15 daily that the long-term intention of the Czech Republic is to terminate its membership in the IBEC. One possible scenario is the liquidation of the bank. Its heterogeneous group of members lacks anything that could be considered as a viable long-term strategy. “All the IBEC member states agree that they have very little in the way of a plan for the institution,” the finance ministry observed. Revived Christian Democrats want regional recovery Pavel Otto Following their return to parliament and government, the Christian Democrats [KDU-ČSL] are seeking to win back their former regional influence too. Presently, the party, which won no parliamentary seats in 2010 but gained 14 in 2013, holds no governorships anywhere in the country. But 2014’s local elections gave KDU-ČSL the greatest success of the traditional parties. The party also gained extra seats in the Senate, where they now comprise the third largest group. They have also managed to rid themselves of debt. In late May, at the KDU-ČSL party congress in Zlín, incumbent chairman Pavel Bělobrádek was convincingly re-elected with 91 percent of the vote. In the future, said Bělobrádek, the party plans to seek out right-of-centre voters: “In next year’s local elections, we need to break up the red-orange coalitions. It isn’t right for local education to be run by communists,” noted Bělobrádek, referring to the nine Social Democrat-Communist local governing coalitions nati- Red alert. It isn’t right for local education to be run by communists, says Pavel Bělobrádek onwide. Congress delegates also assessed the fruits of the party’s membership, as the most junior partner, in the current Social Democrat-ANO-KDU-ČSL governing coalition. Defending the arrangement, Bělobrádek argued his party had succeeded in placing 80 percent of its top priorities in the official government policy programme. “Of this, half has already been enacted. We aren’t playing for effect, but to score goals,” he added. One stated success is an increase in tax credits for working families with children. ANO leader Andrej Babiš, unlike PM Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrat) or the leaders of the Civic Democrats and TOP 09 (who were all there as guests), was absent from the congress. Consequently, he found himself the target of heavy criticism. “If we accept [Babiš's] premise of running the state like a private company, then we are willingly supporting the destruction of democracy,” warned re-elected KDU-ČSL Deputy Chairman Jan Bartošek. He bypassed Babiš, he had to go Vladan Gallistl, David Vagaday Globes for Vary Photo: ČTK Karlovy Vary-based glassworks factory Moser has been commissioned to make 16 crystal globes for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival set to take place from 3 to 7 July. The bronze statuettes holding the globes come from the studio of Miloš Vacek. The crystal balls are made by Moser glassmakers with the whole five-kilogram trophy assembled at the glassworks Finance Minister Andrej Babiš has unexpectedly rid himself of his Social Democrat deputy Martin Pros. The official reason for the move was a loss of confidence because of a letter sent to the Czech National Bank [ČNB] in which Pros requested a screening for possible manipulation of PRIBOR [the Prague InterBank Offered Rate]. There is conjecture, however, that a dispute over the regulation of financial advisers’ commissions also stands behind the dismissal. It is said that Babiš is upset that his deputy lowered the commissions without his knowledge. The first nail went into Pros’ coffin during April when ČNB Governor Miroslav Singer asked for an investigation into alleged manipulation of PRIBOR. This led to criticism from Babiš. He said Pros’ initiative, about which he had known nothing, had damaged the good standing of the Czech banking market. According to the information of E15 daily, Singer complained to Babiš about Pros’ letter during a session of the International Monetary Fund. In recent days, Pros angered Babiš again. Social Democrat MP Ladislav Šincl brought forward a draft legislative amendment on insurance brokers, which Pros agreed to. But Babiš insisted that he was unaware of his ministry lending its backing to proposed changes. According to E15.cz sources, a delegation of insurance agents warned the minister about cuts in commissions which they were entirely opposed to. Have your say Igor Záruba Pressing issues lost in an overflowing in-tray Photo: ČTK Dividend sought from relic of Comecon With Greece teetering on the economic edge, Ukraine still in a stand-off with Russia and global markets as jittery about prospects as ever, the G7 summit in Bavaria has a rather chaotic in-tray. So, as we went to press, it wasn’t easy to predict how much notice would be taken of David Cameron’s EU tour designed to gain support for the renegotiation of his country’s membership of the European bloc. On the UK PM’s itinerary are the European Commission, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande. The threat, at least on paper, is the UK’s possible withdrawal from the EU. Pressured by the eurosceptic wing of his Conservative party, the newly re-elected Cameron clearly feels compelled to spend major political capital on this endeavour, no matter what thickness of brick wall he encounters in presenting his ideas on the other side of the Channel. Meanwhile, an anonymous survey of Wall Street and City of London bankers has emerged. According to German daily FAZ, one in four financial sector workers admit they are prepared to act illegally to make money. Furthermore, a fifth believe that immoral or illegal conduct is necessary to get ahead. More than one-third of top earners (those who take home at least USD 500,000 annually) confessed to witnessing such activities at first hand. And so almost seven years on from the fall of Lehman Brothers – the event that kicked off the world financial crisis – it appears that the ensuing “get tough on the banks regime” which recently included billions in fines for interest and currency rates manipulation, money laundering, insider trading, and ignoring creditor risk, have failed to tame the beast at all. Bankers appear to have regressed even further. Many polled also admitted that the current oversight system is ineffective. Experts agree that greater ethical standards can be cultivated in the financial sector, partly by reforming the system of bonus payments. The first cat is already out of the bag in regards to playing down the need for such ideas: US giant JP Morgan Chase recently published a new ethical codex. Genuinely cowed or just a PR exercise? On the other side of the proverbial wall, new data reveals that the number of workers with less than 10 years on the job is currently double that of those working for 20 years. In other words, job security is down, job insecurity is up. None of which, I might add, is topping the official agenda of the upcoming G7 summit, taking place in Germany from 7-8 June. Sure, the phrase “prudent financial market architecture” has been tacked on to the official section covering sustainable economic growth and free trade. But the G7 meeting will largely ignore banking and financial oversight, as if the matter has already solved itself. Come to think of it, have we really learned anything since 2008? The author is the Executive Editor of E15 weekly Painting installed as 600th anniversary of Hus’s execution nears Photo: ČTK A special crane was needed to lift a 19th-century painting, Hus before the Council of Constance, into a temporary home in a former Tábor town hall building. The sizeable artwork, painted in 1883 by Václav Brožík, is to form part of an exhibition marking the 600th anniversary of the 6 July, 1415 burning at the stake for heresy of reformist