The global financial crisis and a shortage of funds would probably scupper Serbia's plans to privatize big companies in 2009, reports quoting officials and experts said Wednesday.
"We need no additional revenue for the budget, so we should not sell under the price," Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic told the daily Blic.
A day earlier, Dinkic announced the government's plan to invest 130 million dollars in the mine and smelter RTB Bor - which already went through a failed privatization - instead of selling it, reported dpa.
The sale of the debt-ridden national air carrier, JAT, failed last year even before the financial crisis erupted worldwide and it is unclear whether the Belgraed airport would be offered in 2009.
But even the few strong companies among those slated for privatization, such as the Telekom Serbia, would likely go for much less than what was expected.
Tenders for the sale of some firms, such as Galenika Pharmaceuticals, valued at 200 million euros (258 million dollars), are still planned and would be launched with a set lowest selling price, Dinkic said.
Some sales, for instance of Galenika or the airport, may be further complicated by legal or labour issues which aggravate the already bleak outlook.
Serbia is also yet to put the largest insurer, Dunav, up for sale. The national electric monopoly EPS, due to be split into several entities separately operating mines, power production, transmission and billing and is not planned for sale before late 2010.
While some experts estimate that some of the Serbian companies could still be sold at a good price, economics professor and member of the government's Economic Council, Bosko Zivkovic, adamantly insists on waiting.
"Absolutely nothing should be sold this year, or next, unless the situation improves on the global market," Zivkovic said. "The demand is meagre and chances for an even marginally decent sale are nil."
Slowed by another set of early elections, Serbia raked in 250 million euros from privatization in 2008, 100 million of that from the sale of bankrupt firms.
With revenue declining in comparison to previous years as the top companies were sold and the crisis struck, officials at the Serbian privatization agency said they expect the country to earn about as much as it did in 2008.