Czech companies are complaining more about high energy rates but still nowhere near as loudly as in Germany. Stefan Messer, who heads the supervisory board of family-owned Messer Group industrial gases, told Handelsblatt that he doesn’t think energy-intensive businesses have much of a future in Germany. The first chemical plants are already shutting down, he said, and he’s very worried about the automotive industry, but more for competi-
tive reasons. If energy rates permanently remain much higher than they were 3-5 years ago, he said, you can be as robust as you want, but an energy-intensive company will often only have the choice of closing down or relocating. Some companies could also be looking more urgently for a buyer, he said. PM Petr Fiala didn’t say much about near-term energy rates in his Restarting Czechia policy speech last week. Czech owners who see the writing on the wall and don’t want to close down or relocate might have a narrow window for selling out.

Source