Christian priest and philosopher Jan Hus. Pope John Paul II apologised for the execution of Hus in 1999. The canvas measures 5.5 by 3.5 metres and weighs around 400kg E15 weekly, economic and business newsmagazine | www.e15.cz | Tomáš Skřivánek, Euro E15 Division Director | Igor Záruba, Executive Editor, [email protected]; Marian Hronek, Editor, [email protected] | Contacts: Zuzana Faltová, Secretary | Call (+420) 225 276 461, | Postal address: Mezi Vodami 1952/9, 143 00 Praha 4 – Modřany | Published by Mladá fronta a. s., Mezi Vodami 1952/9, 143 00 Praha 4 | David Hurta, Chief Executive Officer | Advertising: Lenka Benetková , Sales Director, [email protected] | Production and distribution: Soňa Štarhová, Director, Call (+420) 225 276 252 | Marketing: Hana Holková, Director, Call (+420) 225 276 276 Registration E 21420 E15 weekly, ISSN: 1803-4543 | Reprints & Permissions: The Publisher will consider requests for reprints or any other reproduction | Printed by: EuRoPRINT a. s. 4/5 business Financier Pavel Bodlák wants to target more affluent clients with new investment firm Carduus C arduus, due to announce its arrival on the Czech financial markets in June, will set out to make profits from “better situated” clients. It will offer the management of their assets and investments made through Qualifying Investor Funds (QIFs). One-time financier of financial group PPF Pavel Bodlák and former boss of the Amista firm Vít Vařeka stand behind the new market player. “When it comes to the management of clients’ assets, the main investment assets will be fixed-income securities traded on developed and regulated markets, including publicly traded exchange traded funds, or ETFs. The funds of Carduus will be focused on direct investments into companies and real estate proper- ty in combination with debt financing,” said Vařeka. The controlling stake in the new investment company will be held by Bodlák who will extend existing business carried out under Carduus Wealth Management, a financial group based in Zurich, Switzerland. It has for some years been operating on the market providing advisory services for well-off clients. Bodlák has brought to Prague his hitherto partner Emil Šťáva, who for many years worked for banks such as Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. Czech National Bank [ČNB] data showed that to the end of April 27 investment companies were operating in the Czech Republic, three more than were present last year. Carduus is arriving on the market on the eve of substantial legislative changes in the area of QIFs, which should New player. The controlling stake in the new investment company will be held by former PPF financier Pavel Bodlák Photo: archive finance Jaroslav Bukovský make this type of investment vehicle accessible to a wider array of takers. While the minimum QIF deposit currently stands at EUR 125,000 (approx. CZK 3.5m), from next year the entry-investment could be lowered to around EUR 1020,000. There are around 130 QIFs on the Czech market, which together manage an assets volume of roughly CZK 85bn, according to the Czech Capital Market Association. Spanish reverse out of rail tender E-Commerce Holding in investment drive up and down Martin Pros Ex-Deputy Finance Minister Daniel Novák Following a financial shot in the arm from investors Daniel Křetínský and Patrik Tkáč, ECommerce Holding (ECH) is already flexing its muscle. A group of 16 e-shops operated by ECH, in turn controlled by the Rockaway Group, intends to invest tens of millions of crowns in a technological and logistics platform this year alone. The group is also looking for expansion opportunities across Central and Eastern Europe and potentially further afield as well: in Latin America and Asia. The holding’s consolidated revenues are expected to jump by 40 percent compared to last year to exceed CZK 1.5bn. A major share of the current capital expenditure is in support of the holding’s online grocery store Kolonial.cz, the launch of which is imminent. “We have invested in a warehouse in Rudná u Prahy, just outside the city. The warehouse looked very large at first but we have already found out that we will have to expand it,” said Jan Jírovec, He supported a move to lower commissions on settled life insurance policies, which put him in conflict with Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. Sources claim that could be the real reason why he was dismissed. Lubomír Kovařík Boss of Česká Zbrojovka Photo: archive New fund for well-heeled unveiled All go in Rudná na Prahy. The warehouse makes 24,000 square metres of storage the holding’s CEO, speaking to E15 daily. ECH is poised to expand the warehouse’s 7,500 square metres of floor area. Storage racks provide an area of about 10,000 square metres. After the completion of planned galleries and other storage facilities, the holding’s storage capacity at Rudná u Prahy will increase to about 24,000 square metres. The online grocery store is expected to utilise around 35 percent of the storage capacity with the rest being available for other goods traded by the holding’s shops. In addition to developing a unified technological and logistics platform for all of the holding’s e-shops, ECH is also plotting a broader international reach. “It is certainly our ambition to become a major player in Central and Eastern Europe,” Jírovec added. Film-makers’ favourite mill up for sale Photo: Michael Tomeš The Prague property market recently took on an unusual addition. A historical estate and cultural monument protected by the state has been put up for sale by its owners. Trojan’s Mill [Trojanův mlýn] has often been used by both Czech and Hollywood film-makers. The mill comes with a price tag of CZK 100m. Having featured in the US thriller Bourne Identity, it has, you might say, achieved worldwide fame Pavel Bělobrádek Chairman, Christian Democratic Party [KDU-ČSL] At the party congress in Zlín of the smallest party in the ruling government coalition he retained his post of KDU-ČSL chairman without a hitch. The party, which failed to gain a parliamentary seat in the last election but one, is thriving on his leadership. Christian Karnath CEO, Kaufland CR Jan Šindelář ADIF, the Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager, was poised to take part in providing a solution for the future of the Czech high-speed railway network. However, the European number one in the sector has been discouraged by the tender’s terms and conditions. ADIF entered into an agreement with Czech organisation CEDOP. According to CEDOP’s director Petr Šlegr, the CzechSpanish partnership backed away from the tender as it could not meet the qualification requirements. These were labelled by Šlegr as discriminating. The matter is already being investigated by the Czech anti-trust authority. The Czech railway infrastructure manager, SŽDC, has however decided not to wait for the outcome of the investigation. It has already signed a contract with the winner. The Uherský Brod arms maker has made the short list in a tender for the supply of 240,000 assault rifles for the re-arming of the Indian army. The rival bidders are from Italy and Israel. Following an agricultural and foodstuffs inspection, the business was fined CZK 400,000 for marking goods with foreign origins with a flag and label bearing the slogan “Fresh from the CR”. Bronisław Komorowski Outgoing Polish President In an upset, he narrowly lost the presidential election. He was put forward for re-election by Civic Platform, which has been the major coalition partner in Poland’s government since 2007. Armin Delong Physicist, Czech Academy of Sciences Taxman catches up with raw tobacco Photo: Profimedia.cz A consumption tax is to be levied on raw tobacco. The required legislation for the tax has just been passed by the Parliament’s lower chamber. The new tax will befall anyone who uses raw tobacco for any purpose other than the manufacture of cigarettes or for export consignments The founder of acclaimed electron microscopy has won the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI) award for his long-term contribution to the investment environment of the Czech Republic. 