BA boss warns despite rise in profit

Categories
Finance

Bank Austria (BA) chief Willibald Cernko has pointed out the finance institute’s performance has not reached pre-crisis levels yet. Cernko announced yesterday (Thurs) BA achieved a net profit of 640 million Euros between January and June of this year, around 52 per cent more than in the first half of 2010. The businessman said BA’s […]

AUA ‘to jack up cancellation fees’

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Business

Austrian Airlines (AUA) is set to introduce higher cancellation fees, Austrian business newspapers report today (Weds). Viennese dailies write that the economically challenged airline will ask costumers wanting to cancel or change their bookings for flights within Europe for 60 instead of 50 Euros as of 1 August. Reports also have it that changes regarding […]

Russian banking top dog about to grab VBI

Categories
Finance

A Russian institute has got one step closer to acquiring the international branch of one of Austria’s biggest banks. Bosses of Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) and Moscow-based Sberbank signed a declaration of intent about a takeover of Volksbank International (VBI) yesterday (Thurs). The teams of negotiators refused to reveal an envisaged takeover price. Business newspapers claim […]

Strabag snatches Möbius

Categories
Business

Austrian construction company Strabag SE has taken over a port and hydro power and building technology specialist in full. The Vienna-based firm acquired a 70 per cent interest in Josef Möbius Bau AG (Möbius) four years ago. The company, which has its headquarters in Hamburg, carried out projects worth 150 million Euros in 2007, according […]

Germany aims to overtake Austria in Croatia

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Business

Germany is challenging Austria’s position as a top investor in Croatia. Figures presented by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) today (Fri) reveal that German companies spent 131.8 million Euros in the country in the first quarter of this year, more than any other country. German firms only spent 90.4 million Euros in the same time […]

Viennese hotels slash prices

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Business

Hotels in Vienna have introduced a drastic price reduction, a survey has found. International hotel price comparison platform Trivago (www.trivago.co.uk/hotelprices) found that a standard double room in the Austrian capital currently cost 118 Euros, down from 140 Euros last month. The website’s research reveals that prices for rooms in hotels in Graz, the second-largest Austrian […]

Austrian banks strongly engaged in Italy

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Finance

Austrian banks have a lot to lose in debt-ridden Italy, figures released today (Tues) show. Financial market authorities announced that bank institutes based in the Alpine country invested 15.8 billion Euros in the struggling Eurozone member state which borders it in the south. They pointed out that Austrian banks’ exposure in Greece – which has […]

Austrian yacht stranded in Croatia

Categories
General News

The yacht of two Austrian holidaymakers got stranded at the shores of a Croatian island, it has been reported. The Croatian Times writes that the reason for the accident of the 15-metre long boat is still a matter of investigations. The yacht’s skipper, a Croat, was fined 600 Euros for the incident at Hvar, according […]

Vamed ‘to invest €200mn in Romania’

Categories
Business

Austrian health sector services provider Vamed AG is considering investing hundreds of millions of Euros in Romania, according to newspapers in the Eastern European (EE) country. The online news platform Romanian Times cites local newspapers claiming that the Vienna-based firm is interested in spending 200 million Euros on projects in the country which joined the […]

VBI sale ‘to take place this month’

Categories
Finance

A powerful Russian bank may acquire a majority stake in Volksbank International (VBI), the ailing affiliate of Volksbank AG (ÖVAG). VBI, which manages ÖVAG’s operations in Eastern Europe (EE), had 5,362 employees in 547 branches in Romania, Slovakia and six other countries. It sustained a loss of 22.37 million Euros in 2010. Sberbank has hinted […]