Treasury to sell remaining stake in Rybnik Power Plant

The Treasury Ministry is attempting to sell its remaining stake in the Rybnik Power Plant to Electricite de France (EdF), one of Europe's largest energy groups. At present, EdF, which has close links with German consortium EnBW, holds a controlling packet in Rybnik. However, it is rumored that the French would rather sell off all their assets in Poland, although EdF firmly denied this and its president, Paul Amoravain, refused to comment on any current issues. Nonetheless, he admitted that the company was severely hit by excise taxes, which cost EdF around zl. 200 million last year. The Ministry, which retains a 35% stake in Rybnik, may also turn to EdF with an offer to sell residual stakes in other companies in which EdF holds a share, in a bid to fulfill a privatization program for the energy sector accepted by the government last week. (Puls Biznesu, p. 5) K.Z.