6/7 opinion up close & personal Hospitals need surgery Jana Havligerová’s political diary Every finance minister worth their salt has confronted the effectiveness of the Czech healthcare system. Andrej Babiš is no different. Expect a new battle on the old battleground Equip the Chamber now Photo: Jan Rasch Excepting the communists, the opposition parties of the Chamber of Deputies were so outraged by ANO MPs recently voting to continue the controversial biofuel subsidies – in spite of their leader and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš’s stated opposition to such subsidies – that they called for a vote of confidence in the ruling coalition. It’s as if they’ve forgotten the old Czech adage: dumb who gives, even dumber who fails to take... Miroslav Zámečník I f the intensity of current media reports are anything to go by, then the finance ministry is upping the pressure for an increased say in the country’s healthcare system. The problem is not, nor has it ever been, net healthcare expenditure. Although this is at employers in their locations. Any restructuring will inevitably hit a political roadblock – so far, two such attempts have ended without success. The result is plenty of hospital beds, as well as the crucial problem of high fixed operating costs. Solving the latter issue will oversight. From the point of view of public finance stability, the ministry has a right, and even duty, to ensure that the plans offered by healthcare insurers are equitable, and that our healthcare system learns to play by the same rules as the rest of the economy. The finance ministry has a right to ensure that the plans offered by healthcare insurers are equitable. The best way forward is to appoint an expert commission a lower GDP ratio than what is found in the wealthiest nations, it is roughly comparable to that of other Central European nations. Indeed, our healthcare indicators paint a pretty decent picture, with a little money, in essence, going a long way towards good care. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement on a microeconomic level. One inescapable factor is the relatively high number of patient doctor visits. An optimal middle path in the form of economic “gatekeeping” (without patients having to pay a fee) is something this country has failed to create. Then there is the matter of hospitals, typically the largest require major restructuring. Or, stated otherwise, it will require many hospitals to be transformed into institutions providing care for the elderly – and without ambitions to practice medicine. As we know, a former hospital reimbursement mechanism, founded upon payments for groups of diagnoses, was replaced with a system whose methodology remains opaque. Something more objective and fair will evidently have to wait five more years. Given the system’s woes, the finance ministry would understandably like to take a look under the proverbial hood. Indeed, there is even talk of pricing But rather than battling with colleagues, the best way forward is to appoint an expert commission, preferably with an international component. This will produce a report, forcing individual parties to retreat from their entrenched positions. PM Bohuslav Sobotka can hardly oppose such a plan. Eleven years ago, as finance minister, he did the very same thing. And so we are faced with a new battle on an old stage. Any finance minister intent on showing their mettle has confronted the Czech healthcare system’s struggles. Babiš is sure to do more than dabble. Unsurprisingly, the vote to continue the biofuel subsidies had a behindthe-scenes epilogue. While Babiš suggested Deputy Chair and head of the parliamentary “TOP 09 and Mayors” faction Miroslav Kalousek should undergo a breathalyser test after each statement made in the chamber, Kalousek retorted that Babiš should undertake lie detector tests under the same conditions. Let’s hope our parliament finds the money for these schemes. Brno has announced a Year of Reconciliation for all WWII victims. One person not reconciled to this idea is South Moravian Governor and Social joke Democrat Michal Hašek. He is unhappy over Brno Mayor Petr Vokřál’s description of the post-war expulsion of Germans from the city as “violent”. Consequently, he has declined to take part in memorial events to be attended by not only Czech politicians and clergy, but also the German and Austrian ambassadors. Meanwhile, Social Democrat Senator Zdeněk Škromach went a step further, describing Brno’s representatives as “collaborators” for such reconciliatory measures. Not sure what such a tough line will do for the party’s image. A photo of Transport Minister Dan Ťok, spade in hand, shovelling asphalt, became the talk of the town last week. Ťok was levered into this public relations exercise by readers of tabloid Blesk. They were asked by the paper to point out some of the most egregious examples of potholed Czech roads. The minister then embarked on an inspection of road repair efforts, adding that he, too, was working “shovel in hand”. So Ťok appears to have mastered the intricacies of PR. Now if he could only master actual competent road-building... Cameron revisits Thatcher’s ‘Right to Buy’ Michael Zámečník The Queen’s Speech at last week’s State Opening of Parliament in the UK confirmed the new government’s plan to sell off swathes of housing association homes to tenants despite the national housing crisis A151005033 T he original concept of the ‘Right to Buy’ extends back to British politics of the 1980s. The scheme was a popular cornerstone policy of Margaret Thatcher, with hundreds of thousands of local government council houses sold at substantially discounted rates into the private ownership of the dwellers. Endeavouring to emulate the success of that policy, re-elected PM David Cameron is pressing ahead with a new housing bill. It will extend subsidised house-buying to 1.3 million housing association tenants, who will be offered the chance to purchase properties with discounts ranging up to GBP 100,000. But unlike Thatcher’s policy, this election pledge has not met with the same strident reception. In a country strained by an acute shortage of affordable housing, the prospect of selling off limited stocks of cheaper rented homes has been heavily criticised. Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter, a housing charity, said the policy was “yet another nail in the coffin for affordable housing. We In a country strained by an acute shortage of affordable housing, the prospect of selling off limited stocks of cheaper homes has been heavily criticised have already seen an outright failure to replace like for like the homes sold under Right to Buy”. Indeed, of approximately two million council-owned properties sold since 1980, only 345,000 were replaced. Wider public opinion has proved equally as damning. According to polls conducted by the Financial Times, traditionally a Conservative-leaning newspaper, a whopping 83.5 percent of people believe the policy will worsen the current situation, cutting the supply of affordable rented housing. The government has countered by arguing that sale receipts will go to- wards building “affordable” housing stock. The bill promises 200,000 “starter homes” at a 20-percent discount for first-time buyers under 40, the population segment most affected by skyrocketing house prices. Nevertheless, the supposed solutions offered by the Tories will hardly solve what has turned into a nationwide crisis of housing supply unless more is done to free up land and permissions to build are dramatically extended. Unfortunately, with the pervasive spectre of nimbyism and a government eager to please its voters, this seems unlikely to happen. a dve r t i s i ng 8/9 cover story Czech MBAs: Welcome to the jungle ‘MBAs that barely hit Bachelor’s degree standards’ Czechs’ obsession with degrees, and a willingness to pay hundreds of thousands of crowns to be able to have a prestigious three letters after one’s name (such as Mgr.), has led to the creation of a profitable higher education industry. But there are no official numbers. Statisticians do not tabulate this field separately, while the Ministry of Education neither formally recogni- ses, nor administers MBA title awards. Experts contacted by Euro magazine estimate that around 150 Czech institutions offers this degree. There are presently 44 private universities in the country. Thirty of these offer an MBA title. The majority of institutions offering MBAs thus operate via study courses, including online ones. Prices range from CZK 54,000 for a University of Economics, Prague [VŠE] French-Czech course supported by the French government, to hundreds of thousands of crowns. The average price is between CZK 150-300,000. The question of who has the authority to award MBA degrees in the Czech Republic remains unresolved. In a statement to Euro, the Ministry of Education said it had no plans to regulate professional MBA courses because they are A key piece of important information I learned at the start of the course was that – as is often the case – I may not be able to practically apply all the knowledge I learn Photo: Profimedia.cz The graduate added that for him, simple endurance proved the greatest challenge. Spending the summer holidays by the sea, a book in hand, isn’t for everyone. Furthermore, weekend classes subtract from precious family and social time. On the other hand, Mašín was glad of the opportunity to mingle at school with other students, many of whom were managers and bosses of notable businesses spanning many fields. “I gained many contacts, and it proved particularly informative to observe how fellow students tackled particular assignments. The atmosphere in our classes was engaging, and much different from previous schooling experiences. Certainly there were no paper airplanes being thrown at the teacher!” In the ensuing eight years after completing his post-graduate studies, Petr Mašín worked in several different jobs. He never again worked in a sub-management capacity. Today, he works as a business consultant and is also an Inceptor at the Economics Faculty of the University of West Bohemia [ZČU], where he specialises in risk management issues. Such experiences underscore the potential benefits of an MBA, but also how difficult it can be to secure the vaunted degree. Mašín was fortunate in that he was able to find a good school. But as many other examples across the Czech Republic show, MBA studies can be a thick and lawless jungle. Troubling quality. “Seventy percent of students are unable to write up a quality project. They‘re largely writing compilation pieces and rehashing well-worn themes, with only one in one hundred writing something truly original,” says MBA teacher Leoš Bárta not required for working in any specific profession. Nor will MBAs be legally recognised degrees any time soon. MBAs can thus be offered by any institution which has reached an agreement with a certified foreign school. No official rules govern teaching standards, or mandatory accreditation regulate the quality of offered studies. Leoš Bárta is a young MBA teacher at the Prague-based College of Information Management, Business Administration and Law [VŠMIEP]. He believes the government should give its blessing to this degree. “Anyone able to talk in front of students can teach an MBA course in this country. I have sat in on countless final exams and defences of theses, and must say that in a good deal of cases, I have witnessed a massacre of sorts. Some schools are teaching MBAs, which in reality are barely at Bachelor’s degree standards,” argues Bárta. The main pitfalls, he adds, are student work and its correlation to hands-on experience. “Seventy percent of students are unable to write up a quality dissertation. Rather, they create compilation pieces, selecting well-worn and already thoroughly-analysed sub- ject matters. Individual contributions remain weak. On average, of the hundreds of works I see, perhaps two are in some way interesting. Which is a very small number. But the problem harks back to elementary schooling – students are not encouraged to think independently.” Individual application Following his experiences with the Czech MBA landscape, Bárta now teaches MBA-level marketing at VŠMIEP. The institution significantly expanded the number of courses on offer last year, but still lacks any kind of accreditation. Indeed, the school says it wants to establish its own accreditation rules – something which Czech law permits. “We don’t want to apply for any of the existing accreditations. We will create our own principles. We will accredit ourselves and then others in cooperation with renowned foreign schools,” explains Bárta. The teacher also argues that VŠMIEP insists upon having each subject taught by at least three experienced experts in their respective fields. Student exams are also evaluated by the school from a Photo: Shutterstock Continued from page 1 financial viewpoint – meaning how ideas can be sold in the marketplace, and to whom. Each exam must be worth at least a theoretical CZK 100,000. Somewhat unusually, their MBAs are divided up into distinct fields – for example generational change in companies, marketing 2.0 or sales manager. According to Bárta, an MBA title is important because, asides from a theoretical knowledge, students gain key skills and decision-making abilities. But, in reality, deciding which school to attend can be just as important. Bárta recommends interested parties research the reputation of a given institution, the make-up of its teaching staff, and also which experienced persons from the field of business choose to lecture there. But there is one more tip. Dozens of institutions operate under the CAMBAS (Czech Association of MBA Schools) umbrella. This association provides accreditation, with schools then required to meet its educational criteria. CAMBAS is itself a member of the Europe-based EQUAL (European Quality Link), an international association of quality assessment and accreditation agencies devoted to business education. All MBA-related institutions across the world are members [outside the US, organisations such as the Association of MBAs (AMBA) oversee accreditation –Ed] . “In selecting a school, a student should chiefly examine the level of accreditation of a given institution. That is the best benchmark for selecting a quality school,” says CAMBAS chairman Milan Malý, adding that the number of Czech business schools has remained largely unchanged in recent years. Meaning that the market has largely settled. long since passed in the Czech Republic. But despite this, considerable interest remains in the field. Expats living in the Czech Republic represent an interesting addition to the next generation of MBA-seekers. In many cases, these are managers of foreign firms, living in the country and lacking the time to study back home. Consequently, as of this October, the University of Economics, Prague [VŠE] is starting a course taught exclusively in English. Furthermore, an English MBA will be on offer at the International School of Business and Management [ISBM] Beyond trendy from