Moody's kept Slovakia's rating unchanged at A3, the 7th-highest level, with a stable outlook. Slovakia held the same rating when it joined the EU in 2004. The agency last changed Slovakia's rating in December 2024, downgrading it by one notch over government interference in the judiciary and media. It now says the rating could improve if the coalition strengthens institutions. Risks include the country's dependence on the automotive industry and on export markets in Western E

Mobile operator 4ka (Ondriš brothers) is approaching the end of its national‑roaming agreement with Orange covering 2G and 4G networks. Both companies are interested in continuing the partnership and are also negotiating potential network sharing. A complicating factor is that 4ka runs on technology from Chinese vendor ZTE, while Orange uses Nokia. Over the years of national roaming, 4ka has paid Orange tens of millions of euros. Rivals O2 and Slovak Telekom have been sharing

Robert Fico first became PM 20 years ago. Living standards initially grew fast thanks to Mikuláš Dzurinda cabinet's reforms, but Slovakia's catch-up pace with Western Europe has been the region's slowest over the past decade. National and household debt rose the most in the region over those 20 years, despite a massive hike in tax burden. The government spent the money on higher social benefits, not competitiveness investments. Neighboring countries now pay higher wages, and

Slovakia Advanced Material, a subsidiary of Chinese company Guizhou Aviation Technical Development, plans to invest €105m in building a new plant in the Valaliky industrial park near Košice. The plant will produce superalloy and other metal components for aircraft and gas turbines. Once completed in 2028, it will create 335 jobs. (sme.sk)

Anti-trust authority PMÚ is reviewing the acquisition of laboratory operator synlab by competitor Unilabs. (antimon.gov.sk) Unilabs, with Danish capital, tripled its Slovak loss to €15.8m in 2024 while revenue grew 2% to €81.5m. synlab, under German ownership, saw its Slovak profit fall 49% to €0.5m in 2024 after revenue rose 2% to €16.5m.

PM Robert Fico believes the Slovalco aluminum smelter will begin restarting production within a few weeks. He did not disclose details of the state aid package. The smelter, 55%-owned by Norsk Hydro and 45% by Penta, halted production at end-2022 due to high electricity prices and low aluminum prices. Electricity prices have since fallen and aluminum prices have risen 50%. (tnlive.sk)

The share of self-employed borrowers in new mortgages has doubled over the past five years to 28%, and the non-performing loan rate in this segment is nearly three times that of employee borrowers, the central bank NBS warned. Self-employed borrowers have lower rates of university education, as well as less stable and harder to verify income. At the same time, they purchase more expensive properties, yet their higher risk profile is not offset by higher interest rates. (trend

Opposition party PS launched an aggressive campaign highlighting the Fico family's ties to public funds. The move is a response to Smer's efforts to link PS leader Michal Šimečka to alleged irregularities in state subsidy claims by a foundation run by his mother. PS points out that Fico's son receives €5,000 a month from a Smer party company funded by the state. Fico's brother received state contracts through oligarch Norbert Bödör. His mother "purchased" an apartment from a

Europe's largest railcar manufacturer Tatravagónka (Alexej Beljajev and Budamar) is set to commission a €13m paint line. The investment, which will create 55 jobs and increase production capacity at the Poprad plant by 15%, received €5.2m in government tax break. Tatravagónka produces 4,000 freight cars and 10,000 bogies annually, giving it a 45% share of the European market. It is the 2nd-largest railcar maker in India and is considering new production capacity in the Middle

In this year’s Forbes rich list, Jaroslav Haščák’s net worth will exceed €2.5bn. Penta Group, where he and Marek Dospiva are the largest partners, is targeting expansion into Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and Penta Bank is set to expand. Italian expansion is among the goals of pharmacy chain Dr.Max, while betting operator Fortuna, currently not for sale, also has growth plans. Both Dr.Max and Fortuna intend to raise expansion capital through stock‑exchange listings