The starting price of the Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant (OPP), the country`s major chemical producer, which is prepared to be put up for sale at a new auction in late October, may be reduced to $150 million, Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) Ihor Bilous told reporters.
”I believe we need to set the starting price at $150 million,” Bilous said.
Earlier, Bilous stated that the OPP starting price could drop to $300 million before the privatization auction in late October.
As was reported earlier, the July 18 auction of the state`s stake in OPP, with a starting price of UAH 13.175 billion (some $520 million), was put on hold after no bids were received from investors, as it was believed that the asset was overpriced.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine supported the changes in the evaluation methods, which had been proposed by the State Property Fund, allowing the reduction of the OPP starting price.
In turn, the State Property Fund is considering cutting in half the starting price of the plant, initially set at UAH 13.175 billion.
UNIAN memo. OPP, which is located in the town of Yuzhny in Odesa, is Ukraine`s second-largest ammonia and carbamide producer and the third-largest manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers.
The company also handles shipments of chemical products arriving from CIS countries and exports. The company holds a monopoly in the national market of specialized services for the acceptance, cooling and transshipment of ammonia.
