80 percent of Iran`s telecommunication stock to be sold by 20 march 2009: official

“Selling of 80 percent of telecommunications stock, and the remaining 20 percent stock in governments hand,” Saber Feizi Telecommunication Company of Iran managing director told Mobna news agency.
“But the time for selling off telecommunication stock is not our duty and it is based on privatization organization rule,” he responded to claims by Iran Privatization organization announcement that five percent of Telecommunication Company of Irans stock will be sold off in Tehrans stock exchange by 21 July.
“The only difference we have with other state owned companies being privatized is that we have to get authorization from Radio Communication and Regulation Organization, and we have been able to obtain it,” Feizi added.
 Radio Communication and Regulation Organization is regulatory body of the Irans telecommunication ministry which set standard of operation of telecommunication companies in Islamic republic.
In line with privatization law, TCI was supposed to be sold off in stock exchange around 12 December 2007 but some arguments about changing countrys telecom subscribers’ deposits to stocks and first mobile operator (Mobile Company of Iran- MCI) not having license were major barriers to privatizing the company.
MCI is one of TCIs subsidiaries.
However, TCI with 140 trillion rials (149 billion dollars) capital was accepted in stock exchange with these conditions: company registration, statute reformation, and changing to public stock.
But so far, selling off TCIs stock has been delayed several times and even on 11 June that was set by the privatization organization, TCIs privatization did not go through.
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