During his Lithuanian visit, Polish President said that Poland does not intend to sell Mazeikiu Nafta to another company despite problems with crude oil supplies. "Although PKN Orlen is not a fully state-owned firm, the state has a major influence over its decisions" Mr Kaczynski continued adding that Poland’s top interest is to work on the construction of alternative oil supply sources.
Our view: It is a negative message for the market that PKN’s buying or selling an asset is based on politics rather than financial considerations. Although market has already suspected this, it is the first time politicians speak about this openly. We expect slight negative market reaction to the news.