Minister says Telekom Serbia sale could happen

NEWS 04.10.201812:22
Tanjug / Sava Radovanović

Trade and Telecommunications Minister Rasim Ljajic said on Thursday that the Telekom Serbia offer to buy its Albanian counterpart company does not mean that the government has given up efforts to sell the company.

Telekom Serbia confirmed that it it wants to buy Albania’s second largest telephone operator from Deutsche Telekom. The Serbian government owns a 58.11 percent share of the Telekom Serbia.  

“If we decide to sell Telekom, it’s value will be far greater if it operates in several countries in the region with a significant market share,” the minister told Radio Free Europe. He said there is no reason to conclude that the government has given up on privatization nor does it mean that a decision has been taken.  

The Serbian government tried to privatize the Telekom twice over the past seven years, when the Democratic Party was in power in 2011 and in 2015 when the Serbian Progressive Party took over. Both tenders failed because the government was not satisfied with the offers.