Privatization Bids for Shipping Co. and Manganese Mining Unveiled

The Georgian Prime Minister convened a press conference and briefed the public over preliminary information regarding privatization bids proposed by foreign companies for the Georgian Ocean Shipping Company and a privatization package that includes Chiaturmanganumi, a manganese mining factory in Tchiatura and a Vartsikhe hydro power plant.

?There are seven companies seeking to purchase the Ocean Shipping Company. The amount of money they are offering varies from USD 17 million to USD 117 million,? Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said.

He said that three companies out of the seven bidding for Ocean Shipping Company are offering more than USD 100 million. ?And [due to an uncompetitive bid] there is one obvious outsider company,? Zhvania added, however he did not specify the companies by names.

?Speculations that there was no need for contest started shortly after we signed a preliminary memorandum with one of the companies over the privatization of the Shipping Company, because the fate of the Shipping Company was already decided. But I want to tell you that competitor companies, which are ready to pay the same amount of money only for the Shipping Company, appeared,? the Georgian Prime Minister said.

Last December the Georgian government signed a preliminary agreement with the Greenoak Group over selling the Ocean Shipping Company and shares of three piers in Batumi port for USD 107 million.

?So this company [the Greenoak Group] has serious competitors now,? Zurab Zhvania added.

He also spoke about the proposals submitted by a total of four companies for a privatization package which includes Chiaturmanganumi, a manganese mining factory in Tchiatura, and a Vartsikhe hydro power plant.

?The amount of money being offered by the companies for the Chiaturmanganumi alone varies from USD 47 million to USD 67 million. And amount of money offered for both [Chiaturmanganumi and Vartsikhe hydro power plant] varies from USD 85 million to USD 117 million,? the Georgian Prime Minister said.

?One company is offering USD 85 million for both enterprises, while the other three companies are ready to pay more than USD 100 million, so competition is also serious here,? he added.

Zurab Zhvania said that the government ceased talks with, as he put it, the ?outsider companies.? He said that officials from the Economy Ministry will start separate talks with each of the companies which proposed reasonable bids.

?Individual talks with each of the company should be over by January 18,? he added.

Zurab Zhvania also said that those companies whose bids were most interesting for the Georgian government ?should confirm their intentions over purchasing these enterprises by making a downpayment in the next two-three days.?