Zaimović aware that privatization of Telecom will reduce jobs

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on January 14, 2016, its intention to sell part of the capital of telecom operators majority-owned by the Federation of BiH, BH Telecom d.d. Sarajevo and HT d.d. Mostar, writes the Patria News Agency.

Based on the Reform Agenda, the Privatization Plan for 2016 also envisages the preparation for the sale of part of the capital of telecom operators, i.e., preparation for the eventual privatization of BH Telecom. The Government of FBiH, namely, gave its consent to the Work Program of the Privatization Agency in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Privatization Plan for 2016.

Many pointed out that BH Telecom should have been sold back in 2006 when the company's value was highest, but Mirsad Zaimović, General Director of BH Telecom, today presented a series of arguments and data why it would not be good to sell Telecom and why it should not be privatized at all.

- There are clear calculations and evidence that BH Telecom should not have been privatized, and these results we achieved in 2015 show that the value of BH Telecom has increased, and we are again paying dividends to the FBiH budget. In the period from 2006 to 2014, during which there was a decline, 991.7 million KM in dividends were paid, nearly 140 million in profit tax, we paid nearly 450 million in VAT, 416 million KM were paid for PIO and MIO, 40 million for sponsorships, and 13 million KM for donations - Zaimović stated.

He further added that in total, two billion KM were paid to the owner, i.e., the state, which is more than BH Telecom's value in 2006.

Therefore, we have achieved results and I think we will prove to the owner that this should not be done. This year should be a year of revenue growth and we should remain the leader in the telecommunications market - Zaimović emphasized.

When asked by Patria journalists whether eventual privatization would lead to mass layoffs, with some estimates suggesting that as many as 1,000 workers could lose their jobs, Zaimović said that it all depends on the new owner.

- Wherever a new owner came, people were laid off. Let's be clear, very often this is interpreted with the argument that more people work for us than necessary. However, that is not the case. The issue is that large global players do all marketing services, all IT services, everything they can in their headquarters and offer it here as a finished product. For the jobs where our people currently work, those jobs would probably be eliminated, but those jobs would be done by someone in Belgrade, Zagreb, Vienna, or I don't know where this new owner would come from. It is very important to state and show these data, that is, that the state has preserved BH Telecom with two billion since 2006 and still has benefits - Zaimović stated.