PM: government to decide on whether to proceed with sale of 7.0 percent ČEZ stake

Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has said in an interview that the Czech government will have to decide whether to proceed with the planned sale of a 7.0 percent stake in state-controlled electricity giant, ČEZ, or to sell less in view of the share price's recent rise. The prime minister made the statement in response to questions from financial daily Hospodářské noviny. The government set an original target of earning at least 30 billion crowns by cutting its stake of just over 67 percent in Central Europe's biggest electricity company, the newspaper points out. The Czech news agency, ČTK, has reported that thanks to the share's appreciation, the government would now only have to sell a 3.6 percent stake, with shares amounting to 1.63 percent already offloaded.