Telekom Srbija

Several thousand people protested in Belgrade in front of the government against the privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company Telekom Srbija.

Organizers said that the rally gathered 10,000 people, while the Interior Ministry (MUP) put the number at 2,300, the Beta agency is reporting on Wednesday.

China Telecom is interested in buying Serbia's state-owned telecommunications company Telekom Srbija (Serbia).

The first meeting has been held with representatives of this Chinese company at the Serbian government, said Tatjana Matic, state secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications.

Aleksandar Vucic reiterated on Monday that the state-owned telecommunications company, Telekom Srbija, will not be privatized "unless a good price is achieved."

However, the prime minister added that in this case, "he will not be happy," while the company would find itself "in serious problems."

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not expect the Serbian government to proceed with the sale of the national telecoms operator.

Aleksandar Vucic states that it is a matter of days, not weeks, when the public call for the privatization of public company Telekom Srbija would be issued.

Russia's largest mobile operator MTS could be interested in taking part in the privatization of Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija.

This is what Andrei Dubovskov, MTS president, CEO and chairman of the management board has said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Sixteen foreign companies and investment funds have submitted a non-binding offer for state telecommunications company Telekom Srbija, local media reported on Wednesday.

The deadline for submitting non-binding bids expired on Monday, but the government has not announced the names of the bidders.

Economy Minister Zeljko Sertic said on Tuesday there was interest in the privatization of Serbia's state-owned telecommunications company Telekom Srbija.

The list of bidders includes both companies and investment funds, he told B92.

The Serbian government on Thursday adopted a decision on launching the initiative for privatization of the telecommunications company Telekom Srbija.

The government website said that the Ministry of Economy and the Privatization Agency have been tasked with implementing this decision.

"Experts and government should decide on Telekom's future"

BELGRADE -- Economic experts, telecommunications engineers and the government, as the owner of Telekom Srbija, should determine "the viable options" for the company.