The Belgian government had considered the sale of some of its 10.3% stake in French bank BNP Paribas. The move was to bring its sovereign debt level below 100% of annual economic output. This was according to two Belgian business paper reported last Wednesday.
According to Belgium's budget minister Olivier Chastel, the country agreed with the European Commission to keep its debt below 100% of gross domestic product. Belgium would need a further EUR1.8 to EUR2.0 billion from privatizations to do that.
Belgium aided financial group Fortis at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. As a result, Belgium held 10.3% of BNP Paribas and 25% of its Belgian arm, BNP Paribas Fortis.
If Belgium would sell around 3% of BNP Paribas, it would be sufficient to get EUR2 billion and reduce the country's debt. This was according to newspaper reports from De Tijd and L'Echo
Belgium took its stake in BNP Paribas at EUR68 per share piece. In the past 12 months, the company's stake increased about 30%.
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