Belarus in talks with Arab, other firms on potash giant

Belarus is in talks with companies from the Arab world, China, India and Europe on selling a minority stake in potash giant Belaruskali but will not drop its $30-32bn valuation, President Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) said.

Russia’s Uralkali has long coveted a controlling stake in Belaruskali, which accounts for 15% of the world potash market, but Moscow has urged Lukashenko to reconsider the price tag.

He made clear in an interview with Reuters in Minsk that there would be no reduction in price and that Belarus intended to drive the hardest of bargains in any sale.

“There is much talk about Belaruskali. We are ready to privatise the company, but you have to pay. We have calculated its cost — $30-32bn,” he said.

“There are five companies in talks now. There are talks with the Chinese, Indians, someone from the Arab world and two Europeans,” he said, adding that Uralkali remained a player.

There had been progress in talks, he said, though he declined to identify the companies concerned.

Selling a piece of Belaruskali, which has major clients in China, India and Brazil and is the jewel in the crown of Belarussian industry, came to the fore last year when the former Soviet republic was in the grip of a balance-of-payments crisis.

A Moscow-led regional fund bailed out Belarus on condition that it privatised $2.5bn a year in state assets.

Minsk met the 2011 quota by selling its gas pipeline network to Russia’s Gazprom but appeared to back off talk of a Belaruskali sale.