August 15 (SeeNews) - Croatia's government will offer for sale its minority stakes in at least 90 companies by the middle of next year as part of preparations to adopt the euro, a government official said.
"Intensifying the sale of stakes is one of 19 measures that Croatia has prepared and agreed upon with the European Commission, which we have to fulfil in order to get ready to enter the Exchange Rate Mechanism, which precedes the Eurozone entry," Zvonimir Savic, a special economic advisor to prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said in a government press release earlier this week.
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The government plans to carry out the privatisation process in three waves, with the first one expected to be launched in the autumn, Savic said.
State ownership in each of the companies slated for sale is no bigger than 25%, Savic said, adding that the government controls the stakes via the centre for enterprise restructuring and privatisation, CERP.
In July, the Croatian authorities sent a letter of intent to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), the first formal step towards adopting the euro.
The government hopes that Croatia will join ERM II in about a year. The mechanism ensures that exchange rate fluctuations between the euro and other EU currencies do not disrupt economic stability within the single market. It also helps non euro-area countries to prepare for joining the euro area. The whole process of joining the euro area is expected to take at least four years to complete, including the two-year mandatory stay in ERM II.