Belarus ready to sell state MTS stake for $900 mln - Lukashenko
MINSK. Oct 21 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced the republic's readiness to lower the price of the state's stake in the Belarusian mobile communications operator MTS to $900 million.
During a meeting with CIS mass media executives in Minsk on Monday, the president said open trading for the MTS stake would be conducted, to give an idea of what offers potential investors might make.
"Even if in open trading it was $500 million, I would not sell, would wait for the market to rise. And if not $1 billion, which was at one point was determined on a high market as a price, it would be $900 million in open trading? I would sell today," Lukashenko said.
The price for the Belarusian operator is a subject of talks with a potential investor, he said.
"You say expensive, and I say cheap. This is an issue of agreements or other civilized moments for the making of a decision," Lukashenko said. "In the economy there is no concept of cheap or expensive, it is a process in which people sit and reach agreement," he said.
