Croatia is preparing for May the next round of talks with
Hungary's MOL over the joint management of Zagreb-based oil and gas company INA, a spokesperson for the Croatian economy ministry told SeeNews in
an email on Friday.
MOL owns 49.08% of INA and the Croatian government
controls a further 44.84%. In September 2013, the two sides launched talks to
renegotiate the terms for the company's management.
In August 2013, the
Croatian government said the decision to renegotiate the terms of the management
of INA came on the back of the deteriorating performance of the Zagreb-based
company over the past years and underinvestment in its refineries, among other
issues.
In November, two months after the launch of talks, MOL said its
executive board had been authorized to start preparations for the sale of the
company’s stake in INA.
On the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations, MOL
filed in November 2013 for international arbitration against the government in
Zagreb at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes for breaching certain of its obligations in relation to the Hungarian
company's investments in Croatia. Then in January 2014, the Croatian government
filed for arbitration with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The
Hague.
INA's consolidated loss rose 26% to 1.9 billion kuna ($270.9
million/251 million euro) in 2014.