MOL wants its bid weighed carefully

Hungary's MOL Group maintains its offer for a strategic partnership with Petrom, saying privatisation by direct sale of shares is not the best option for the Romanian oil company. "Speaking from experience, we believe the privatisation method proposed is not the best for Petrom, for the Romanian economy or for MOL. This is why we came up with an alternative and it is up to the Romanian authorities to consider this offer or to ask us to rephrase it. We are open to any form of co-operation but have a very firm opinion on what's best for Petrom and MOL," Zoltan Aldott, head of MOL's Strategy Department said in Budapest on Friday. The Romanian State got three binding bids for the privatisation of Petrom from OMV - Austria, MOL - Hungary and Occidental Petroleum - USA. ZF< /P>