Mitsubishi Eyes Latvian Shipping

Latvia's privatization agency said that Japan's Mitsubishi group had expressed interest in the privatization of Latvian Shipping. The agency has set the minimum share price for a 34 percent of Shipping's 200 million shares to be sold at 0.51 lats, although a firm date for the auction has not yet been scheduled. The winning bidder in the auction will get another 10 percent in a separate transaction for the same price. Most of the remaining shares are to be sold in offerings for privatization vouchers and cash by September 1, 2000.