Slovenia's parliament Friday approved a government privatization
plan that is key for this small euro-zone country to avoid seeking
an international bailout for its troubled state-owned banks.
Some 46 lawmakers, a narrow majority in the 90-seat parliament,
gave the five-party centrist coalition government the green light
to seek buyers for fifteen state-owned companies, including Nova
Kreditna Banka Maribor d.d. (KBMR.LJ), or NKBM, the country's
number two bank in asset terms and Telekom Slovenije d.d.
(TLSG.LJ), the main telecommunications operator.
Other companies on the privatization list are smaller and span
sectors from chemicals, leisure and food processing to sports
equipment.
The Slovenian government owns more than 100 enterprises in
nearly all sectors of the country's export-focused economy.
Analysts said they expect the government will have to offer other
companies--currently not slated for privatization--to meet its
goals of reducing its yawning budget deficit and raising funds to
shore up its troubled banks.
"This is only one piece in the mosaic of our [financial]
stability agenda," Finance Minister Uros Cufer said ahead of the
vote.
Out of 68 lawmakers present at the vote, twenty were against the
privatization list and two abstained.
The government has no estimate of how much it can raise through
the sale of these fifteen state-owned enterprises. Some analysts,
including Citigroup's Jaromir Sindel, forecast the government may
raise up to 750 million euros ($991 million) with Telekom Slovenije
and NKBM accounting for most of the income.
The government wants to let NKBM and two other banks--Nova
Ljubljanska Bank d.d., or NLB, and Abanka Vipa d.d. (ABKN.LJ)--
transfer about a half of their 7 billion euros in non-performing
loans onto a state-run Bank Assets Management Company, or DUTB,
also known a bad bank. The total bad loans, unpaid for 90 and more
days, in the hands of the three banks equal to about 20% of
Slovenia's total economic output.
Write to Leos Rousek at leos.rousek@dowjones.com
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