Report: Indebted Belgium Could Sell Stake in BNP Paribas

Cash-strapped Belgium is seeking to reduce its debt mountain by selling its 10-percent stake in France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas, a press report said Wednesday.

According to business daily L'Echo, the government of Elio Di Rupo wants to cut debt from the current level of about one year's total economic output, with the BNP Paribas stake coming under consideration.

Belgium holds 10.28 percent of BNP Paribas, which in today's market could land the government "about six billion euros" ($8 billion), the newspaper said.

But that is much less than the 70 euros per share the stock was worth before the collapse of US investment house Lehman Brothers set off the global financial crisis in 2008.

In late morning trade on Wednesday, shares in BNP Paribas were 0.20 percent lower at 50.31 euros in a Paris market up 0.19 percent.

Another idea would be for Belgium to unload its 25-percent stake in BNP Paribas-Fortis, the Belgian unit of the French bank, which could raise about two billion euros, L'Echo said.

The newspaper said the government is also considering other sales, including a piece of telecom firm Belgacom, Brussels national airport and the state lottery.

Earlier this year, the government announced spending cuts and asset sales that it said successfully brought the country's deficit to 2.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product, below the three-percent ceiling demanded by the European Union.

Total accumulated debt at around 100 percent of GDP however remains well above the EU limit of 60 percent of GDP.