within their faculty of business The initial mid-2000s wave, when administration. MBAs became a trendy novelty – one Since 2008, VŠE has offered Czechsurfed by the likes of Petr Mašín – have English studies – 21 students current- Seventy percent of students are unable to write a decent dissertation. Instead, they write-up compilation pieces on well-worn and previously-analysed subjects ly attend such courses. Also on offer since 1992 are Czech-French studies, currently attended by 29 students. Since their founding, 600 students have partaken in these courses. For educational institutions, student numbers are crucial. No-one – not even the education ministry – collects information on the number of Czech MBA students, or the extent to which such a degree increases earning power in the country. The largest Czech MBA schools have around 500 students each, the smallest around 20. But for a school, even 20 students can mean a decent CZK 4m towards operating costs. According to Bárta, the future looks bright for this popular field of study. “Thirteen years ago, there were voices saying MBAs have no future here, but that has not proven correct. Until someone comes along with a better way to complete a higher education, which comprises practical business experience, the future for this field is strong.” Also worth adding is that so long as the Czech demand for titles remains, the MBA, in all its forms, need not fear for its future. 10/11 face to face Věra JouroVá: There is a website where one can interactively search for information – banners on social networks refer to this website as do classic adverts in print media and on posters. Every consumer has real rights And how can the campaigning do that? To claim one’s rights, one must first know what they are, so the information campaign chiefly wants to put out information about the kind of rights people have. There is the right to return goods purchased online within 14 days, there is the right to purchase contracts without hidden or disadvantageous provisions, and there is also the right to have truthful advertising and the right to have faulty goods exchanged or repaired. These are four basic rights in the consumer protection field. When it comes to a consumer credit, there is the right to pre-contract information. I should add that we’re talking about information that must be delivered in a comprehensible way, with the inclusion of information on what conditions the person taking the loan is subject to. There’s the famous Annual Percentage Rate [APR, or RPSN in Czech], which in other words is the increase in the percentage over the year. The consumer needs to know in advance how much in total they will pay by the end. And as we have discovered, the way that the APR is calculated varies. It is necessary to explore whether there’s also a need to unify these calculations. Another right of the consumer is the right to withdraw from a contract within 14 days, while finally we have the right to complete the payment of a loan prior to the final payment deadline that was arranged – including the amount that the provider was supposed to make Igor Záruba in profit. All these rights require European legislation in the form of directiYou have arrived back in Prague to ves, which are then processed through introduce a consumer protection in- the member states’ legal systems. formation campaign. What does it inWhy is it the Czech Republic‘s turn to volve? In fact it comprises of two cam- have the campaign period right now? paigns, with the first focused on the This wasn’t planned by me, I took protection of consumers. The second over the issue at the Commission. The concentrates on peoples’ rights when information campaign has in the past it comes to taking a consumer loan. In year passed through eight countries, other words, one is generalised, while and this year it is taking place in a furthe the other one is specific. But we can ther six, the Czech Republic included. say that both of them basically state the The campaign focused on loans last same thing: let’s convince people that year visited four countries, and this they actually have rights and that they year we’re planning three visits – the Czech Republic, Austria and Greece. should claim those rights. What comprises your personal contribution, did you make some changes? I’ve asked for new data, because I’m interested in this. Politics from the vantage point that looks at individual behaviour is an important part of my job. This is also reflected in the campaign in which we focus on each individual in order to explain to them what rights they have and how they can claim them. When working on a consumer policy, I am interested in How are you determining the order in which you are visiting these countries? Is it with a view to the state of things in the given countries? No, on the basis of agreements struck with the institutions in the EU states that they will cooperate with the campaign. So you are dependent on their willingness? In each member state I am dependent on whether the corresponding ministry, as well as the corresponding institution that oversees the market, will identify with the campaign. In our country, we turn to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority [ČOI]. Thanks to this authority, the campaign has arrived here. Are the member states contributing to this activity? No, it’s all coming from the European Commission budget. The general consumer protection campaign is costing 1.1 million euros. The plan is that it will be around for five years, so for this year we’re talking about 620,000 euros. The consumer credits campaign is costing one million euros with 200,000 euros for the Czech Republic. The [industry and trade] ministry and the ČOI are sourcing something from their budget plans, so they will also have an outlay. You have mapped the situation. Have you worked purely from national polls or did European Union statisticians get involved? We have drawn on national polls. In the Czech Republic, the conclusion was that 30 percent of people would like to take a loan within the course of the next two years. Another survey showed that up to 52 percent of consumer credits were bad ones, meaning that the people who took them were caught by surprise in terms of what they had actually contractually signed up for. And they were also surprised by the frequency of the payments... I wouldn’t say that the situation in the Czech Republic is much worse than elsewhere, but awareness is of course necessary. Above all, what should the campaign mainly cause consumers to do? It should strengthen prevention, raise alertness. It should lead to consumers really reading the contract, and consulting it with somebody, and only then deciding whether to take a con- The protection of the consumer has a big tradition in Europe, we have a lot of regulation here but that‘s not going to be sufficient on it‘s own a concrete person who is not a lawyer and does not read contracts in advance, and so after all shouldn’t be needlessly surprised by the unbelievable conditions or rules that a merchandiser – or one of their lawyers – has come up with. I wouldn’t say that the situation in the Czech Republic is much worse than elsewhere, but awareness is of course necessary Are the older EU member states evidencing better results than the newer ones? In terms of awareness, there are no significant differences. But I have to say that I see a significant difference in terms of empiricism in the sense that the Western European consumer is [more experienced and so] more demanding. They can cause more trouble for the merchandiser in claiming their rights. What does the information campaign look like in reality? Photo: Hynek Glos E uropean Union Commissioner Věra Jourová is convinced that consumers