 21 – 27 February 2001 |
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MIA appoints BNP Paribas as lead privatisation advisor The Malta International Airport recently appointed BNP Paribas, the largest listed banking group in France, as lead advisors for the airport's privatisation process, following a recommendation from MIA's Ad Hoc committee, set up to select such an advisor. Meanwhile, the Consortium appointed as advisors for the privatisation of the MIA also includes Bank of Valletta, Advocates Micallef and the MPD Group - while the accountants and auditors for the exercise are KPMG. After a few weeks of preliminary work, on the advice of World Bank experts, the Committee set out to appoint a Privatisation Advisor to help it identify the best approach to privatisation and to additionally assist in the whole process of the exercise. To this end, a call was issued in the international press inviting interested institutions to submit proposals to help the Unit identify the best approach to privatise the company and also to assist in the whole process of the exercise. Early in December, fourteen replies had been received and, after an evaluation of the documents received by the Committee, nine were invited to a viva voce presentation and discussion. After careful evaluation, the Committee short-listed three of these institutions and following further clarifications and negotiations an agreement has now been finalised. BNP Paribas is the largest listed banking group in France, the first in terms of net income and is the fourth largest bank in Europe in terms of stockholders' equity - with the second largest market capitalisation in the euro zone. Meanwhile, in France, BNP Paribas' individual customers represent 10 per cent of that market segment and one third of all French small to medium-sized enterprises, more than 40 per cent of exporting companies and most of the major corporations based in France are customers of the bank. BNP Paribas' is the result of a merger between BNP and Paribas. Apart from its international dimension and its presence in more than 80 different countries, the Group boasts a strong financial structure, a large portfolio of brands and real expertise in terms of the new banking distribution channels and the use of new technologies. |
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