Prague - The Czech Republic's most important businessmen are not going to attend the Winter Olympic Games in the southern Russian city of Sochi, a survey conducted by Aktualne.cz shows.
Czech entrepreneurs have probably been dissuaded by criticism of the games and by the Czech government's lack of support for such business trips, said Marketing & Media weekly newspaper editor-in-chief Vaclav Sochor.
Moreover, Czech police recently raided offices of the Czech Export Bank, state-run export insurance agency EGAP, and private companies over suspicious business activities and transactions in Russia. This does not help to make the idea of visiting the games more attractive, said Sohor.
Czech biathlete: Sochi is "theater of injustice"
Sochi: EU leaders to boycott, Zeman to stay 4 days
"And many entrepreneurs are surly asking themselves a basic and simple question about the purpose of such a trip: Who can they meet in Sochi? How can their presence at the games bring them more business opportunities in Russia? In this respect, practically all respondents said that a trip to Sochi would not give them any marketing advantage," said Sochor, adding that some entrepreneurs may also be concerned about security.
It is not clear if PPF owner Petr Kellner, the richest Czech, will attend the games. "We do not give information about his schedule," said PPF spokesman Radek Stavel.
Kellner has massive business activities in Russia. Most recently, he ranked 22th in a list of Russia's real estate moguls by Forbes.
Another billionaire, CPI real estate company owner Radovan Vitek, has confirmed he will not go to Sochi. "Our business is real estate, not sport," said CPI spokesman Jan Burian.
Daniel Kretinsky (EPH, Sparta), Karel Komarek (KKCG), Zdenek Bakala (NWR, Economia), and billionaire and new Finance Minister Andrej Babis are not going to the games, either.
Also, the Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Industry, and Industry Ministry will not organize any business delegation to Sochi.
On the other hand, Martin Nejedly, energy adviser to Czech President Milos Zeman, will visit the games. Nejedly is also CEO of Lukoil Aviation Czech, a Czech subsidiary of Russian oil giant Lukoil.
Main sponsors of the Czech Olympic team - such as CEZ, Ceska Sporitelna, T-Mobile, Czech Post Office - will not send any of their senior officials to Sochi. One of the few exceptions is automaker Skoda Auto, whose board member Michael Oeljeklaus will attend the opening ceremony.
Oeljeklaus and Skoda Auto's head of Russian operations Miroslav Kroupa took part in the Olympic Torch Relay on January 8 in Nizhny Novgorod.
