Belgium budget minister Olivier Chastel said that the nation agreed with the European Commission (EU) to keep its debt below 100% of gross domestic product, for which its requires a further €1.8bn to €2bn.
The country’s stake in the bank is expected to be valued at approximately €6.3bn ($8.41bn), and the country may sustain losses on the stake sale, as the bank is still trading below the purchase price of €68 per share.
At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Belgium provided financial assistance to Fortis, and subsequently received 10.3% stake in BNP Paribas and 25% of its Belgian unit, BNP Paribas Fortis.
Mandarine Gestion fund manager Yohan Salleron, which owns BNP shares, said, "At current market levels the loss for the Belgian state would be acceptable … It is plausible that they are really looking for a way to sell this stake."
"A logical outcome would be for BNP to buy back the shares … That would be the best thing for the shareholders."
Business dailies De Tijd and L’Echo reported that the country may dispose of nearly 3% BNP Paribas’ shares, in order to raise €2bn to reduce the country’s debt.
With operations in 80 nations, BNP Paribas has almost 200,000 staff and manages three core operations including retail banking, investment solutions and corporate & investment banking.
