$12-billion asset sale will take years, says French Finance Chief

Bloomberg

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the French government’s $12 billion divestment program will take years to execute and he’s working on identifying which assets will be sold.
“It won’t be in one go — we won’t do the whole thing over 15 days,” Le Maire said in an interview in his Paris office. “That wouldn’t reasonable.” He said the first deals are likely to be done in September.
Le Maire said that he plans to sell off government holdings to help finance innovation, as part of a push to upgrade French industry. He cited areas like battery technology, artificial intelligence and transportation where public investment can help accelerate progress.
The decision over which assets to sell will be influenced by market conditions as well as the companies’ situation, Le Maire said, declining to name the firms. “It is not the state’s role to get dividends from a certain number of companies in which the state has no strategic interest,” he said.
According to a government agency, the French government owns about 100 billion euros worth of stakes in 81 companies, of which 13 are listed on the French stock market. Its investments include Aeroports de Paris, telecom group Orange SA, carmakers Renault SA and PSA Group, Air France-KLM, as well as utilities Engie SA and Electricite de France SA.