SOE listing under discussion A report that will determine the viability of listing various state-owned enterprises is expected to be out by January 2017. It appears that several discussions have already been held to determine the viability of listing several state-owned enterprises.
Namibian Sun contacted Simonis Storm head of research Purvance Heuer, Namibia Stock Exchange chief executive officer Tiaan Bazuin and the Ministry of Public Enterprises in the first week of November.
Responding to questions sent, Heuer confirmed that discussions had taken place while Bazuin would neither confirm nor deny whether there had been talks about a possible listing of state-owned enterprises. Ministry of Public Enterprises spokesperson Jonathan Swarts did not respond to questions sent despite numerous attempts to follow up.
Heuer said: “We have had various meetings with the Ministry of Public Enterprises and numerous state-owned enterprises as part of an information-gathering exercise. We are currently working on a report that we would like to release early in January. The idea is to determine the viability of listing coupled with the value that can be extracted from listing.”
Bazuin said: “I suggest you ask the ministry what they have done and where they are in the process. I don''t think it''s fair for the Namibia Stock Exchange to disclose what has or has not been discussed.”
Rally for Democracy and Progress Member of Parliament Mike Kavekotora in March this year made a call for the privatisation of Air Namibia.
Kavekotora, in his contribution to the 2016/17 national budget debate in the National Assembly, said the national airline was a non-essential commercial state-owned enterprise (SOE) that was milking government to the bone.
The national airline received N$695 million in state funding for this financial year,
“With regard to Air Namibia, although its subsidies have not been reflected in the national budgets before 2007, the cumulative bailouts since Independence up to the projected funding in the 2018/19 financial year exceed N$10 billion,” local daily New Era quoted Kavekotora as saying.
He said many opposed the privatisation of Air Namibia, with some citing political justification, as opposed to economic and financial considerations. He advised that the government could retain Air Namibia in a cost-effective way by having a minority shareholding in the airline.
“It simply does not make economic sense to continue allocating more government resources to Air Namibia in comparison to other state-owned enterprises like TransNamib,” he said.
OGONE TLHAGE