French parliament adopts proposals for privatizations and ADP stake sale
Reuters
Published Apr 11, 2019 06:29AM ET
French parliament adopts proposals for privatizations and ADP stake sale
PARIS (Reuters) - French lawmakers adopted on Thursday a government bill aimed at kickstarting a wave of privatizations, including a sale of the state's stake in airports group ADP (NASDAQ:ADP), to raise cash for a new innovation fund.
The Assemblee Nationale - in which President Emmanuel Macron's centrist LREM party has a commanding majority - voted in favor of the so-called "Loi Pacte" legislation bill, with 147 votes in favor of the bill versus 50 against.
"This is a law which will help our economy and prepare us for the future," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters in the parliament.
"We want to make ADP a world champion in terms of airport traffic," he added.
Macron's government has consistently said it aims to start the ADP privatization process in 2019, but the plan has been criticized by some opposition parties over fears it could result in job cuts or a loss of control for a key national asset.
Those privatization proposals form part of a broader strategy to raise cash to boost the economy and finance technological innovations in France.
Le Maire had said last year that France would block any moves by a foreign power to gain control of ADP.
Based on current market prices, the French state's 50.6 percent shareholding in ADP is worth around 8.8 billion euros ($9.92 billion).
Privatizations are only part of the wide-ranging law, which also reduces red tape for starting new firms and makes it easier to introduce employee profit-sharing schemes.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.