FM opens tender on advisor in privatisation of Czech Airlines

The finance ministry has opened a tender aimed at finding an advisor for the privatisation of the Czech national carrier, Czech Airlines. The process will run until August 7. The Czech government would like to sell the carrier, in which it holds a 91 percent stake, by the end of the year or early 2009. A spokesman for the finance ministry said that important criteria determining the choice of the winning advisory firm would include not only overall costs but also the privatisation plans themselves. Czech Airlines has been estimated as worth 5 billion crowns (the equivalent of more than 300 million US dollars). Potential interest in the carrier has been expressed in the past by both Aeroflot and Air France.