MOL Hungarian oil and gas public limited company announcement regarding the distribution of dividend for the financial year of 2017

The payment of dividend will commence on 16 May 2018 (starting day of the dividend payment)
Gross Dividend Per one “A” series Share: HUF 127.5

Prior to payment of the dividend, MOL Plc. will carry out a shareholder identification, based on the data of 7 May 2018 (Record Date). The last day of trading on the Budapest and the Warsaw Stock Exchanges for shares entitled to the dividend of 2017 financial year will be 3 May 2018 in case of T+2 days settlement (ex-coupon day: 4 May 2018). Shareholders (natural persons and legal entities) will be entitled to receive the dividend if they own MOL shares at the Record Date, and they have requested to be recorded as shareholders in the Company Share Register. Shareholders will remain entitled to receive the dividend within a limited five-year period (set by the statute of limitation) beginning at the starting day of the dividend payment. The Company is not obliged to pay any interest on dividends paid after 16 May 2018.

Process of dividend payment:

1. In respect of shareholders holding their shares in a security account with a Hungarian accountkeeper, the dividend will be transferred to the bank account attached to the security account held at the accountkeeper or to the personal bank account of the shareholder from 16 May 2018, if the above mentioned accountkeeper has transferred to KELER Ltd. all data required for shareholder identification in relation to the shareholder in full compliance with all relevant KELER procedures.

If the accountkeeper can identify the owner of the holder of the respective shares by the given Record Date with missing data, the accountkeeper may finish the identification process later, according to KELER's procedures. Having obtained the missing or supplementary information, KELER Ltd. determines the net dividend payable and transfers it to the account of the shareholder at its accountkeeper or to his personal bank account. Please note that in such cases KELER Ltd. executes supplementary transfers only once a month and neither MOL Plc. nor KELER Ltd. undertake any responsibility for any delays arising from such actions. The Company therefore kindly asks all shareholders to request their respective accountkeepers to perform the said shareholders identification appropriately and in a timely manner, and in case of doubt they should check whether the accountkeeper has all data required for the data to be supplied to KELER Ltd. The Company and KELER Ltd. do not undertake any obligation or liability for late dividend payments arising from the delay of or incomplete, unsuitable or missing information from the shareholder or its accountkeeper, furthermore do not undertake any liability if the dividend is transferred to a bank account based on the direct declaration of the shareholder that differs from the bank account given by the accountkeeper.

2. In case of DR holders, dividends will be transferred by MOL Plc. through the domestic custodian bank (UniCredit Bank Hungary) to the shareholders through The Bank of New York Mellon (the DR issuer). In the event of any question, we kindly ask holders of DRs to contact The Bank of New York Mellon (101 Barclay Street, 22 West New York, NY 10286, phone: 1 212 815 3503 fax: 1 212 571 3050), or its Hungarian Custodian Bank UniCredit Bank Hungary, Department of Deposits (1054 Budapest, Szabadság tér 5-6, phone: 36 1 301 1942).

3. In case of shares introduced to the Warsaw Stock Exchange the accountkeepers have to identify our shareholders via Polish Clearing House (KDPW) and the money transfer shall also be delivered via KDPW. The Company also pays the dividend for these shares in HUF, the exchange is the shareholder’s task.

We kindly call the attention of the shareholders to the following:

For private individuals having Hungarian domicile the dividend is payable only if they present their name, address, mother’s name, place and date of birth, name given in birth certificate, sex, nationality, Tax ID number via their accountkeeper. In case of any absence of the detailed personal data, the dividend cannot be paid under the legal regulations. After receipt of these data, according to the Sections 66 and 8 of Act CXVII of Personal Income Tax (“Act on Personal Income Tax”), 15% withholding tax will be deducted from the dividend.

For legal entities having Hungarian domicile the dividend is payable only if its name, registered seat and tax number is given via the accountkeeper. In this case the dividend is paid without withholding any tax.

