LONDON: Britain’s government yesterday announced plans to privatise more than half of Royal Mail, the state-run postal delivery service, following a major restructuring in recent years triggered by a surge in email use.
Business Secretary Vince Cable told parliament that the coalition government planned to “dispose of a majority stake”, which would include 10 percent of the company being handed to employees in the form of free shares.
Cable, a member of the Liberal Democrats which share power with Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives, said the government would seek to hold an initial public offering (IPO) for Royal Mail shares by the end of the current financial year that ends next March.
“This is logical, it is a commercial decision designed to put Royal Mail’s future onto a long term sustainable basis,” Cable told parliament.
Turkey sells $1.3bn to stabilise lira
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s central bank sold $1.3bn yesterday to prop up the lira as foreign capital that had flooded in earlier this year continued to flee on fears over US monetary policy and domestic political uncertainties.
The move was the second heavy day of intervention this week after a record $2.25bn was thrown at the lira on Monday, bringing total sales for the year to $6.2bn. The lira has fallen almost 9 percent against the dollar since May
International credit rating agency Fitch yesterday said that any prolonged unrest, following two weeks of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last month, could exacerbate market movements and put at risk the sovereign investment grade rating Turkey achieved in November.
Sabic signs $387m plastic plant deal
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has awarded Spanish firm Dragados a $387m contract to design and build a new 50,000 tonne-per-year polyacetal plant, Sabic said yesterday.
Dragados will start engineering in August and the project for Sabic’s National Methanol Co is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, the chemicals company said in a statement.
National Methanol, better known as Ibn Sina, is 50-percent owned by Sabic, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, while Celanese Corp and an affiliate of Duke Energy Corp each have a 25 percent stake.
Agencies
