…according to Reuters, the German government has demanded that

Athens secure revenues of 2.2 billion euros from privatizations in 2015 in

order for the bailout support program to continue… (s.u.)

Confusion over future of sell-off fund TAIPED

During his recent contact with investors in London, Finance Minister Yanis

Varoufakis appeared ready to sell rail operator Trainose for 1 euro, as long

as the buyer commits to an investment plan.

By Vangelis Mandravelis ( ekathimerini.com)

On Wednesday, just days after asking the top executives of sell-off fund

TAIPED to quit their posts, Alternate Finance Minister Nadia Valavani

surprisingly called on them to stay on until further notice and to postpone

any significant decisions on privatizations for at least two to three weeks.

Over the course of a three-hour meeting with the fund’s board at TAIPED

headquarters in Athens, Valavani discussed all issues pertaining to its

responsibilities and also asked Chairman Emmanouil Kondylis and CEO

Paschalis Bouchoris to remain in their positions in order to take care of

the fund’s day-to-day affairs. She also met with TAIPED staff

representatives and assured them that the government does not want anyone to

lose their job.

A Financial Times report has noted that Bouchoris is determined to tender

his resignation by the end of the week. The TAIPED CEO stated that during

his meeting with Valavani she said the new government’s intention is “that

the privatizations policy will not be continued.” However, TAIPED officials

said this view was expressed before Wednesday’s meeting, so Bouchoris might

stay on unless advised otherwise.

Valavani has not given any further signs of the government’s next moves

regarding TAIPED and privatizations. Market professionals believe that the

government has not yet made up its mind on the issue. As a result, the

privatizations program has been effectively frozen, with decision-making,

tender completion etc being subject to extensions and postponements.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the German government has demanded that

Athens secure revenues of 2.2 billion euros from privatizations in 2015 in

order for the bailout support program to continue. The 2.2-billion-euro

target is particularly high considering the delays noted to date and the

fact that TAIPED revenues since its establishment have stood at around 1

billion euros per annum on average.

It is also clear that this target cannot be attained without the concession

of the 14 regional airports, and likely the major project at Elliniko in

southern Athens. The former will fetch some 1.28 billion euros – i.e. more

than half the annual target – possibly by this fall, while the latter will

fetch 300 million euros, which could come within the first half of the year.

Notably, Berlin appears adamant on the sell-off program, even on the

privatization of state energy assets, which Finance Minister Yanis

Varoufakis opposes.

In fact, during his recent contacts with investors in London, the minister

appeared ready to sell rail operator Trainose for 1 euro as long as the

buyer commits to an investment plan, while remaining vehemently opposed to

the sale of any Public Power Corporation assets.

Quelle:  ekathimerini.com , Thursday February 5, 2015 (22:28)