Slovakia: State’s telecom stake for sale
The state already has a plan to sell its 49 per cent stake in a major telecoms operator, Slovak Telekom (ST), after the government discreetly signed a memorandum with the majority owner of the company, Deutsche Telekom.
Though concrete dates, the method of sale or the price tag are unknown, the country’s finance minister has already hinted that some of the money the state is to cash in for its minority stake is earmarked to finance a return to a single payer health-care system, something Prime Minister Robert Fico has claimed is a priority.
There was little publicity around the actual signing of the key document with Deutsche Telekom on February 12 until opposition deputy Daniel Lipšic pointed at what he called the completion of the privatisation of ST under “not very transparent conditions”, while calling on the government to publish the memorandum.
For the full story, please visit The Slovak Spectator.
(Photo: Manu Mohan, manumohan.com)
