| Privatization in Benin began in the late 1980s under pressure from international multilateral institutions and has continued since then at a slow and erratic pace, often falling behind schedule. Since 1989, Benin has undertaken a vast program of privatization and restructuring of state-owned corporations and private-public enterprises. The majority of them are now held by European, especially French, investors. Between 1989 and 1994, several reforms and structural adjustment measures that include privatization have been adopted under the guidance of the World Bank and IMF. Privatization in Benin has met with opposition from labor organizations and efforts have been made to preserve jobs in privatized enterprises. State-owned companies already sold to the private sector include SONAR and IARD (insurance companies), SCO (cement company), SSS (sugar refinery) and La Plage and Croix du Sud (hotels).
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In light of problems that emerged in connection with the 1999 privatization of the public enterprise distributing petroleum products (SONACOP), the Government intends to reassess the privatization process in 2001.The assessment will be conducted with World Bank assistance, and its purpose would be to prepare a set of recommendations to improve privatization procedures and make the overall process more rigorous. New privatization procedures should be in place by the third quarter of 2001.
As regards the privatization of OPT, the bidding procedure is expected to start once the legal and regulatory frameworks have been adopted. As regards SBEE, the Government has requested a supplement of information before deciding on its privatization strategy in early 2001. On the basis of the information and after revisiting the regulatory framework, the Government expects to complete the privatization before the end of the third quarter of 2001. In the case of the PAC, the Government is in the process of selecting a consulting firm to assist in choosing, by March 2001, an option for private sector involvement in port management and implementing it by the end of the first quarter of 2002. The Government and the World Bank have been discussing several options for the privatization of SONAPRA, the aim being to complete its privatization in 2001. But since a new Government is expected to be appointed soon, in the aftermath of the presidential election, these options will have to be confirmed with the new cabinet. It is expected, however, that core members of the previous cabinet would be re-appointed, which would result in a unchanged and consistent Governmental privatization strategy.
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