Albanian consortium for Albtelecom confirms interest in privatization

TIRANA, Oct. 31- The Albanian consortium for the privatization of Albtelecom reissued on Tuesday a letter of interest related to the will of the group of Albanian businesses to be considered as worthy candidates for the ownership of the state-owned telecommunication company. Endri Puka wrote in the letter that the Albanian group was interested in buying 76 percent of the shares for which it is offering 150 million euro, a higher figure than that of the Turkish consortium (120 million euro) that is still in doubt whether the government will give the company or not. The privatization of Albtelecom will be coupled with the license to operate the third mobile phone company in Albania, named Eagle Mobile. The consortium guaranteed that it will act as a strategic investor bringing better services at lower cost in a timely fashion.
Calik Enerji presented its bid of 120 million to acquire 76 percent of the state owned communication agency in 2005. The Socialist government approved the contract in June of the same year just before the elections. The contract was annulled by the newly elected government in October 2005. Last week, the Vice minister of Economy declared that the full strategy Albtelecom privatization process would be given for consideration to the Economy Minister Ruli within october. The negotiations are still to be conducted in the beginning of November with the Turkish “Calik Enerji”. The opposition has several times voiced the request of the Albanian Consortium to be given an equal chance for the consideration as a worthy candidate.