M. Riman, a Cesky Telecom privatization steering committee member, said late on Friday afternoon that the government wants at least CZK 70 bil.–80 bil. (approximately CZK 425–485 per share) for the 51% stake in Cesky Telecom in order to go ahead with the sale. Such a figure has been expressed several times in the past by government officials. Riman also said that the government will favor those bidders who bid for the entire 78% stake (the state’s + TelSource’s). Neutral.
Cesky Telecom said that 53,200 of its customers (1.4% of the total) have canceled their fixed-line contracts with Cesky Telecom in response to the hike in monthly subscription fees which is effective February 1. Separately, the Euro weekly magazine reports that as a result of a recent fire at a Cesky Telecom exchange in central Prague, which put out more than 40,000 fixed-lines out of service, has helped competitors win some of Cesky Telecom’s corporate accounts in the area.
(Ondrej Datka)