often have no idea of what they are entitled to demand from merchandisers and what steps they can contemplate taking against them. Jourová – a Czech politician and lawyer who serves as the Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality – wants to see more public education that would improve the situation Have you got a slogan? Have you some television spots? The slogan reads “You have rights”, but there is no planned audiovisual campaign. I‘ll use a parallel with a camera system: when you place cameras somewhere, you see a drop in the number of offences and petty crimes. And that‘s only because of the fact that the cameras can reveal what occurs. In our case it also applies that we are running campaigns for higher awareness and more intensive defensive behaviour on the side of the consumer, and we expect that the number of complaints and disputes emerging between the salesperson and the consumer will subsequently fall. We measure these processes and we will continue to do so. Věra Jourová (50) Between 2001 and 2003 she served as head of the regional development department of the regional government of the Vysočina region and subsequently became a deputy for the regional development minister Jiří Paroubek. In 2006, she spent more than a month under investigative arrest due to the Budišov case; no corruption was proved, the prosecution was terminated in 2008. She has advised on the levying of European funds in Romania, Georgia, Belarus and Moldavia. The year before last, she was the ANO movement’s lead Vysočina region candidate for the parliamentary elections. Last year, she was made minister for regional development. Since 1 November last year, she has served as the fourth Czech representative in the European Commission after Pavel Telička, Vladimír Špidla and Štefan Füle. But if people won’t take an interest in contractual conditions no directive from above will resolve things for them... And that’s exactly why we’re doing this campaign. The protection of the consumer has a big tradition in Europe, we have a lot of regulation here but that’s not going to be sufficient on it’s own. Common sense must always be put in first place, there must be an ability to think things through as seen from the side of the concrete person. And a preventative task for each and every one of us is to consider in what way we are handling our finances... Surveys show that people don’t read contracts so much in our country. On the other hand, isn‘t it a bit much to have information written in tiny text over several thousands of pages? That’s why I was talking about the fact that the directive on consumer loans places the main emphasis on the comprehensibility of the message. The form of the information delivery is important and there is no reason for contracts to be complicated. What reaction do you expect in the individual countries? sumer loan. In the European directive, which needs to be reflected through national legislation, there is also a point about being able to withdraw from a fixed contract. I am talking about cases in which someone takes a loan at some type of presentation event. I don’t want to label these cases as fraudulent, but unfortunately there are common and special methods for detaching a person from his or her money. Therefore there is a ban on tying down money in this way and a chance to withdraw from such a contract. There can be a whole range of reasons why people accept these loans and similar ones... Certainly. An advisory centre for people in financial distress [which I am familiar with] draws attention to just how many bad credits people take on and what pressures them to do so. I would say that the life of a person stands on three legs – their work, family and health – and that when two of these legs are undermined, a person doesn’t stand a chance and they are driven into moves such as accepting a bad credit. I’d say also that thanks to the monitoring of developments that such advisory centres undertake, we will find out if this campaign proved efficient. And if its outcome turned out to be long-term or even permanent, which would be something national bodies would secure, it could lead to a smaller number of personal bankruptcies. 12/13 feature Striking black gold Alberta potential. The oil sand deposit to be exploited by PetroLama, majority-owned by Silesiabased entrepreneur Petr Lamich, contains up to 300 million barrels of extractable oil. “We could be producing oil here for 30 years,” says Scott Holmes, the greying Canadian at the helm of the company in the wilderness A big bet on oil sands in northern Canadian back country has paid off for Petr Lamich. Revenues of CZK 20bn were recorded by his company PetroLama last year Photo: archive CZK Vast swathes of coniferous forests interspersed with lakes and quagmires stretch for hundreds of miles on end. The air is thick with mosquitoes in the summer and temperatures plummet to minus forty in the winter. These are lands in which bears roam and barely any people live, save perhaps for a few Aboriginal Canadians. Roads won’t get you to this remote territory – if you really want to arrive there, you must take to the air. The landscape described is found around Namur Lake in northern Alberta, west of the Athabasca River. It is here that an exploratory bore was drilled by Calgary-headquartered PetroLama Energy Canada, a company in which Petr Lamich, an entrepreneur and a Silesia-based native of the Czech Republic, holds a majority stake. However, no oil is being produced at the site just yet as the company has not yet received all the necessary permits from the Canadian authorities. Obtaining the permits will amount to a big breakthrough for the company, which is backed by Czech capital. The two-year plan is to extract as many as 10,000 barrels of oil a day from depths of several hundred metres in the early Photo: Profimedia.cz Petr Horký Lucrative oil sands. There are areas where the bituminous material rises to the surface on its own and it has been used by local indigenous populations to tar canoes since time immemorial stages, and to gradually increase output to up to 40,000 barrels of oil a day. The deposits are immense: there are an estimate 300 million barrels of extractable oil. “We could be producing oil here for 30 years,” says Scott Holmes, the greying Canadian who is at the helm of the company. They met in Calgary The story of the Czech presence amid the Canadian oil sands began with a lucky encounter. Czech manager Pavel Pojdl was working in Calgary as a commodity trader for the international company Mercuria Energy. When Mercuria Energy decided to close its Calgary offices, which were mostly trading in oil, the employees left behind sought ways to stay in business. Pojdl knew entrepreneur Lamich, who in the Czech Republic undertook business in diverse fields – from selling electricity and gas to households to telecommunications to small-scale oil production. And thus the initial required capital was found to get a Canadian branch of business, namely PetroLama Energy Canada, off the ground. Lamich owns an 85 percent stake in his Lama business group which in turn holds a 60 percent stake in the newly created Canadian company, with the remainder in the hands of North American shareholders and company managers. The main business of the company was initially to purchase oil from small producers and sell it on to bigger players. “Some of the small companies do not want to deal directly with the big ones. They may be reluctant to share information with them or they can have a host of other reasons. That is where we step in,” says Holmes. As the company grew, it gradually turned its attention to areas with higher added value, such as processing crude oil. At its oil terminal in the Alida district of