NIK demands halt in privatization of G-8 power group

Such a decision is the result of a report of an investigation, which was revealed yesterday, concerning the privatization of Warsaw's power distributor, Stoen. Just before the end of 2002 the Warsaw based company was purchased from the State Treasury by German energy concern, RWE. The investor paid over zł. 1.5 billion for a stake of 85%. Although NIK confirmed that revenues from such a sale were significant, it also discovered some irregularities in the process. "In the future, this transaction could prove to be unfavorable in economical terms and could endanger the nation's long-term energy security. On both of these counts, the privatization was inconsistent with the strategic assumptions of energy politics accepted by the Cabinet," reports the NIK report. The Board is afraid that the same irregularities may be repeated in the case of the G-8 group. (Puls Biznesu, p. 5) A.K.