Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said on Wednesday that when the government discussed the sale of national telecommunications service provider Telekom it considered what share would attract more than one bidder and decided on 40 percent.

"We wanted to see what percentage would be interesting for everyone and allow the state to keep a significant share and a major role in the decision-making process," Cvetkovic said at the 8th economic conference New Directions for Europe.

He assessed that whoever buys 40 percent of Telekom shares will become the major owner, because the company shares which will be distributed to Serbian citizens will be available for further trading, so the buyer of the 40 percent will be able to acquire additional shares and become the majority shareholder.

Cvetkovic said that a sales model similar to the one used in the sale of mobile operator Mobtel is being prepared for Telekom, and assessed that a 40 percent share will be attractive to any interested party.

He noted that the money from the sale of Telekom will go into a special fund, so that it could not be used for current spending instead of investments.