Bulgaria's Finance Ministry to raise stake in Central Depository - report
Bulgaria's Government has allowed the Finance Ministry to increase its stake in the Central Depository to 41.9 per cent from the current 20 per cent by buying out the holding of central Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).The transaction will be financed with funds allocated from the ministry's budget, news agency BTA said.No financial details on the deal have been disclosed.The transaction is part of the Finance Ministry's strategy to find a strategic investor for the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE). Currently, the central bank is the Central Depository's biggest shareholder with a 21.9 per cent interest, while a further 20 per cent is held by the Finance Ministry. A further 1.8 per cent stake is owned by the Privatisation Agency and 38.41 per cent is controlled by commercial banks. A further 7.75 per cent stake is owned by investment intermediaries, while the remainder is held by small investors.Several months earlier, the Finance Ministry boosted its shareholding in BSE to slightly more than 50 per cent. The new stock was fully subscribed by the state in order to find a cornerstone investor for the Government's stake that would bolster the development of the country's capital market and facilitate BSE's integration into a larger bourse operator.The sale of BSE will likely coincide with that of the Central Depository, with foreign market operators such as OMX having expressed interest in both assets./Source: The Sofia Echo/