Cypriot parliament endorses privatisation bill

The Cyprus parliament passed a key bill on privatization of state-owned companies on Tuesday, which was originally rejected six days ago. The government brought about several amendments to the legislation to make it acceptable to lawmakers of the Democratic Party, the former ruling partner which pulled out in disagreement on certain issues. After a three-hour debate in parliament, 29 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill and 26 against. The approval of the bill, which was mandatory under a bailout memorandum concluded with the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March last year, is expected to clear the way for the release of the next tranche of loan money amounting to 236 million euros (324 million U.S. dollars). The Eurogroup is scheduled to decide on releasing the money on March 10. The bill is a roadmap for privatizing several state-owned enterprises, mainly telecommunications, electricity and ports. Cyprus was accorded 10 billion euros in bailout assistance in March 2013 in exchange for reforming its oversized banking system, winding down its second largest lender, recapitalizing its main bank with depositors' money via a bail-in and selling off extensive bank networks in Greece. (1 euro = 1.37 U.S. dollars)