Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek said on December 2 that the state should not manage the chemical company Novácke Chemické Závody (NCHZ), now undergoing bankruptcy, in the long term. He told the TASR newswire that the company should be restructured so it can “stand on its own”, and then be sold via a public tender.
The government at its meeting approved Jahnátek's proposal to include NCHZ into the group of strategic companies. The economy ministry reasoned that NCHZ is important for the proper functioning of the Slovak economy and that it has more than 500 employees, making it legally a strategic enterprise that can, after the bankruptcy process is finished, be taken over by the state.
The ministry's report said that this will probably have a negative impact on the state budget, even though it is not able to estimate the money that will be generated from the public tender to sell the company, which owes a fine of nearly €20 million to the European Commission due to its involvement in a price-fixing cartel. The ministry added that these proceedings won't positively influence the creation of new jobs but will secure present employment in the local area. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
