Rupali Bank sale will get through: PC
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
The Privatisation Commission Tuesday said the snags that hit the handover of state-run Rupali Bank to the Saudi prince would be over, reports bdnews24.com.
The chairman of the commission, Abu Solaiman Chowdhury, said that prince Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud would buy the bank. But he would not set any deadline for the takeover.
"They (prince's representatives) told me Monday that they would take over Rupali," he told reporters after attending a meeting on "Post-privatised progress on SOEs" in his office.
He, however, defended himself and said the commission had not set any deadline earlier for the prince on the takeover deal.
"I don't see any problem if the prince doesn't buy the RBL," he said. "We may sell its shares to the capital market."
He said the commission was yet to look for any alternative to the prince's offer.
The prince did not say "no" to the deal, he said.
The prince won the bid for 67.26 per cent of the government stake in the bank for $330 million (33 crore) last year. Later he offered to buy the remaining 26 per cent government stake for $128 million. The remaining stake belongs to the private sector.
The government on Feb 22 agreed to sell the remaining 26 per cent share to the prince at his quoted price despite a previous unwillingness to sell all the government shares to a single party.
The commission officials thought the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) would be complete soon but it did not get through.
The reason behind the prince's dithering could not be clear. Some officials have termed it "mysterious".
Even Chowdhury has no clear explanation. "We've finished all the negotiations. Most of the issues have been settled," he said.
Chowdhury, meanwhile, detailed the agenda and the discourse of the meeting.
The commission discussed with the owners of the formerly state-owned enterprises (SOEs), now privatized, on their problems, especially relating to utility bills, lease renewal and cases.
Although the enterprises had been privatised through the commission, it could not monitor the problems the new owners had been facing, he said.
"We've taken the issues into account," he said. "We'll address them one by one."
The chairman of the commission, Abu Solaiman Chowdhury, said that prince Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud would buy the bank. But he would not set any deadline for the takeover.
"They (prince's representatives) told me Monday that they would take over Rupali," he told reporters after attending a meeting on "Post-privatised progress on SOEs" in his office.
He, however, defended himself and said the commission had not set any deadline earlier for the prince on the takeover deal.
"I don't see any problem if the prince doesn't buy the RBL," he said. "We may sell its shares to the capital market."
He said the commission was yet to look for any alternative to the prince's offer.
The prince did not say "no" to the deal, he said.
The prince won the bid for 67.26 per cent of the government stake in the bank for $330 million (33 crore) last year. Later he offered to buy the remaining 26 per cent government stake for $128 million. The remaining stake belongs to the private sector.
The government on Feb 22 agreed to sell the remaining 26 per cent share to the prince at his quoted price despite a previous unwillingness to sell all the government shares to a single party.
The commission officials thought the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) would be complete soon but it did not get through.
The reason behind the prince's dithering could not be clear. Some officials have termed it "mysterious".
Even Chowdhury has no clear explanation. "We've finished all the negotiations. Most of the issues have been settled," he said.
Chowdhury, meanwhile, detailed the agenda and the discourse of the meeting.
The commission discussed with the owners of the formerly state-owned enterprises (SOEs), now privatized, on their problems, especially relating to utility bills, lease renewal and cases.
Although the enterprises had been privatised through the commission, it could not monitor the problems the new owners had been facing, he said.
"We've taken the issues into account," he said. "We'll address them one by one."