Treasury Minister halts Orlen-MOL merger

Treasury Minister Jacek Socha said “no” to the planned merger between PKN Orlen and Hungarian oil concern MOL. "The Ministry will make no strategic decisions concerning capital alliances of Orlen until legal amendments will guarantee securing the interest of the state in strategic enterprises," the Minister told Reuters. Analysts believe this is the final word concerning alliances of the domestic oil giant and add that the government should float the remaining stake if it has no other solution for Orlen. "We are still waiting to see how the situation develops in Poland. We do not want to comment the political situation," said Daria Kulińska, regional communication offices in MOL. Representatives of Orlen refused to comment on the Ministry's statement. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) M.M.