the Saskatchewan province the company processed 6.8 million barrels last year. Oil processing has now become its main business, contributing approximately 65 percent of its total turno- ver. Another 20 percent comes from oil sales and the remaining 15 percent from transporting oil. PetroLama leases 200 tank wagons to conduct its oil transport activities. The company’s total revenues reached 964 million Canadian dollars last year, equivalent to about CZK 20bn. Lamich’s Canadian business contributes about two-thirds to the total revenue of CZK 30bn generated by his business group. The results feed Lamich’s appetite for investment in the Czech Republic as well. Back home he has already wrapped up two acquisitions since the beginning of the year: that of a heating plant in Kyjov plus the acquisition of one of the Czech operators of satellite TV company Digi TV. Tar for canoes The company’ managers are well aware that the next stepping stone for PetroLama on its way to ever greater heights is securing its own source of oil. Canada possesses the world’s third biggest oil reserves after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Most of the 172 billion barrels of extractable oil is deposited in what are called oil sands, tar sands or, more precisely, bituminous sands. As much as 95 percent of the oil sands are found in the wilderness of Northern Alberta, where PetroLama has its plot near Namur Lake. The sands are a mix of clay, sand, water and bitumen from which oil can be extracted. However, oil sands are too dense to allow for conventional production. There are areas where the bituminous material rises to the surface on its own and it has been used by local indigenous populations to tar canoes since time immemorial. A method of separating the oil from the rest of the mineral material was discovered in 1929 by Canadian chemist Karl Clark. The first truly successful oil sand mine was opened in 1967 and opera- on, on top of generating vast amounts of emissions and polluted water. Although oil companies keep promising to restore affected landscapes once their production ceases, the industry has not yet improved its considerably tarnished reputation. Open-cast mining gives access to only about 20 percent of the oil sand deposits in Canada, with the rest being too deep under the surface to be accessible for the process. That is why deep Open-cast oil sands mining is strongly criticised by environmentalists since it creates a lifeless, crater-dotted landscape ted by Great Canadian Oil Sands. The company that founded it has since been renamed Suncor Energy and it has become the biggest player in the oil sand business in Canada. Initially, oil sands used to be extracted from open-cast mines. The obtained material was mixed with hot water to separate the bitumen. However, this manner of bitumen extraction is quite controversial and it is strongly criticised by environmentalists since it creates a lifeless, crater-dotted landscape for the duration of producti- mining, which also happens to be a bit more environmentally friendly, comes into play on an increasing scale. The most frequently employed technology is SAGD: steam assisted gravity drainage that uses a pair of horizontal boreholes drilled into a deposit. The upper borehole is used to pump high pressure steam into the solid deposit while the lower one is then used to extract the released oil. SAGD is the technology that PetroLama has selected for use by Namur Lake. A new 30 bn is the annual revenues generated by Petra Lamich’s business group consortium has been established, named PetroLama Namur Oil Sands Exploration, to carry out the project. PetroLama holds a majority stake in the consortium, Holmes confirmed. An investment to the tune of up to one billion dollars will be needed before production can commence. According to Holmes, there are several companies operating in the vicinity of Namur Lake. Some plan to extract a couple of thousand barrels a day while others hope to produce as much as 200,000 barrels per day. With its plans for 10,000 to 40,000, PetroLama ranks in the medium-sized grouping. Latest information indicates that everything should be ready at the site, complete with all the necessary permits, for production to commence towards the end of 2017. Global oil prices are currently decidedly low with a barrel of Western Canadian Select, the oil produced from the sands of Alberta, selling at around USD 50. However, Holmes maintains that it still pays to extract oil from the sand even at the current price level: “When you plan to produce oil for the next 30 years you are not really concerned about today’s price.” And despite the very low oil prices, the number of new projects in Canada keeps growing. Bloomberg predicts the volume of oil production will rise by 3.5 percent this year. 14/15 wine & dine society society Luka Lu Major spa sanatorium renovation celebrated Darkov Spa held a celebratory opening for a newly reconstructed floor of its spa sanatorium in Karviná-Hranice. The modernisation of 120 rooms on the third floor required an investment of some CZK 40m. A symbolic ribbon was jointly cut by Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Ivan Strachoň, Czech paralympic archer Lenka Kuncová and the Darkov Spa General Director Pavlína Filipi a Balkan powerhouse Photo: Jiří Kuneš Hearty Bosnian-Serbian cuisine can survive even in the centre of Prague 150,000 crowns’ worth of good shots Petr Holec O a dve r t i s i ng A151002214 Photos: Martin Pinkas Roasted Octopus. In the traditional “pod peko” style The Verdict Get your subscription! Luka Lu You can subscribe securely via e-mail Újezd 402/33 118 00 Prague 1 tel.: 724 364 004 e-mail: [email protected] www.lukalu.cz Monday, 1 June 2015 CZK 24/¤ 1 l www.e15.cz Issue 73 l newsstand price The alert buyer EU Commissioner Věra Jourová wants to awaken the consumer to their rights face to face pages 10–11 Black gold in the sands 73 Easy-to-read daily menu, authentic Balkan dishes Good selection of Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Macedonian bottled wines Slowish service Use the e-mail address [email protected], State your name and delivery address. Use the code WEEK 0515B as the message subject 9 771803 454314 riety is much more robust and fuller-bodied. The salmon tartare looked appetising on first inspection, made in the traditional way with capers and attractively presented with lemon, watercress and white toast. The dish was evidently well prepared but I still had to muster the will to finish it. The taste of the raw, fresh fish was obscured by an excess of oil and overall it lacked sophistication. Next up was the Čevapčiči, a Serbian specialty, traditionally made from minced lamb and similar to a Turkish kofta kebab. The version offered on Luka Lu’s daily menu amounts to five sausage-shaped pieces of grilled minced meat served with spring onions, cream and even cheese – should your taste buds require further stimulation. The dish is a regional speciality and not to order one in a Bosnian-Serbian restaurant does not fall far short of a national insult. The five pieces of grilled meat proved to be more than adequate, especially with the heavy cream dressing, onion and other accompaniments. Full-year subscription: Canadian wilderness oil deposits offer a Czech firm super-rich revenues CZK 650 and as a gift feature pages 12–13 czech MBas: Welcome to the jungle vouchers with a value of CZK 1,500 crowns are Hundreds of thousands of country’s spent unnecessarily in the industry unregulated MBA degree t Economics and Managemen “One Petr Weikert [VŠEM] for his MBA. of important informatiround 10 years ago, piece I learned at the start that Petr Mašín was faced on as is the course was that – with a major decisi- of the case – I might not