Japanese investors complain to Czech president Zeman

Japanese investors active in the Czech Republic complained to Czech president Miloš Zeman recently that the Czech state isn’t fulfilling its promises and that it continually changes the legislation and tax regulations for businesses. Denso, for example, claims the government never built the new road to its factory in Liberec it promised in 2004. The automobile AC supplier employs 1550 staff and produces annual revenues of CZK 8.5bn. The car manufacturer TCPA Kolín complained that overly complicated visa regulations make it difficult for Japanese engineers to travel flexibly to the country.

The Japanese government agency for business and investment in the Czech Republic says that around 80 Japanese companies plan to expand in the Czech Republic. But the head of CzechInvest Karel Kučera has warned that they could be discouraged by the lack of skilled labor. Japanese companies started with simple production in the Czech Republic in the 1990’s, but are now considering whether to move R&D centers to the country. In all, Japanese companies have invested roughly CZK 118bn in the Czech Republic since 1993 and created 44,000 jobs in the process.