OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2010. Belarus will offer 20 more enterprises for privatization to meet its commitments to the IMF in addition to those proposed earlier, the chairman of the State Property Committee of Belarus, Georgy Kuznetsov told reporters.

“The IMF and the World Bank had set us a task to prepare a list of companies for privatization by February, and they plan WB consultants will help us. A consultant came and discarded the enterprises we offered as ‘not interesting’. They are afraid to buy, because they are worried they won’t be able to sell. Twenty more enterprises will be added to the five we offered previously, according to a letter to the IMF signed by Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky and NBB Governor Petr Prokopovich,” he said.

“We gave them the list and said they should choose what they like. If the president approves the choice, you will act as consultants,” he said.

Privatization costs are estimated between 100,000 euros and 180,000 euros per enterprise.

Commenting on the five enterprises already proposed for privatization [they await a presidential approval], Kuznetsov said the list included some profitable enterprises like Rechitsa Textile and Bobruisk Engineering Plant, with 800-3,000 personnel. “If consultants disagree to work with them, we will sell them independently,” he said.