The announcement was made a week after the deadline for the submission of non-binding bids, yet SOD did not reveal any further details about the exact number of bidders or their names.

As the manager of state assets, SOD will invite the most favourable suitable bidders to participate in the second round of procedure by the end of this week.

One of the largest Slovenian companies, Telekom Slovenije is the most important company on the list of 15 that were approved for privatisation by parliament last year.

Two of the companies have so far been sold, coatings manufacturer Helios and laser maker Fotona. Among the others, sale proceedings are the most advanced in the case of airport operator Aerodrom Ljubljana, aside from Telekom.

Unofficially, Telekom Slovenije has attracted considerable interest among prospective investors with media citing Deutsche Telekom as the most likely prospective buyer, while also mentioning potential strategic investors from Russia and Turkey, as well as several financial investors.