OPATIJA, May 5 (Hina) - The chairman of the board of managers of the Croatian oil company 'INA', Tomislav Dragicevic, has said that further privatisation of the company is possible either through a new sale of the ownership stock or
through the establishment of strategic partnership which would result in the merger of some or all central European oil companies such as INA, Hungary's MOL, Austria's OMV and Poland's PKN Orlen.
OPATIJA, May 5 (Hina) - The chairman of the board of managers of the
Croatian oil company 'INA', Tomislav Dragicevic, has said that further
privatisation of the company is possible either through a new sale of
the ownership stock or through the establishment of strategic
partnership which would result in the merger of some or all central
European oil companies such as INA, Hungary's MOL, Austria's OMV and
Poland's PKN Orlen. #L#
If the first possibility is to be realised the influence of the state
in INA would depend on the ownership stock. The other possibility is
more complex but will also be more useful for the Croatian economy,
Dragicevic said at an conference of gas experts who gathered in the
seaside resort of Opatija.
"If the government allowed the steps towards the merger, the
management should first 'probe the ground', and should also start
negotiations at the level of governments of Hungary, Austria, Poland,
the Czech Republic and others because of different ownership
structures," he explained.
The new company would be more competitive and INA's future more
favourable in this case in which the government would still hold INA's
shares, worth 1.5 billion dollars, Dragicevic said.
He described cooperation with the strategic partner MOL as excellent.
In 2003, INA's business results were stable and positive.
The 19th international conference, which will last by 7 May, gathered
several hundred natural gas experts.
(Hina) MS