For private individuals having foreign domicile the dividend is payable only if they present their name, address, mother’s name, place and date of birth, name given in birth certificate, sex, nationality, Tax ID number given by Hungarian TAX Authority or passport number via their accountkeeper. After receipt of these data, according to the Sections 66 and 8 of Act on Personal Income Tax, 15% tax will be deducted from the dividend. If a foreign domiciled individual shareholder intends to receive its dividend through application of a preferred tax rate in accordance with inter-state treaties on avoidance of double taxation, such shareholder is obliged to submit to the Issuer Department of KELER Ltd. (address: H-1074 Budapest, Rákóczi út 70-72., R-70 Irodaház) until 7 May 2018 all the documents specified in Annex 7 to the Act on Personal Income Tax. We remind the shareholders and accountkeepers that the certificates of residency issued by foreign tax authorities regarding the tax year 2018 will be acceptable in English, in Hungarian professional translation or a copy of one of them. If a certificate of beneficial ownership is also required by the treaty on avoidance of double taxation, this certificate shall also be translated into Hungarian by a professional translator to be acceptable (technical translation shall be attached). The certificate of beneficial ownership can also be issued in Hungarian. If the shareholder would like to receive the dividend with preferred taxation but fails to submit the required documents by the deadline, the shareholder may request in writing until 7 May 2018 to withhold the dividend until the arrival of the documents.
If a foreign domiciled individual shareholder has the documents specified in Annex 7 to the Act on Personal Income Tax and there is an inter-state treaty on avoidance of double taxation based on which a preferential tax rate can be used, but the shareholder fails to submit the documents to KELER Ltd. (or to request to withhold the dividend until the arrival of the documents) by 7 May 2018 and therefore receives dividend after deduction 15% income tax, he may apply to the Significant Taxpayers’ Office (in Hungarian: “Kiemelt Adózók Igazgatósága”) of the National Tax and Customs Administration (“NAV”) of Hungary and claim back the difference between the 15% and the preferential tax rate. The tax authority shall remit the amount of such tax difference to the payment account specified by the foreign domiciled individual shareholder (Section 4 of Annex 7 to the Act on Personal Income Tax).

For legal entities having foreign domicile the dividend is payable only when it can be stated unequivocally that the shareholder is a legal entity having foreign domicile. In this case the dividend will be paid without withholding any tax.

For entities represented by a Nominee, as a base case 15% withholding tax will be deducted from the dividend.
If the accountkeeper of the nominee specifies in the course of the recording process (shareholder identification process) the number of shares held by individual shareholders and the number of shares held by legal entities (not private individuals) from the total number of shares represented by the nominee, then the dividends will be paid after applying the relevant tax rate. In the case of dividends for shares held by legal entities, no tax will be deducted from the dividends. In the case of shares held by individual shareholders, personal income tax of 15% will be deducted from the dividends. If the shares represented by the nominee relate to foreign domiciled individual shareholders who intend to receive their dividends through the application of a preferred tax rate, then those shareholders should be recorded separately in the course of the recording process and the provisions detailed above in the paragraph starting with “For private individuals having foreign domicile” shall apply for them. The Nominee is obliged to make a statement and provide detailed data from private individuals (pursuant to Section 8 of Annex 7 to the Act on Personal Income Tax) to KELER Ltd. acting as agent of MOL until the deadline specified in the Act.

In case of shares held on long term investment account (in Hungarian: ”Tartós Befektetési Számla”)
In case of shares held by domestic and foreign individuals on long term investment account, no tax will be deducted from the dividends (pursuant to Section 67/B (6) c) and Annex 7 to the Act on Personal Income Tax). Accountkeepers are required to indicate to KELER Ltd., acting as agent in the dividend payment of MOL Plc., that parallel with claiming the dividend, that shares are held on long term investment account, and the dividend to be paid will be registered in deposit, otherwise the dividends will be paid after deducting a personal income tax of 15%.

Shareholders who have not collected yet their dividend in respect of the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and/or 2016 financial years, may claim their dividend through their accountkeeper with providing supplementary information to KELER Ltd. In case of dividend received in respect of the previous years, the Company is not obliged to pay any interest for the period elapsed since the commencement date of the dividend.

If you need any further information on dividend payment, please do not hesitate contact our colleagues on +36-1-483-6251 or write to the e-mail address: investorrelations@mol.hu

The Board of Directors of
MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company