ISTANBUL, Oct 19 (AFP) - Turkey is planning to offer 20 percent of the shares of Turkish Airlines (THY) to the public this year, in a new effort to kickstart the long-delayed privatization of the national airliner, officials said Tuesday.
"Our target is to complete the process in the first half of December," the head of Turkey's privatization board, Metin Kilci, was quoted by Anatolia news agency as saying.
He explained that the authorities might review the 20-percent share slated for the sell-off in line with investor demand.
"One of our primary objectives will be to ensure that the shares reach the small investor," he added.
A tender for the privatization of 51 percent of the flagship company failed in 2001 when no bidders turned up amid a raging economic crisis that sent Turkey running for aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Turkish Airlines was first included in Turkey's privatization program in 1990, but the planned sale was delayed by political instability and indecision.
Only a 1.8-percent share has been offered to the public so far.
The company flies to 103 destinations with a fleet of 69 planes and employs about 10,000 people. It flew 10.4 million passengers in 2003, posting a profit of roughly 147 million dollars.
In July, it announced plans to buy 36 planes from European aircraft maker Airbus and 15 planes from US giant Boeing to beef up its fleet.
THY director-general Abdurrahman Gundogdu underlined that the company had recently boosted its profits despite the negative impact the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States had on the aviation sector worldwide.
"THY increased its pre-tax profits by nearly 250 percent when compared to 2001 results, reaching profits of 206 million dollars in 2003 from losses of 162 million dollars," he said, according to Anatolia.
Gundogdu expressed hope that the inauguration of accession talks between Turkey and the European Union, widely expected for next year, would further boost the Turkish economy.
Turkey's privatization program for 2004 is lagging behind target, hit by a series of legal snags and delays.
Ankara has said it expected to generate three billion dollars from privatization this year. Kilci said Tuesday that some 1.5 million dollars have so far entered the state coffers.
Privatization is a key element in a multi-billion-dollar IMF-backed program of economic recovery that Turkey has been implementing since 2002.