South Korea’s Samsung confirmed it will close its TV‑manufacturing plant in Galanta and lay off all 750 employees by the end of June 2026. It said the decision was driven by “changes in the global market,” and not by Slovakia’s business environment or government measures. According to labor unions, Samsung is moving part of its production to Vietnam, Egypt, and Hungary. The plant could not compete with Hungary due to higher wages, taxes, and payroll levies. Samsung will reta

The government signed a non‑binding memorandum with Slovalco  that could lead to the resumption of aluminum production in 2027. The smelter, owned 45% by Penta and 55% by Norsk Hydro, halted production in 2022 due to high electricity prices and low aluminum prices. The government wants to provide cheap electricity from the state‑owned Gabčíkovo hydro plant, subsidies from the Environmental Fund, and a discount on fees to the National Nuclear Fund. The amount of aid has not ye

Powder‑metallurgy firm Gevorkyan  (Artur Gevorkyan) acquired a plant in Italy. It will maintain production there and gain access to 94 global customers, including Lombardini, Ducati, Rheinmetall, and Piaggio. The acquisition strengthens its position in high value‑added segments. ( forbes.sk ) The company reported €75.7m in sales in 2024.

The government approved a €17.5m tax break for a €43.6m investment to expand capacity at drug manufacturer Saneca ’s plant in Hlohovec (Ján Sabol and Oszkár Világi). The company will build new ampoule and vial production lines, creating 177 jobs by 2030. It currently employs 900 people. ( openiazoch.sk )                     The government also approved a €7m tax break for a €17m investment by Italy’s Datalogic , which plans a new factory for handheld scanners and stationary r

IPM  investment group, led by Marián Boček, has raised €200m from investors across various projects. Its flagship investment is a €1.2bn battery factory under construction in Šurany by China's Gotion, in which IPM holds a 25% stake. The group has also backed successful companies including Brightpick, Photoneo, Matsuko, Energy Storage Systems, SEC Technologies, and French LNG terminal Dunkerque. Less successful to date have been efforts in proprietary battery production, as In

The anti-trust authority PMÚ imposed a €7.7m fine on drug distributors Phoenix ZZ , a branch of a German distributor (€7.5m), and Transmedic (Ludvik Kucko and Ivan Pohanka; €0.2m), for rigging tenders run by state insurer VšZP. Phoenix ZZ confessed and received a one-year ban from public tenders, while Transmedic is currently in bankruptcy. The cartel operated from 2017 to 2020 and involved oncological, neurological, immunological, and inflammatory drugs, with the companies

Online fitness apparel and nutrition supplements retailer GymBeam  (Dalibor Cicman) opened a €32m automated warehouse near Milan capable of processing 18,000 orders per day with 11 employees. The facility will support expansion in Western Europe. ( startitup.sk )

Slovakia had the EU’s fourth-lowest share of agriculture  in GDP in 2024 at 0.5%, Eurostat reported. This reflects its focus on cheap crops, such as wheat and oil seeds, instead of fruits and vegetables. The EU average stood at 1.2%, up 0.1pp from 2009. The highest shares were recorded in Greece (3.2%), Romania (2.5%) and Spain (2.3%), and the lowest in Luxembourg, Malta (0.2%) and Sweden (0.4%). ( teraz.sk )

Sales of new Chinese cars  in Slovakia rose 47% last year to 2,200 units, sold through 56 showrooms nationwide. Fifteen brands are available in brick‑and‑mortar stores, including BYD, Dongfeng, Leapmotor, and MG. The largest importers are Auto‑Impex (Hron family), Plastonic (Kocper family), Sweden’s Hedin, and Final‑CD (Roman Cvik and Juraj Dolanský). Across the EU, Chinese brands accounted for almost 10% of new‑car sales in December. ( forbes.sk )

InoBat  (Marian Boček) reported its first profit last year, with revenues in the tens of millions of euros. Its main income came from supplying battery‑storage solutions, although the company was originally founded to manufacture batteries. In Europe last year, most planned battery‑production investments were canceled due to pressure from cheaper Asian competition. InoBat supplied 175 MWh of battery storage for a project in Ukraine and launched a 30 MWh project for ferroalloy