Belarus reportedly has no intention to lower the US$1bn asking price for its controlling stake in mobile operator MTS Belarus despite receiving no bids in the nearly nine months since the sales process was launched.
Communications minister Nikolai…
Belarus reportedly has no intention to lower the US$1bn asking price for its controlling stake in mobile operator MTS Belarus despite receiving no bids in the nearly nine months since the sales process was launched.
Communications minister Nikolai Pantelei told reporters that the government is not in talks with anyone about the sale of its 51% stake in the joint venture with Russian mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported.
Pantelei was quoted as saying that the government considers its stake in the operator is worth the announced price, noting that he believes there is no need to reduce it.
MTS, Russia’s largest mobile operator, has previously said it would be interested in buying the stake and thereby gaining full control of the company, but not at the current asking price.
Last November, Belarusian state news agency BeLTA reported that 35 organisations, including Turkish mobile operator Turkcell and Telekom Austria’s Belarus subsidiary, had indicated they would attend a pre-sale presentation in Minsk, held this March. The government said it had sent out a total 45 invitations to organisations both within and outside the CIS.
Local media quoted Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich in November 2012 as saying the government had offered the MTS Belarus stake to Kazakh companies, but they turned it down in December, saying the price was too high.
A spokesperson for the communications ministry was not able to comment on the matter. The State Property Committee was not immediately available for comment.
