News roundup - Monday, 18 September, until 3pm

Minister says flood damage in agriculture amounts to EUR 145m

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Slovenian Agriculture Minister Irena Šinko said that the early August floods had caused some EUR 145 million in damage in agriculture as she spoke to the press ahead of a session of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. More than 2,700 farms have been affected, she told Slovenian correspondents in Brussels. For this year, EUR 1.2 million is available to Slovenia in the EU's agricultural reserve, while the figure for 2024 is not yet known.

Number of self-employed record high in July

LJUBLJANA - Standing at 100,509, the number of self-employed people in Slovenia was the highest on record in July. The figure increased for the sixth month in a row, the Statistics Office reported. The number of people in employment in July reached 933,042, which is 0.3% less compared to June, and 1.2% more year-on-year.

Minister Maljevac, Maribor mayor condemn Pride Parade violence

MARIBOR/LJUBLJANA - More condemnations followed after Saturday's pride parade that took place in Maribor was marred by violence. Maribor Mayor Saša Arsenovič underlined that everybody has the right to express their identity, noting that Maribor municipality has zero tolerance policy toward all forms of violence. Simon Maljevac, the minister of solidarity-based future, underlined that Slovenia as a country must show zero tolerance to violence.

Datalab takeover successful, delisting to follow

LJUBLJANA - A group of investors which already held a 70% stake in Datalab Tehnologije, a developer of software solutions for business, increased its stake in the company to 85% in a takeover bid that valued the company at EUR 24 million and now plans to delist the company from the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. The takeover bid was published in early August by the Luxembourg-based company Rucio Investment and Datalab founder and CEO Andrej Mertelj together with the company's current management and employee shareholders.

Bisol gradually relaunching production

PREBOLD - Photovoltaic modules maker Bisol is gradually relaunching production a month and a half after it was hit by devastating floods, which brought operations to a complete halt, the group said in a press release. The floods caused damage of more than EUR 30 million, but in a lucky break, a new laminating machine was spared from the floods due to delay in delivery. Bisol is now striving to make up for the delays in supply of products.

LTH Castings expanding production

ŠKOFJA LOKA - Castings, a Škofja Loka-based manufacturer of aluminium castings and products for all-electric cars, recently told the STA it would be able to go ahead with a production-expansion investment after the city council approved zoning plan changes for the Trata industrial zone, where the company is located. In 2023, the company's revenue is expected to reach EUR 450 million, a 20% increase over last year.

Emil Frey donates vehicles to flood-hit communities

LJUBLJANA - Emil Frey group, the importer and seller of a number of automotive brands, donated cars and a lorry to six municipalities that were hit by devastating floods in early August. Keys of a car each were handed over to the mayors of Črna na Koroškem, Luče, Mežica, Prevalje and Ravne na Koroškem. Meanwhile the municipality of Ljubno ob Savinji received a lorry to use free of charge for the next six months.

Printmaker Sonawane wins Grand Prize at Ljubljana graphic arts biennale

LJUBLJANA - The Indian artist Tejswini Narayan Sonawane is the winner of the Grand Prize of the 35th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, while School of Mutants, a collaborative art and research platform, was awarded the research and residence prize. A special mention went to the Ljubljana-based Krater Collective and the Indian artist Soghra Khurasani. The awards were given out at the opening of the biennale on Friday evening.

Former Slovenian cultural hub in Fontana, California, to be razed

LOS ANGELES, US - The Slovene Hall, the former cultural centre of the Slovenian community in Fontana, California, will be demolished as the city council decided against renovating the 1937 building, which the community sold to the local authorities a couple of years ago, the local paper Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported. The now vacant building served as the cultural hub for Slovenian Americans who started moving to Fontana from the greater Cleveland area in the 1920s.