Financial and strategic investors are showing interest in the privatisation of local tobacco company Bulgartabac, the country's economy minister Traicho Traikov said at a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum as cited by Dnevnik daily. The minister did not disclose further details. The sell-off of the country's tobacco holding is on the privatisation agency's 2010 agenda. According to Traikov, the information memorandum for the company, which is being drafted by consultancy Citigroup, will be published soon. Traikov explained that one of the criteria for selecting a buyer for Bulgartabac envisages retaining the annual amount of excise revenues.

The government owns 79.83% in Bulgartabac. The company controls some 50% of the domestic tobacco market, according to economy ministry estimates. The net profit of the tobacco holding plunged to BGN 2.6mn (EUR 1.3mn) last year as compared to BGN 58.9mn in 2008 due mainly to one-off gains from the sale of two cigarette plants in the tune of BGN 52.1mn. The individual sales of Bulgartabac fell by 17.1% to BGN 36.9mn last year also contributing to the worsening financials.