Ex-Prime Minister Temir Sariev is sure that MegaCom should be sold to create equal conditions for competition. He told 24.kg news agency about this.

The former head of the Cabinet believes that it is necessary to return to negotiations with the company Penwell Business Limited.

According to him, we now have four cellular companies on the market.

«The state is obliged to create equal conditions for all. If one of these companies is state-owned, there will be no competition — the fundamentals of business will be violated,» Temir Sariev said.

He also believes that when the company is run by the state, it becomes very cumbersome in the management system.

«It’s not the management that decides, but an official. And this telecommunications company should develop, introduce modern technologies, not stand still and offer high-quality communication services to subscribers. Everything changes. But the state-owned company is not keeping pace with progress due to bureaucratic delays, and remains, therefore, a loser,» Temir Sariev said.

He added that there should be no demagoguery in the matter of MegaCom sale. «When we talk about security, this is again a misunderstanding of this issue. Communication security is provided by cryptography, rather than holding of a controlling stake. But we should not hurry when choosing potential buyers,» Temir Sariev said.

The ex-head of the government also recommends discussing with the future owner of MegaCom assets the prospects for investing in social projects.

«This can be the provision of all schools with broadband Internet and communication in each village and further work in these areas,» Temir Sariev summed up.