The most likely moment for the listing of the shares the state holds in RomTelecom, worth about one billion euros, could be 2007.
The operation, however, could very well take place by the end of this year, Communications and Information Technology Minister Zsolt Nagy stated yesterday.
"It is clear that the deadline initially announced, September or October cannot be realistic. The verification of RomTelecom will take some time, with the first conclusions to be presented in several months from now.
"Based on these first conclusions, we will set the most likely moment for floatation," Nagy said. He evaluated the stake the Romanian state holds in RomTelecom at one billion euros.
He added the duration of the consultancy contract signed by the representatives of the Communications Ministry and those of the consortium composed of Credit First Suisse Boston and IEBA Trust yesterday was 12 months
"Besides the Bucharest Stock Exchange, RomTelecom's shares will be listed on an international market, possibly London or Athens but we are not ruling out other options, either," Nagy stated. The Romanian state owns approximately 45.99% of the share capital of RomTelecom through the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The rest of the shares are held by Greek telecommunications group OTE.
"We hope that the Romanian state would get a higher price from the floatation of the shares than it got at the time of the sale to OTE," Nagy said.
The Communications Minister added that out of the Romanian state's interest in RomTelecom, the cash equivalent of 23% would be allocated to the Property Fund.
The Communications Minister and the representatives of the consortium composed of the Credit Suisse First Boston investment bank and IEBA Trust yesterday signed the consultancy contract for the sale of the stake in RomTelecom on the capital market.
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