Page 20 - bne magazine February 2024_20240206

20 I Companies & Markets bne February 2024
Pristina decided to exclusively use the euro as its currency, as part of a series of changes aimed at streamlining financial transactions and enhancing currency stability.
form" or as bank deposits exclusively denominated in currencies other than the euro.
However, the regulation allows for the use of other currencies in international payments or foreign exchange activities, offering some flexibility in cross-border transactions.
Another notable aspect of the new regulations is the withdrawal of €500 banknotes from circulation, effective from February
1. This move is designed to combat the potential threat of counterfeiting and safeguard the integrity of the currency.
European Union envoy Miroslav Lajcak indirectly confirmed the de facto suspension of payment transactions with Serbia.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has expressed her concerns regarding the ban on the use of Serbian dinars in Kosovo.
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If this measure is put into effect, the utilisation of the Serbian dinar within Kosovo is set to be halted, posing significant challenges for citizens, predominantly Serbs,
but also affecting Albanians and others, along with adverse repercussions for the local economy, as suggested by sources interviewed by Kosovo Online.
The decision would particularly impact employees in businesses affiliated with Serbia and reliant on Serbian budgetary support, raising uncertainties about the withdrawal of pensions and social benefits from the Serbian budget, with the specific procedures and banking institutions involved remaining unclear in this potential scenario.
The announcement that Serbia’s NLB Komercijalna banka plans to close its branches in Kosovo as of February 1 also worried citizens.
The acting director of Post of Serbia, Zoran Djordjevic, was cited by Kosovo Online as saying that the company is actively exploring ways to maintain its existing operations. He claimed Pristina and Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti no longer want Serbs in Kosovo.
Djordjevic said that individuals employed in institutions funded by Serbia rely on Post of Serbia for salary disbursements, highlighting the vulnerability of those engaged in Serbian institutions.
He said that all dinar transactions are exclusively facilitated through Post of Serbia, which caters to a broad spectrum of users, including citizens engaging in financial transactions, payments, salary distributions, pensions, social benefits, voucher applications, as well as sending and receiving packages.
Prague Stock Exchange head warns of 'end of the Czech capital market' if CEZ is nationalised
bne IntelliNews
The Prague Stock Exchange could be downgraded to a frontier market if the Czech government goes ahead with its plans to split up and nationalise the majority state-owned power group CEZ, by far the biggest company on the bourse, Petr Koblic, general director of the exchange, told Bloomberg in an interview published on January 15.
“The whole debate about whether the government should buy out CEZ minorities has been totally misguided,” Koblic said. “The worst-case scenario facing the market right now is some sort of a split, in which one part of CEZ would remain listed,
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possibly with a much higher free float, while the other part would be delisted.”
Koblic said there was "no reason" to increase state control now that the energy crisis has eased, and warned that if the Czech government did so, CEZ would lose its attraction for foreign investors in the shares, which would lead to "the end of the Czech capital market," he said. The Czech government currently has a 67% stake.
The Czech cabinet has been working to strengthen the