“Chinese telecommunications operator, China Telecom, is interested in the privatization of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC),” it emerged after a meeting of Bulgaria’s Transport Minister Plamen Petrov with Houlin Zhao, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The privatisation procedure for the Bulgarian Telecom is expected to be launched by the end of March and is one of the key sell-offs that the Bulgarian Government wants to conclude by mid-year. Up to 65 % of Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) will be sold in a two-stage competition open to both telecoms firms and financial investors, under the sell-off plan approved by the Cabinet. Under the strategy up to 20 % in BTC will be placed on the local stock exchange. Financial investors with assets of over EUR 300 M will be eligible to bid. Candidates who wish to control the BTC should be telecoms with at least EUR 500 M revenue for 2001 or operating fixed line networks with two million subscribers at least, the sell-off plan of the company envisages. No minimum bid price would be set for the sell-off. There will be an option to get the country's third GSM network licence.