be on. The trained me- often practically apply all the able to chanical engineer was serving knowledge I learn. So studying ed far more in as the head of a medium-siz Al- for an MBA helps a means to manufacturing company. ropes terms of gaining though he knew the with the peoabout communicate to the very well, he felt uneasy de- ple who have climbed making management-type of top of their respective fields. what to cisions affecting the future learn we Mašín In essence, econohis company. And so and discuss with company specialists sat down at a computer he mi- mists, marketing tried to discover how and others,” adds Mašín. Business of Master a ght gain Unlike many who ultimaAdministration (MBA) degree, tely drop out along the way, with which arms a graduate In the student persevered in his began with practical managerial skills. are studies. The course the Czech Republic, MBAs 25 freshmen much two classes of 25 popular, but they are also each. By the second year, merged maligned. a students remained, “When a person reaches Only seven seek into just one class. in the certain phase of life, they de- completed the course is one potential for paths out new “That Mašín. allotted period. this school velopment,” explains reason why I chose to wanted I issuing “As a manager, – that it wasn’t simply know more about business degrees to order. I wanted to t and for economics, managemen actually learn something financial analyses.” Ultima- my money,” explains Mašín. the tely, Mašín decided upon of Continues on page 8 Prague-based University A One of the fuller reds from the wine list is recommended to wash it down. After I was done, instead of another glass of wine I asked for an espresso, which is offered as a gratuity here with any meal from the daily menu. It was not the evening’s final surprise; if you pay for a drink from the menu in cash, you get a 10-percent discount. can be used for e-shop www.luxuryoffice.cz Photo: Shutterstock n entering Luka Lu, you immediately begin to understand that a dash of kitsch is part and parcel of the Balkan experience. Not that the customers of this Bosnian-Serbian restaurant seem to mind. While plenty of restaurants in this neighbourhood have come and gone in recent years, Luka Lu has made a home for itself in the Lesser Quarter. The enterprise, whose name means Port Lu, aims to combine the culinary traditions of the former Yugoslavia with those of Italy. This is no small order and the permanent menu stretches to well over 50 dishes, including specialities from the grill, fresh fish and seafood, soups, salads, hors d’oeuvres, risotto and pasta. From the more concise daily menu I chose the Sarajevo Čevapčiči with spring onions and cream, along with two smaller dishes from the main menu; roasted Sarajevo Čevapčiči. With spring onions and cream peppers in oil with garlic and parsley and a starter of salmon tartare. The wine list includes some intriguing regional varieties but the by-the-glass offer of whites was limited to a single Macedonian Chardonnay, so that was that. It was somewhat over-chilled and took some time to reveal its true aroma and flavour. It wasn’t a bad wine at all but you can forget about the typical Chardonnay that you know from France or overseas. The Macedonian va- Photo: Lázně Darkov The first annual charity golf tournament of the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlová Foundation, held at Golf Resort Karlštejnm raised CZK 150,000. Parners of the event, with the slogan “Every good shot helps”, were Generali and pension insurer Penzijní společnost České pojišťovny. The proceeds from the tournament will go to financing the neuro-rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy. Martin Vít, representative of the tournament partners, handed a cheque to Foundation Director Milena Černá until 29 September 2015 You can also subscribe online at our website http://www.mf.cz/produkty/ To subscribe on a toll-free number, call 800 248 248 Simply call to provide your personal details and cite the code WEEK 0515B This subscription offer is valid until 7 June 2015 29.5.2015 12:39:13 01-08-09 E15W 73.indd 1 This offer is valid for new subscribers only and will remain in place while stocks last. The subscriber acknowledges that a subscription with a gift or a discount cannot be terminated for one year from the subscription date. The subscriber also acknowledges that the subscription is automatically renewed for another one-year period unless explicitly terminated by the subscriber in a written notice addressed to Mladá fronta a. s. 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These rights include in particular the voluntary nature of the provision of such personal information and the right to withdraw the consent at any time and free of charge with a notice to the administrator, the right to access such personal information, and the right to correct personal information, block incorrect personal information, erase such information, etc. In the event of any doubts regarding the observance of such rights by the administrator, the subscriber can contact the administrator or petition the Office for the Protection of Personal Information (Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů). For more information and to read the general delivery conditions visit www.mf.cz 16 Photo: Reuters diversions picture of the week The Walking Gallery Anyone in São Paulo, Brazil, complaining they never have enough time to visit an art gallery might get a shock – an art gallery might visit them. The Walking Gallery is the name of a mobile exhibition that has lately been seen moving around the city picking up admirers. It was last seen on an escalator at the Consolacao subway station invitations festival modern dance aviation fair gastronomy The Return of Ladislav Sutnar The 20th edition of Concentus Moraviae A dazzling June with Tanec Praha Military aircraft displays at Pardubice show Second RawFest, with Mimi Kirk The work of information design and information architecture pioneer and painter Ladislav Sutnar (1897-1976) is presented by the exhibition Venus at The Gallery of the City of Pilsen until 6 August. Communist Czechoslovakia tried to wipe Sutnar from history. This Sutnar revival event will also include work under the The Inspiration of Sutnar banner from University of West Bohemia students. Until 25 June you can see a performance at the 20th edition of the annual international music festival Concentus Moravia. It will tour 13 towns and cities of Moravia with the programme including mezzosoprano Magdalena Kožená, Italian tenor Marco Beasley and the Accordone early music ensemble, Belgian harpsichordist Jos Van Immerseel and BL!NDMAN. Tanec Praha, The International Festival of Contemporary Dance and Movement Theatre, begins on 3 June with a gala opening starring acclaimed German dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests’ performance of Impromptus. Prague and 15 other locations will feature performances of the festival which runs until 25 June. Pardubice Airport is your destination for the 25th Aviation Fair on the weekend of 6-7 June. There will be focus on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and displays from an American WWII P-38L Lightning fighter aircraft, a twin-engine bomber, a naval fighter, an L-159 advanced light combat aircraft and a battle helicopter. And don’t miss the aerobatics. The second Rawfest healthy lifestyle festival takes place over the first weekend of June on Prague‘s Štvanice Island. Tastings of restaurant menus devoted to raw food are on offer to visitors. Mimi Kirk, the 76-year-old American health and life coach and raw food diet pioneer, will guest. Expect endless smoothies, protein drinks and superfoods, both exotic and local. Photos: archive exhibition