INSURANCE PRIVATISATIONS NOT IMMINENT IN SLOVENIA

Slovenia does not plan to privatise its insurance in the immediate future because of problems in ascertaining who actually owns them, according to finance minister Anton Rop. The statement came despite repeated European Union (EU) requests that Slovenia, which hopes to join the EU in 2004, stepped up privatisation in the insurance, banking and telecommunications sectors. Mr Rop said that “determining ownership in some insurance companies is for us a bigger problem than privatisation”. For the past decade Slovenia has been unable to determine the ownership of its largest insurer Zavarovalnica Triglav and reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava, which insure more than 50% of the local market. The matter is still subject to legal dispute and looks unlikely to be resolved soon. Mr Rop said that he expected further consolidation in the banking and insurance sectors. Slovenia currently has 20 banks and 13 insurers offering services to a population of 2m.