Norway Government Seeks OK To Sell 14.3% Stake In SAS

Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske Friday sought parliamentary approval to sell the government's 14.3% stake in Scandinavian airlines SAS AB (SAS.SK).

The minister also requested approval to sell the Norwegian government's stakes in Secora AS and Entrea Eiendom AS.

"We want to sell the state's ownership in SAS, we want to sell Secora and we no longer see the reason why the state should have an ownership in Entrea," he said at a press conference in Oslo.

Giske also said he wants parliament to give the state the right to participate in potential equity increases in part-owned Kongsbergs Gruppen ASA (KOG.AS) and Yara International ASA (YAR.OS).

Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland together hold a combined 50% ownership in SAS.

At 1024 GMT, SAS shares traded 4.6% lower at SEK21, while shares in Yara traded 0.9% higher at NOK282.70 and shares in Kongsbergs Gruppen traded 1.6% higher at NOK156.

-By Katarina Gustafsson, Dow Jones Newswires [phone]; [e-mail]