The privatization list includes minority stakes in ARMO oil refiner and OSSH distribution operator (CEZ), and the sale of 100 percent of shares of the Albpetrol oil company
TIRANA, Feb. 4 – The Albanian government plans to sell off minority stakes in key enterprises and privatize key remaining strategic enterprises by 2016. In 2014-2016 economic and fiscal program government says it plans to collect of 172 million from strategic and non-strategic privatizations in the next three years.
The privatization list includes minority stakes in ARMO oil refiner and OSSH distribution operator (CEZ), and the sale of 100 percent of shares of the Albpetrol oil company. Government also plans to collect Euro 5 million from the sale of several small assets such as buildings or military facilities.
The 14.9 percent minority share in ARMO oil refiner will be offered for 22 million Euros in a tender scheduled for 2015. Government also plans to sell the remaining 24 percent of shares in OSSH distribution operator, privatized in 2009 by CEZ but currently under state administration after the Czechs had their Albanian licence revoked. Government plans to sell the minority stake in the distribution operator for Euro 32 million by 2016. However, the government will have to first settle the dispute with Czech Republic’s CEZ Group which has initiated arbitration procedures for the CEZ majority stake which it bought for Euro 102 million.
The Albanian government also plans to sell Albpetrol oil company after its failed privatization in 2012. The company’s assets are estimated at Euro 95 million.
INSIG, the only remaining state-run insurer whose privatization has failed several times, is not on the privatization list.
Privatization revenue during the first eleven months of 2013 grew by a record 20 times to around 16 billion lek (Euro 111 million) due to the sale of four small and medium-sized hydropower plants to Turkey’s Kurum for around 110 million euros. The Finance Ministry said Kurum had around 3.5 billion lek (Euro 24.3 million) deducted in VAT refunds for the steel plant operations in Elbasan.
The Albanian government has collected a total of around 90 bln lek (USD 833 mln, Euro 632 mln) from the privatization of state-owned assets since the early 90s when the country’s 47-year communist regime collapsed. The data are made available in a study carried out by the Open Data Albania research centre covering the 1993-2011 period.
The study based on Finance Ministry data shows that most privatization revenues were collected during the past decade from the sale of key assets in the banking , telecommunication and energy sectors. What’s particular about privatizations in Albania in the post 2000 period is that they have peaked in general elections years or pre-election years such as in 2001, in 2004 and in 2009. The study finds out that privatization revenues in these years have covered 20 to 30 percent of budget deficit.
The year 2000 was the first to register high privatization revenues at 8.9 billion lek, financing around 22 percent of the budget deficit. Privatization revenue in 2011 rose by 43 percent and financed 30 percent of the deficit. Privatizations peaked again in 2004, one year before the general elections with the sale of the state-owned Savings Bank acquired by Raiffeisen for USD 126 million which also enabled the slight reduction of the public debt.
The year 2007 registered the sale of majority stake in fixed-line operator Albtelecom, acquired by Turkey’s Calik Group for Euro 120 million.
The highest ever level of privatizations was recorded in the general election year of 2009 when government collected a record 25 billion lek, mainly from the sale of energy distribution operator OSSH to Czech republic CEZ for 102 million Euros.
