April 11 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government aims to launch a tender for the sale of its 41.74% shareholding interest in blue-chip lender Komercijalna Banka [BEL:KMBN] next month, finance minister Sinisa Mali has said.
"I expect that we will launch the tender for Komercijalna Banka at the end of May. The bank has a good performance but the question is whether the state should have a shareholding interest in a commercial bank," Mali said in a video file posted on the website of Tanjug news agency earlier this week.
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In February, the finance ministry signed an agreement with a consortium led by French investment bank Lazard Freres for the providing of financial advisory services on the privatisation of Komercijalna Banka. The tie-up, which also includes auditing company KPMG and law firm Prica & Partners, will analyse the bank's operations and market, and will organise the future procedure for selecting a strategic partner in the capital of Komercijalna Banka,
The government will make a final decision on the privatisation of Komercijalna Banka after Lazard Freres completes its study and issues a recommendation, Mali said.
"I believe that the state should hold stakes in companies in strategic sectors and we have already defined a bank in which the state will keep a 100% shareholding interest - Banka Postanska Stedionica."
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) controls 24.43% shareholding interest in Komercijalna Banka. The IFC Capitalization Fund holds a 10.15% stake and the remainder is in the hands of private investors, according to data from the financial statement of Komercijalna Banka for the first half of 2018.