The BiH Federation House of Representatives rejected the government’s scheme to sell state-run 67% in Bosnian largest fuel retailer Energopetrol to Hungarian-Croatian consortium MOL-INA whose tender bid had been assessed as the most preferable. A total of 25 delegates voted against the deal, one in its favor and the remainder -- SDA and HDZ members -- abstained.
During a previous debate in November, the two parliamentary houses could not reach a unified position on the company’s fate as not a single proposal received the necessary majority of votes. FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic again announced that the cabinet would continue the negotiations with the strategic partner to be concluded on Jan. 27. Yet, he did not express optimism about a positive outcome. Hadzipasic recalled that the federal parliament did not have the legal authority to intervene in the privatization process and warned that indebted Energopetrol would have to go bankrupt after Feb. 28 unless the contract is signed.
The prime minister reiterated that the 2006 entity budget does not possess funds for recovery measures in the oil distributor. On the other hand, the opposition insisted that Energopetrol should not be sold but consolidated and accused the government of acting against the law by continuing the negotiations. According to the offered privatization model, the cabinet will keep 22% of Energopetrol’s capital and 11% will remain in the hands of small shareholders. MOL-INA pledges to pay KM10.2 million (€5.21 million) in cash for the controlling stake, invest KM 76.65 million over the coming three years, repay debts worth €30.7 million and ensure jobs for the 1,059 employees.