Indonesia in Uzbek telecoms talks

Indonesia in Uzbek telecoms talks

TASHKENT (Reuter): The former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan is
holding talks with companies from Indonesia, Japan and South
Korea about selling a 49 percent stake in the Tashkent phone
network, a senior privatization official said yesterday.

Mirafzal Mirsoatov, deputy chairman of the Central Asian
nation's State Property Committee, told Reuters Uzbekistan had
selected three companies as front-runners -- Indonesia's Bakrie
Group, South Korea's Daewoo Telecom, and Japan's Mitsui & Co.

"During September we will determine with which company a joint
venture will be formed," he said.

Uzbekistan will form a joint venture based on the Tashkent
telephone network GTS Tashkent, and capitalized at US$600
million, and allow the foreign partner to acquire 49 percent, he
said.

The Bakrie Group currently had the best chances, he said.

The Bakrie Group is a privately-held company which controls
Bakrie and Brothers. Last year it formed a joint venture,
Uzbektelekom International, to modernize telecoms in several
regions of the desert nation of 22 million.

Bakrie also has multi-million dollar agreements with
Uzbekistan to build a fertilizer plant and develop oil and gas
reserves.

Earlier this year Mitsui and Co Ltd [8031.T] won a 11.3
billion yen tender to modernize Uzbekistan's telecommunications.

Daewoo Telecom is a unit of the Daewoo Group whose Daewoo Corp
was awarded a 40 percent stake in Kazakhstan's telecoms monopoly
Kazakhtelekom in June. The group announced plans last year to
invest over $1 billion in Uzbek telecoms by the year 2010.

The state will own 36 percent of the venture, and the
workforce 15 percent, Mirsoatov said.

The authorities have previously said that the venture will run
for 15 years, and the foreign partner will have to modernize
350,000 lines and add a further 100,000 lines over 2-3 years.