THE VALUE of the €840 million that Italian Enel offered for the purchase of power utility Slovenské elektrárne has dropped by Sk1.7 billion (€43.8 million) due to the strengthening crown, reported the daily SME.
The Economy Ministry still does not know how it is going to solve the risk of losses due to movement in the exchange rate.
The time between signing the agreement with the investor and the actual payment of the money can be stretched to as long as six months.
The money market expects the euro to drop below Sk38 by the time Enel pays for the utility. It could devalue the price by as much as €0.5 billion.
In the past, the state lost considerable sums due to exchange rate moves. On the sale of gas utility Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, for example, the state lost billions of crowns.
Compiled by Beata Balogová from press reports
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