Polish Gov wants to sell all its shares of LOTOS Group

I've just watched on cnbc biznes an interview with some specialists who says that its complete absurd to sell it and that's probably just a desperate way of collecting money for budget deficit.

In practice no one would be interested in buying Lotos besides Russian companies. That would make Orlen without any chance to compete with Lotos and in effect gov would have to sell it either (and probably for little money) in that way making the Russians the monopolists of Polish petrol market.

Both Lotos and Orlen are in good condition and have one of the most advanced technologies in their raffineries...
PO wants to (or already did) to change the law to make it possible to get rid off full packet of shares (polish law says now that gov can't have less than 51% of the strategic companies).

What are your comments?

I think the government should sell every single company it owns. It should also have strategic limits on Russians buying Polish companies. Even Gorbatchev thinks Putin is slowly reversing the democratic reforms in Russia and there's no reason for Poland to let an authoritarian foreign state control its companies.

nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/europe/27russia.html

The state should have the military, police and a very, very few emergency services operators, that's it. Applies to the US too however Obama chose the opposite direction.

WHY?!

Companies in which we taxers invested our money? Companies which are profitable? If there would be one Russian monopolists in polish petrol market then he could make any prices he want and in that way influence polish economy.

In many other western europe countries strategic for economy companies are mostly in goverments hands.


bullsh1t. It's just liberal propaganda. Monopolism of one company is not good.


I've never supported republicans... So as you see we are on the opposite sites...

Statoil - 64% of shares are in the hands of Norvegian Gov.

Well, but I already said that Russian companies should be exluded as it would thwart competition. As far as why? I believe in capitalism, government should make sure the rules are obeyed but it should not run businesses.


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Hmm, confused here as you're contradicting yourself. Yes, monopolism is never good. I totally agree. Government ownership is the ultimate means of monopoly - no one can compete with the government as it doesn't have to raise prices on products, instead it can raise taxes when money is being lost.

As far as liberal propaganda, this might be a linguistic problem because I think liberal means something different to you than it means to me. Liberalism in the US is often equated with socialism, social-democracy, leftist reasoning. Whereas maybe in Europe people think of the term neo-liberalism which is a much more conservative perspective than liberalism.

You said that you don't agree with republicans therefore you'd be a liberal here in the US. Yet here you call the ideas I brought up liberal?? I would call them market oriented and if you must choose a party then it'd be closer to the Republican, or Libertarian (NOT liberal) ideas here in the US, or the Moderate Party in Sweden, CDU in Germany, and not sure which party in Poland.


That's fine and that's ok. Vive la difference
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Correct, and I disagree with that. For some reason they won't listen ;)

Must be liberal propaganda ;)

There are 2 comapnies in Poland whose more than half shares are in govern hands: Lotos and Orlen and they both compete with each other. There is nobody who'd be intrested in investiing in Lotos besides the Russians. Orlen would go bancrupt or would have to be sold. That is what i heard yesterday in 90 minut on cnbc biznes. Note that I'm economical imbecile ;) That's why I asked you for comments.


In Poland contrary... :)


:)