Crisis forces Slovenia to sell 15 state-owned companies

Long-lasting financial and banking crisis has forced the Slovenian government to put 15 state-owned companies and banks up for sale, The Wall Street Journal Europe reports.

Fearing the insolvency of the national financial system and concerned about the bad state of banks, the Slovenian government is trying to fix the situation by selling state-owned property.

Among the companies offered for sale are Luka Kopar (Port of Kopar), Telekom Slovenije, Elan, Peko, Petrol, Krka...

The government has been unsuccessfully trying to sell a 75-percent stake in non-profitable flag carrier Adria Airways since last year, the newspaper reminds.

The weakest link in Slovenia's economy are banks. The three largest banks have USD 9.2 billion worth of non-performing loans, which is 20 percent of the gross domestic product of that country with a population of two million.

Slovenia's government did not say how much they expect to get from the sales, while independent experts estimate that the privatization program could bring between 500 and 750 million euros to the country's budget.