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Planned Polish fuel merger to rev up economy: PM

09.09.2019 14:51
The planned merger of Poland’s two largest fuel firms, PKN Orlen and Lotos, is expected to give a fresh boost to the economy, the country’s prime minister has said.
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Speaking in a media interview, Mateusz Morawiecki said that “all developed countries have long ago merged their assets in such a way.”

He argued in the interview with Sieci weekly that Polish companies had to compete with “giant fuel companies all around them” on international markets.

Morawiecki said that, despite claims by the opposition, the new fuel company slated to be formed in a merger of PKN Orlen and Lotos promised to be “a big driver of the Polish economy.”


Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks at a convention of his governing Law and Justice (PiS) party in the eastern city of Lublin on Saturday. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks at a convention of his governing Law and Justice (PiS) party in the eastern city of Lublin on Saturday.

Poland's largest oil refiner, PKN Orlen, in July formally asked the European Commission—the executive arm of the European Union of which Poland is part—to greenlight its proposed acquisition of the Lotos group, Poland’s No. 2 refining company.

The Polish economy grew 4.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said at the end of last month in a final estimate.

Morawiecki said in August that Poland ranked among the fastest-growing economies in Europe and worldwide.

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Source: PAP