BRATISLAVA, March 17 (Reuters) - Slovakia must prevent its major companies being snapped up by speculators bent on prolonging the financial crisis so they can buy assets on the cheap, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Tuesday.
Fico, who came to power in 2006 pledging a stronger state role in the economy, said unnamed forces might try to make the downturn worse in order to buy bankrupt businesses.
"I don't want to build up conspiracy theories. But, there are also some who think the crisis may be, to an extent, deliberately extended and deepened because it is a fantastic opportunity to redistribute ownership," Fico said.
"Therefore, we must in particular protect national interests in the most important Slovak companies to prevent Slovakia's ownership of strategic companies from being threatened by speculation with ownership rights," Fico told a Foreign Ministry conference.
He did not specify who might be attempting to profit from the worst crisis since the depression of the 1930s, what state-owned stakes could be under threat or what action might be taken to protect them.
Slovakia has not had to bail out any of its banks but it has lost thousands of jobs as the impact of weaker demand for its exports, mainly cars and TV sets, has hit home in the euro zone's youngest member since January.
Fico, who came to power promising to take better care of the poor, is striving to boost state role in the economy after extensive privatisations earlier this decade brought western owners to banks, utilities and manufacturing firms.
One of Fico's first moves was to stop sales of state property. The government also holds large stakes in the dominant gas company and power utilities.
The leftist leader, who faces an election in 2010, has threatened to nationalise foreign-owned stakes in utility firms if western managers overcharge Slovaks on gas or electricity. (Reporting by Peter Laca; Editing by Jon Boyle)