SLOVAK Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek reported that another company has shown an interest in buying the 49-percent stake in the Slovak oil pipeline operator Transpetrol that is currently owned by Russian oil concern Yukos.
The minister, however, refused to reveal the buyer's identity. He only said that the company comes from a country that is very close to Slovakia. According to the Hospodárske noviny daily the company might be Hungary's MOL concern.
The Polish concern PERN and the Russian companies Russnefť and Gazprom have also showed an interest in buying the stake in Transpetrol, as has the Slovak government. The minister said that talks with Yukos Finance, which owns the Transpetrol stake, are still continuing. He was unable to estimate when the company would make its final decision regarding the selling of the stake.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
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