Denmark to offer $13 billion in guarantees to energy companies

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark plans to provide 100 billion Danish crowns ($13.4 billion) in guarantees to energy firms challenged by soaring energy prices, the government said on Thursday.

The guarantees are aimed at securing the necessary liquidity for companies facing major collateral requirements triggered by the high power prices.

"It will help ensure the stability on the power market," Business Minister Simon Kollerup told a news conference.

Earlier on Thursday, Britain's new Prime Minister Liz Truss said the UK will launch a 40 billion-pound ($46 billion) scheme to ensure wholesale energy suppliers are not hit by a liquidity squeeze.

Finland and Sweden on Sunday announced plans to offer billions of dollars in liquidity guarantees to power companies in their countries in response to Europe's deepening energy crisis.

The government has obtained broad parliamentary support for the proposal, Kollerup said.

($1 = 7.4381 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard, editing by Terje Solsvik)