Solidarity Fund delays calling for bids on distributors

Ecuador's Solidarity Fund, the government holding company for state-owned enterprises, has delayed calling for bids on a single three-year contract to manage at least 14 of the country's state owned distributors, a Solidarity Fund source told BNamericas. "We will change the date, we are still in contact with the authorities and we are revising our timeframe," the source said, adding that a new date should be published early next week. "The rules are part of the process, but there are certain conditions we have to study carefully before launching the tender," the source said, adding the discussions are not about the tender as such, but more about "the circumstances that are present in the Ecuadorian electric sector." The IMF originally gave the government until the end of August to launch the tender but later extended the deadline to September 17, and it has been asked to extend the deadline a second time, the source said, without saying when the new deadline would be. The government was talking to seven foreign companies interested in bidding on the contract in August, an official at state privatization agency Conam said. Bidders need to present business plans for the distributors to reduce their losses, manage their debts and improve their billing processes. The fund is managing the bidding process in coordination with the mines and energy ministry, and Canadian consulting company Framework carried out a final review of the bidding rules. State privatization agency Conam assisted the Solidarity Fund in designing the contract, but withdrew from the process after meeting goals of deciding operating and financial objectives, and opening the data room.