Bosna chooses CEZ as partner for development of energy sources

According to HN daily, Bosnian government has chosen CEZ as partner for the development of its energetic sources. CEZ should investment some EUR 1.5bn into power plants Ugljevnik, Gack and nearby coal mine. However the time horizon has not been specified. Nevertheless, no agreement has been officially announced yet. We would regard the news as positive given CEZ’s plans to establish a strong hold in the South East Europe (SEE). The potential investments into Bosnia will not be financed from the recently announced bond issue of EUR500mn. Therefore CEZ would have to arrange new financing facilities, which given its D/E of 0.27 at the end of 9M05, should not constitute an obstacle. The information may have a positive impact on today’s trading and we reiterate our Buy recommendation.