"Telekom won't be sold at any cost"

The Serbian government does not want to sell the majority of Telekom Srbija "at any cost", says PM Mirko Cvetkovic. In an interview for the new edition of the Ekonom:east, due out this Thursday, Cvetkovic said that the government's hands would not be tied even if no one offered the EUR 1.4bn minimum price in the tender for the sale of 51 percent stake in the state-run telecommunications company. "Telekom won't be sold at any cost" “If nobody bids at this price, we will declare the tender unsuccessful,” Cvetkovic underlined. The prime minister stressed that the money coming from the sale of Telekom would not be able to be used for spending, indicating that the level of public spending is determined by the budget, which, in its turn, is determined by the parliament. “The sale of Telekom is important, since without a strategic partner and new investment there is a danger that the company, exposed to strong competition in both fixed and mobile telephony markets, could collapse as a system in four to five years,” the prime minister stated. A state-owned enterprise cannot survive in a highly competitive market among powerful private companies, which is why Telekom should be sold, Cvetkovic concluded. Mirko Cvetkovic (Beta, file)

"Telekom won't be sold at any cost"

“If nobody bids at this price, we will declare the tender unsuccessful,” Cvetković underlined.

The prime minister stressed that the money coming from the sale of Telekom would not be able to be used for spending, indicating that the level of public spending is determined by the budget, which, in its turn, is determined by the parliament.

“The sale of Telekom is important, since without a strategic partner and new investment there is a danger that the company, exposed to strong competition in both fixed and mobile telephony markets, could collapse as a system in four to five years,” the prime minister stated.

A state-owned enterprise cannot survive in a highly competitive market among powerful private companies, which is why Telekom should be sold, Cvetković concluded.