WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) A senior U.S. official said it would likely be several years before there was any mass privatisation of Iraq's state-owned businesses and the timing would be decided by a sovereign Iraqi government.
Thomas Foley, director of private sector development for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, said he had been discussing privatisation plans with Iraq's Governing Council but that it would be a while before action was taken.
Any sell-off of Iraq's state-run industries is a controversial issue, with many ordinary Iraqis fearing international companies will reap the biggest rewards.
''The (privatization) process is a long one and my guess is that it will be several years before any significant privatizations are done and it is also my guess that most of these businesses will end up being owned by Iraqis,'' he said in a conference call to reporters.
''The implementation and the timing of the privatization will be in the future and will be the role of a sovereign government in Iraq,'' he added, without specifying which firms would likely be privatized first.
(more)
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=33346