Belarusian Property Committee does not rule out selling stake in Belaruskali
MINSK. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The State Property Committee of Belarus believes it would be possible to sell a minority stake in potash producer Belaruskali if this made economic sense.
"Any joint-stock company, any stake can be taken under consideration [for sale]," the committee's first deputy chairman, Sergei Pyatkov told reporters on Thursday in response to a question about the possibility of selling a minority stake in Belaruskali.
"A good proposal must be presented, there must be economic calculations that would show advisability, that as a result of the privatization of this company by bringing in a new owner we will bring new impetus," Pyatkov said.
The results of effective privatization are "not only money, but also new technologies, new markets, supplies of raw materials," he said. "Everything depends on the specifics of the company," Pyatkov said.
He said a minority stake could be sold to one investor or several, in an initial public offering.
However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in early September, in light of the potash feud with Russia's Uralkali, that it would be unacceptable to sell the assets of Belaruskali. Lukashenko said earlier that the company's market value was at least $32 billion.