After meeting his Slovak counterpart P. Rusko yesterday, Czech Industry Minister M. Urban again cited the possibility of a swap of 16% of CEZ (in which Czech the state owns 67%) for an unspecified stake in Slovenske elektrarny (the dominant Slovak power producer, which is to be privatized by 2005; CEZ is likely to be one of the bidders for the majority stake). Mr. Urban also said that the Cabinet is considering all options with regard to the 16% CEZ stake, one being placement on markets (Source: CTK).Neither the swap terms, nor the reasons why the Cabinet would enter such a transaction from other than political reasons are clear; we take the swap only as a theoretical possibility at present.
Separately, CEZ said yesterday that it had decreased electricity prices offered for next year (compared to the preliminary offer announced in September). The base price was decreased from the originally announced CZK 837 per MWh to CZK 813 per MWh. CEZ estimates that the average domestic selling price will rise by approx. 5% next year. A revision of the original prices was expected as CEZ declared that it would adjust the prices according to demand for its electricity.
Separately, Elektrarny Opatovice sold its 6.7% stake in VCE, a regional power distributor, to CEZ in an obligatory buyout offer; CEZ thus increased its stake in VCE to 98.7%.
Jiří Soustružník