The Primer Minister Stanislav Gross said for BBC radio that he would prefer selling the state's 51% stake in Cesky Telecom through capital markets as it would eliminate pressures from various lobby groups. Gross added, however, that he would favour selling the stake to a single investor should the proceeds exceed the income from the sale via capital markets. Note that IT Minister Vladimir Mlynar said on Tuesday that he would prefer selling CT to a single investor and that the price should be the only criterion in the tender. We believe that the attractiveness of the two privatization scenarios (a tender and sale through capital markets) is subject to investors' interest in the privatization and the transparency of the process. The Government should decide on the way to privatise the state's stake in October at the latest.
Separately, Cesky Telecom's Chief Sales Officer, Roman Stupka, has resigned from his position and his position as a member of the Board of Directors. The company did not provide further details regarding the resignation. No successor has yet been named.
Tomáš Gatěk