Fiala says Czech corporate transformation bill is general, not aimed at ČEZ

According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), the bill on transformations of business companies is a general measure. It is not aimed at any specific company and applies to all business companies, Fiala told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today at the conference of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic in Olomouc. He also noted, however, that the government makes no secret of its efforts to strengthen control over energy infrastructure. The prime minister was commenting on the situation after shares in the partly state-owned company ČEZ plunged on the stock exchange following the government’s approval of the bill on Wednesday. According to analysts, the decline in ČEZ shares is a response to this legislative proposal, which they say opens the way to splitting the key partly state-owned company into a fully state-owned part and a private part.

„The government’s bill does not actually have any specific direction. It is a general measure that applies to all companies of this type. And it is a general measure that essentially brings the situation here into line with the situation in the rest of Europe,“ Fiala said.