SPF Might Sell 1% Of Ukrtelecom On May 22

TheState Property Fund (SPF) announced the placement of 187.3 mln shares (1%) of Ukrtelecom (UTEL: HOLD) on a local stock exchange and expects it to take place on May 22. SPF Head Valentyna Semenyuk cautioned that the privatization might be postponed in case of “adverse conditions on the stock market.” Alexander Paraschiy: Ukrtelecom’s stock reached its historical maximum on May 15, 2006 (USD 0.238 per share), but it dropped to USD 0.166 per share by November 2006. This year the stock was highly volatile (with a minimum of USD 0.187 and a maximum price of USD 0.237), and this is the main reason why the SPF is cautious about holding the privatization. At the moment, it is not clear whether 1% of Ukrtelecom shares will meet demand at the current market price (almost USD 0.22 per share).