Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has instructed the Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Agency (PPCA) to wrap up all ongoing privatization procedures by end-2012.

The entities pending urgent privatization are the cargo unit of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) company, construction firm Technoexportstroy, state-owned real estate company Domestic Diplomatic Properties Agency (ADIS), and the minority state-owned stakes in energy companies, according to Trud daily.

The privatization procedures are expected to bring BGN 550 M, including BGN 200 M from the sale of the state-owned stakes in power distributors CEZ and E.ON, BGN 100 M from ADIS and BGN 51 M from Technoexportstroy.

In end-June, the PPCA received an extra BGN 2 M from the government to cover its expenses.

In early August, the PPCA stopped the tender for the sale of BDZ Freight Services after only one candidate submitted a bid and the strategic investors gave up the procedure because they found the requirements too high.

After two unsuccessful attempts to hold tenders for the privatization of Technoexportstroy, the third one, which included no initial price, attracted one bid.

The tender committee is to open the bid and get acquainted with the details of the offer.

In an announcement dated August 5, the PPCA launched the final stage of the sale of 100% of ADIS, the bid submission deadline being September 23, 2 pm.

Ever since it assumed office, the GERB government has been planning to sell the state-owned stakes in the three power distributors.

So far, the scenario has only happened with the state-owned stake in EVN, which was sold via the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) in December.

In end-April, the BSE argued that the state-owned stakes in power distributors CEZ and E.ON would be sold in the summer, but this has not happened yet.

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