The fate of the new energy law is to be determined soon, since the lower chamber of the Czech Parliament is set to vote on it again at its next session, which begins November 28. The draft law was approved by the lower chamber earlier this year, but was vetoed by the Senate in October. The Senate veto was one of the factors undermining CEZ’s stock price in recent months (any uncertainty about the law, which set out the basic principles of the future power-sector competition and regulation, is considered negative for the stock’s privatization prospects). We feel there is a good chance of the lower chamber overruling the Senate veto (perhaps with minor amendments): when the draft law was originally approved by the lower chamber, it was approved by a strong majority, and only a simple majority of all deputies are needed to overrule the Senate’s veto. The vote should take place in the coming weeks. We strongly recommend to buy CEZ at the current price.
(Ondřej Daťka)