Turkey’s Privatization Administration (OIB) has chosen investment bank Schroeder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) as the head consultant for the privatization of the nation’s state alcohol and tobacco monopoly Tekel, reported Aksam.
OIB selected SSSB out of a 15 candidate running. The bank was deemed the most favorable choice for its detailed proposal for the reorganization of Tekel and its subsidiaries along with its plan to create alternative privatization models and strategies.
Turkey's parliament passed a law in June 2001 for the privatization of Tekel, deregulating prices in the sector and lifting restraints on the establishment of private plants. It also introduced measures to limit tobacco production and to phase out support purchases of tobacco by 2002.
The reform is part of a tough economic program that Turkey has pledged to implement in return for a multi-billion-dollar aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to overcome a severe financial crisis. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
