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Croatia Says To Keep Shares In INA
Croatia has decided not to sell any more shares of the state oil firm, INA, and will seek to redefine its strategic partnership with Hungary’s MOL, said Economy Minister Damir Polancec.
MOL bought a 25-percent stake in INA for $505 million in 2003 and has since increased its share to 47 percent by buying shares in the stockmarket and from small shareholders. The Croatian government has 44 percent of INA, but must reduce its holding to 25 percent before the country joins the European Union.
Instead of selling more shares to MOL, INA will now have a new managing and supervisory board so it can preserve the country’s fuel reserves for 2009, Polancec said, as quoted by Croatian news site Javno.hr.
He explained that the agreement with the Hungarian company has to be redefined, as “MOL currently owns more shares of the INA than the government does”.
INA, the dominant fuel retailer in Croatia, has both upstream and downstream operations and is involved in gas and oil exploration in Africa and the Middle East.
Source: Balkan Insight
