Alexandre Rocha, special envoy*
alexandre.rocha@anba.com.br
Tunis – The privatisation of state-owned companies has already generated 5.8 billion dinars to Tunisia, or US$ 4.5 billion. Since the first sales took place, at the end of the 1980s, around 150 companies have been privatised, out of a total of 200. The process is still in progress and international tenders promoted by the Tunisian government are constantly taking place.
"In 1987 the government adopted a new, more liberal, economic policy, geared at inserting the country in the global economy,” said the director of the Tunisian Privatisation Office, Essid Béchir, who also met the marketing vice president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Rubens Hannun, at his office early this month.
Recently, for example, an international tender was opened for the sale of STIA, a vehicle factory based in the city of Sousse, located some 140 kilometres south of Tunis. The company is the only bus body producer in the country and also has assembly lines for pickups and lorries.
The company currently produces 450 buses a day. The assembly capacity, however, is as high as 4,000 units. The company produces brands Iveco and Icarus. Established in 1961, the industry has a built area of 39,000 square metres, in a total area of 24 hectares, and employs 468 people.
The vehicles produced – the company has also produced cars, in an agreement with Renault – are turned to the domestic market. Bids for the tender may placed up to June 31 (see contact information below). "The company is being sold because the government believes that the private sector is better at management of productive activities than the public sector,” stated Béchir.
The same reasoning may be applied to other companies that have been sold in recent years. According to the deputy director at the Office, Bem Salah Wassim, the largest privatisations began in 1997, with the sale of six of the eight cement factories existing in the country. But from 1989 on, the Tunisian government had already been selling assets.
The tourism, trade, textile and agro-industrial sectors have already been privatised. In the banking sector, which includes a total of seven institutions, two have already been privatised. Another two will be sold in future and three will remain in the hands of the state.
Opening
The opening process includes, apart from the sale of the share control of companies, the partial sale, opening of capital and initial public offerings, concessions of public services and the end of the state monopoly over a series of sectors. "One example is that of the telecommunications company. The government sold 35% of the shares and now has 65% of the capital,” stated Béchir.
In the area of concessions, 17% of the electric energy sector is in the hands of private organizations, the water and sanitation sectors also include private concessionaries. The new airports that have been inaugurated will also be administered by private organizations, as is the case with Enfidha airport, whose construction is the responsibility of a Turkish company. The site will have a capacity for 5 million passengers, a total that may rise to 20 million in future.
History
The state-owned companies, currently operating in all sectors of the economy, were established after independence from France, in 1956. "At the time, the government invested in the economy and created companies adequate to the region, to supply the existing demand, and generate riches and jobs,” stated Béchir.
Starting in 1987, however, a series of measures were taken to make the economy more dynamic, with fiscal and banking reforms and the adoption of a privatisation policy. The monopoly in various sectors has also already finished. Today, for example, apart from the government radio and television stations, there are also private ones. In the telephony sector the same is true.
In the STIA area of operation, there are another two assembly companies, Alfabus, which assembles buses of the MAN brand, and Setcar, which produces under the Volvo brand. STIA, however, is still the only body maker.
The Tunisian Privatisation Office has been in operation since 1996 and answers directly to the prime minister. According to Béchir, this grants the organization greater power and reduces political influence over it.
Contact
Tunisian Privatisation Office
Site: www.privatisation.gov.tn
*Translated by Mark Ament
