Today's local-based Euro weekly reports that a short-list of bidders for the state's 63% stake in Unipetrol will be announced on January 15-16. Note that the deadline for indicative bids is January 12 and the Unipetrol privatization is expected to be completed by the end of March 2004. The newspaper also released a full list of the twelve companies that have expressed interest in the company: MOL, PKN Orlen, Agip/ENI, Shell, KazMunaiGaz and Kazakhan Investment Company of the Kazakh Republic, the Czech-Slovak financial group Penta, Lobsters, Romar-Oil, Bohemian Best, the Czech-based Vitkovice R&D, and a consortium of the Czech-based SETA Trading, Raiffeisen and AIG equity funds.
Jan Hájek