Moldova To Divest Stakes in Five State-Owned Companies

The sale of a land plot and an office building owned by the state institute for microbiology and virology alone is expected to fetch some 600 million lei of the planned total revenue, the government's asset-selling agency, APP, said in a statement.

The list of companies also includes electronic equipment maker Mezon, metal products maker Masrut, an alcohol producer and a medical equipment retailer, APP said.

Interested investors should place their bids by October 2.

Moldova received 155 million lei from the sale of state-owned companies last year, down from 167.6 million lei in 2006. It has said it plans to raise 200 million lei from privatisation deals in 2008.

(1 euro= 13.5307 Moldovan lei)