Turkey holds auctions for 3 sugar factories

By Aysenur Saglam and Mustafa Calkaya

ANKARA (AA) - The Privatization Administration of Turkey conducted separate auctions to corporatize three sugar factories, with offers to the tune of 1.5 billion Turkish liras ($370.4 million).

Afyon, Burdur, and Elbistan -- the three factories of the Turkish Sugar Refineries Corporation (Turkseker) -- went up for auction on Thursday.

The Dogus Food Beverage offered the highest bid -- 725 million Turkish liras ($178.5 million) -- for the Afyon Sugar Factory, while its tender started from 701.1 million Turkish liras ($172.6 million). This factory is the third sugar factory purchased by Dogus Food Beverage as part of the auctions.

The auction for Burdur Sugar Factory started from 405 million Turkish liras ($99.7 million) and it received bids of up to 487 million Turkish liras ($119.9 million) by the joint venture of Erser Group and Sterk Plastic Inc.

On the last auction of the day, Elbistan Sugar Factory sold for 297 million Turkish liras ($73.1 million), which was also the tender's starting price, to the Mutlucan Mining Company.

The auctions took place within the scope of privatization of sugar factories -- Afyon, Erzurum, Alpullu, Ilgin, Bor, Kastamonu, Burdur, Kirsehir, Corum, Mus, Elbistan, Turhal, Erzincan, and Yozgat -- in 2000.

Previously, six sugar factories -- Bor, Kirsehir, Corum, Yozgat, Turhal and Ilgin -- were sold for nearly 2.6 billion Turkish liras (around $649.6 million), while Erzurum Sugar Factory's auction did not get enough bids.

* Gokhan Ergocun contributed to this story from Ankara