Lebanon - Lebanon said that it plans to sell 40 per cent of its loss-making power monopoly to an international investor at the end of June.
Energy and Water Minister Abdel Hamid Baydoun said that Lebanon would invite investors to prequalify for an international auction of its power production and distribution operation, to open in May.
"At the end of April, we will have the list of qualified companies. Then we will give them 45 days to present their bids," Baydoun said. "We will open the bids in the second half of June." Lebanon has already received 19 expressions of interest, mostly from European firms, in Electricité du Liban (EdL), which rations power supply to some areas and the minister said collects only about two thirds of its bills.
Lebanon is counting on the privatisation of the power and telecommunications sectors to help cut public debt of $30 billion.