The Bulgarian government hopes to carry out the delayed sale of state-owned cigarette maker Bulgartabac by the end of the year, reports Reuters.

Energy and economy minister Traicho Traikov said on Monday there was investor interest and that a deal could be sealed by the end of the year. He said the holding could be sold at auction with open bidding, and bidders would have to agree to certain commitments, including certain levels of local tobacco purchases. Traikov said that “the best moment for the sale of the company was irretrievably missed and at present the company is losing its market share. But we still can have a positive effect from the sale.”
This will be the fourth attempt by the country to dispose of the former tobacco monopoly, whose key assets are the cigarette factories at Sofia and Blagoevgrad. Previous attempts to sell the company had failed due to political wrangling and, some analysts said, because vested interests were benefiting from cigarette smuggling and lucrative state-financed contracts with Bulgartabac. (pi)