Azernews.Az

Two Azerbaijani state-run telecom enterprises - Aztelecom and Baku Telephone Communication - will undergo a property form change. Meanwhile, they are set to become two open joint-stock companies in the first half of 2015, Communications and High Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov said on September 5.

The minister told reporters that works are underway as part of the pre-privatization evaluation of these communication enterprises.

"In the near future, the company is expected to attract a consulting company to conduct an audit. We expect that the change in the ownership form to take place by late 2014 or early 2015," the minister said.

At the initial stage, the state-run fixed network operators are set to be merged into a single telecom company - a joint stock company, fully owned by the state.

At a later stage, some shares of the future joint stock company will be subjected to privatization. This will contribute to the emergence of private companies and the bodies will regulate their activities in the market.

The Communications and Information Technologies Ministry estimates that the cost of Aztelecom may exceed $1 billion.

The ministry's long-term plans include the privatization of all enterprises under its jurisdiction. Then the ministry will act solely as a regulator in the telecom market of Azerbaijan.