Austrian economic news in a flash - 2 November 2010

Technology group Andritz AG said it had bought German pump maker Ritz Pumpenfabrik for an undisclosed sum. The acquired company generates annual sales of about EUR 40m. The deal is pending regulatory approval.
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Vienna's tourism is expected to bloom at least by March 2011, a study of Schoenbrunn palace operator SKB showed. The palace, one of the most visited sites in Vienna, attracted about 1m tourists in the first half of 2010, up by 5%. Vienna will also profit from short-term city trips.
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The banks negotiating on the future of insolvent industrial group A-Tec have offered bridge financing for the company until January 2011. Afterwards, the banks are demanding more guarantees as well as increased participation of A-Tec's saving by its owners, participators in the talks told APA news agency.
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The merger between CA Immobilien Anlagen AG and its eastern European unit CA Immo International AG will be put in the trade register as of November 16, the latter said. Probably CA Immo International AG will cease trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange as of November 15.
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The number of new passenger car registrations in Austria stood at 28,780 in October, up by 7.8% in annual terms. A total of 280,240 cars were registered in the first ten months of the year, Statistics Austria said.