Banca de Economii, Moldtelecom won't be privatized in 2012

Banca de Economii and Moldtelecom will not be privatized in 2012, but will remain on the list of public property subject to privatization, Tudor Copaci, the head of the Economy Ministry's Public Property Agency, told reporters. The International Monetary Fund and other development partners of Moldova have recommended to the Government to privatize these companies, but have suggested that this shouldn't necessarily take place immediately, especially in difficult times for the economies which could provide the necessary investors. The French bank BMP Paribas was mandated to develop the documentation for the privatization of Banca de Economii. “The contract has been suspended for a period and the consultant is awaiting the Government's decision to privatize the bank, after which the development of the documentation will be resumed”, said Copaci. Concerning Moldtelecom, experts at the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation (IFC) are developing a report containing recommendations on what steps the company needs to take in order to develop. “After the presentation of this report, the Government will decide whether or not to denationalize Moldtelecom, or perhaps just some of its services”, said Tudor Copaci. In 2012 a general assessment will be made of the state interests in large companies. Some of them will be sold. Also, the government will continue the process of transforming state enterprises into joint stock companies in an attempt to improve their profitability and increase the responsibility of their managers.