‘No Talks’ with Indian Nalco over Privatisation of Aluminium Plant, Say Tajik Officials

Talco, the Tajik national aluminium plant, has denied earlier reports about possibly selling its general stake to Nalco, India’s second largest aluminium manufacturer, AsiaPlus reports. Despite media reports claiming Nalco would most likely acquire 51% of the Tajik plant, Saekhat Kadyrova, Talco’s press secretary, dismissed such reports as “absurd”, emphasizing that negotiations have never taken place. If Nalco sealed an agreement with the Tajik company, it would become the world’s third largest aluminium manufacturer. “Talco is a national unitary company, not a joint-stock entity. Thus, it cannot sell its shares,” Kadyrova explains. Top Tajik officials have repeatedly said that Talco would never be privatised, Kadyrova added. “Selling a company that provides 75% of the country’s total cash currency, and when world aluminium prices are soaring, would be against our national interests,” Kadyrova concludes. Source: turkishweekly