WASHINGTON -- The U.S.-led administration in Iraq will present a plan to privatize the country's state-owned industries by the spring, the official in charge of the effort said Wednesday.
Iraqis will make the final decisions on how to manage the sales, said Thomas Foley, director of private sector development for the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority. He said he would give suggestions for detailed privatization plans to the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which then would name a commission to oversee the process.
Foley said he would recommend that the state-owned companies not be simply sold to the highest bidder but be turned over using criteria such as the experience and solvency of the proposed owners and how the privatization plan would affect workers.
Foley, a Harvard-trained businessman who calls himself a corporate turnaround specialist, oversees operations of about 150 of the 200 state-owned businesses in Iraq. He does not oversee the oil industry and related businesses or financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies.
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