[Intl-tobacco] Turkey plans tobacco sale tender this year

[robert weissman]

Turkey plans tobacco sale tender this year
Thursday, February 16, 2006

Hatice Aydogdu

ANKARA - Reuters

   Turkey plans to launch a fresh tender this year for the sale of state
tobacco firm Tekel after previous attempts to sell it failed to attract
enough interest, the head of the Privatization Administration (OIB) told
Reuters.

   It will also launch a new tender this year for a cruise ship port
project in Istanbul after a 3.54 billion euro ($4.2 billion) bid failed
to gain official approval at the end of January, OIB Chairman Metin
Kilci said in an interview.

   Kilci said the OIB would soon decide on how it would proceed with
plans to sell petrochemical company Petkim and flag carrier Turkish
Airlines (THY), which are both part of Turkey's privatization program.

   "Our work on the [Tekel] privatization alternatives is continuing.
All of this is of course very dependent on market conditions. We plan to
issue a tender this year," Kilci said.

   The latest attempt to sell Tekel failed to attract any bids last
year, which officials blamed on a tax increase on tobacco products.
Turkey cancelled the sale of the company's tobacco operations in
November 2003 after bids fell short of its expectations.

   The planned new tender for the Galataport cruise ship project will be
completely different from the previous plan, Kilci said.

   "It would be wrong to compare it with the previous tender. ... That
indeed was the requirement of the court decision," he said.

   Turkey's High Planning Board had rejected September's tender awarding
the build-operate-transfer project to U.S.-Norwegian cruise line
operator Royal Caribbean Cruises and Turkish partner Global.

   The project, seen key to upgrading tourism in the city of 12 million
people, has been marred by controversy including allegations of
irregularities in the tender process and criticism that the bid price
was too low.

   Kilci also said invitations to become the adviser on the sale of
state Halkbank, another privatization candidate, would be issued in the
coming days.



=C2=A9 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr