Four state companies to be sold, Sester would also sell a fifth

Minister of Finance Sven Sester (IRL) said at the government’s Thursday press conference that the coalition agreed to take EVR Cargo, Eesti Teed, Tallinna Sadam, and Eesti Energia to the stock market, but that in his personal opinion also the state’s stake in Levira could be sold.
Sester said that according to the agreement the coalition reached in November last year, a 49 percent stake in state railway company EVR Cargo as well as 100 percent of Eesti Teed would be sold. An agreement over an initial public offering (IPO) of 30 percent of state-owned AS Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) would likely be reached within the government some time in the next month.
“The fourth company mentioned in the coalition agreement is Eesti Energia’s sustainable energy division, the IPO of which would amount to 49 percent, and which includes wind energy, hydroelectric power stations, and so on,” Sester added, saying that the government would soon have to come to a decision there as well.
A currently disputed wind park in Tootsi would have to be taken into account as well, as the question whether or not it would be included in the IPO would have great influence on the value of the stake to be sold, Sester said.
As the minister confirms, the Ministry of Finance is of the clear opinion that the process leading to this point has been appropriate. But because of disagreements the government will have to decide whether or not to continue in court, or to take back the decision to leave the project with Eesti Energia and make it subject to a public tender.
Sester commented that the liked the idea of selling off the state-owned companies, and that he himself had earlier thought about privatizing IT and telecommunications company Levira as well, in which the Estonian state still has a 51 percent stake.
“Today I don’t see any reason why Levira should be in the possession of the state,” Sester said. He added that the agreement in the coalition to take state companies to the stock market at the moment only concerned the four companies mentioned.
Editor: Dario Cavegn