On the same day that the Croatian government officially asked MOL to state clearly whether it intended to sell its 49.1% stake in Croatia-based peer INA, MOL sent a letter proposing three meetings in December and the topics of the meeting, the same source told Hina, but declined to comment on the letter any further saying that Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak, who is at the helm of Croatia's negotiating team, had said on several occasions and corporative management in INA should be the first topic of the negotiations and that he would insist on it.
According to the Jutarnji List daily, MOL has proposed that the topics of the three meetings in December be gas business, investment, development and INA retails sales, in that order, followed by increasing efficiency of INA 's business and its production. There is no mention of corporate management over INA.
The Croatian government on Thursday demanded a clear response from MOL on whether it would sell its stake in INA, calling on MOL to state its decision within a reasonable deadline, without a delay.
Underlining that Croatia did not contest MOL's right to decide on its shares in INA, the government said that a clear position by MOL, as a stakeholder in INA, was important so that the government could take adequate steps, in accordance with applicable regulations.
On Friday, November 8, MOL issued a statement saying that "the company's Board of Directors authorised the Executive Board to conclude such an agreement with the Croatian Government that can lead to value creation through the execution of INA's growth strategy. However, the Executive Board is also authorized to start the preparations for the sale of MOL's stake in INA in order to be able to maximise the value of its investment."
MOL has a 49.1% stake in INA and the Croatian government has 44.84%.