Pravin Gordhan sets out state privatisation policy
Public enterprises minister rules out 'wholesale privatisation' but is open to minor stakeholders in noncore assets
It is government policy to seek minority investment partners for some state-owned enterprises but this will not be done until the companies are on a stronger footing, says public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan. Answering questions in the national assembly, Gordhan said the government had begun the process of looking for an equity partner for national airline SAA. A partner would be invited in when the time was right. It was not in the interests of the country to sell state assets at prices below their value. “Let’s be patient; let’s give SAA another year or two. There are some indications that some aspects are improving financially, some of the routes are returning to profit,” he said. Gordhan reiterated that government policy was to dispose only of noncore assets and to seek minority partners for those that could not adequately raise sufficient finance on their own. “Ideally we want our state-owned companies to be fully self-sufficient and able to fulfil their economic role. B...
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