Belarus to put MTS stake up for sale at int'l tender
MINSK. April 8 (Interfax) - Belarus will put its 51% stake in the MTS joint venture with Russia's Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) up for sale at an international tender, Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Kalinin told reporters.
"The shareholding will be put up for sale at an international tender," he said.
Mobile TeleSystems, which owns 49% of the joint venture, has offered to buy Belarus out. "There were negotiations, but we didn't agree on a price. They offered to pay part and the rest later, depending on the company's international rating. We wanted full payment right away," Kaplin said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Belarus would be prepared to sell the 51% to the Russian company for $1 billion. Mobile TeleSystems has said it is willing to pay a reasonable price, but it has not said how much.
Mobile Telesystems spokeswoman Yelena Konakhovskaya told Interfax that the company might put its stake in the MTS joint venture up for sale at the same time as the Belarusian stake.
"If the Belarusian government offers its stake for $1 billion at an international tender, we may offer our own stake also at a corresponding price," she said.
Mobile Telesystems is still keen to develop its business in Belarus and to buy the government out of the joint venture "at a reasonable price," she said.