Government Launches Consideration of Privatization Bids

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania announced on January 11 that seven companies made privatization bids for the Georgian Ocean Shipping Company and four companies for the privatization package that includes Chiaturmanganumi, a manganese mining factory in Tchiatura, and the Vartsikhe hydro power plant.

The deadline for submitting privatization bids expired on January 11 at 6 pm local time.

?Now a special governmental commission will launch considerations of the proposals submitted by the companies and at 9 pm [local time] we will hold one more news conference to inform you about these proposals,? Zurab Zhvania said at a news conference held shortly after the deadline for submitting proposals expired.

Zurab Zhvania did not list the bidding companies, however earlier it was reported that the Cyprus-based investment company Schoeller Holdings Ltd, the British Marine Capital Limited, the Australian ASP Ship Management Pty Ltd, the Greenoak Group, Russian company “Industrial Investors Group (Promyshlennye Investory)”, as well as one unknown Turkish and one Italian company were interested in privatizing the Georgian Ocean Shipping Company.

Zurab Zhvania also said that Ukrainian, Austrian, British and Uzbek companies are all interested in purchasing Chiaturmanganumi and the Vartsikhe hydro power plant.

?I can say that the process of privatization was successful, as more proposals were submitted than I expected,? the Georgian Prime Minister added.