BELGIAN MINISTER UNVEILS PRIVATISATION PLAN

  Belgian Budget Minister Guy
  Verhofstadt has proposed a plan to sell off shares in several
  state-owned enterprises, including national airline Sabena and
  the postal and telecommunications authority, government sources
  said.
      They said the plan could raise more than 25 billion francs
  in revenue over the next five years according to Verhofstadt's
  projections, helping the government to reduce its huge budget
  deficit, targetted this year at 418 billion francs.
      But the scheme had received a guarded reception from the
  Social Christian parties in Belgium's centre-right coalition
  when Verhofstadt unveiled it at a cabinet meeting yesterday.
      Discussion of the plan was likely to be long and difficult,
  the sources said.
      Verhofstadt proposes beginning the selloffs in the last
  quarter of 1987, with the sale of 30 to 40 pct of state
  investment company SNI. He expects the sale to raise three
  billion francs, they added.
      A 25 pct share in Sabena would be sold in mid-1989 for 1.5
  billion francs, while 50 pct of the postal and
  telecommunications authority would be sold off in two stages in
  mid-1990 and early 1992, raising at least seven billion francs.
      Also on Verhofstadt's list are the Maritime Transport
  Authority, leading gas distributor Distrigaz, CGER savings
  bank, CGER, and several other credit institutions.
      Le Soir daily quoted CGER vice-president Paul Henrion as
  expressing strong opposition to the privatisation of his bank.
      "Public company we are and public company we wish to stay,"
  Henrion told the paper.
  

