The buyout process from foreign shareholders is expected to be completed soon, National Development Minister Miklós Seszták said today in Hungarian business daily Napi Gazdaság. The minister added the state could take over full ownership of the Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) as early as this fall, after an amendment is passed by the Parliament. The Hungarian state currently owns more than 99% of the energy wholesaler.

The government is also eyeing the sewer network of Budapest (FCSM) and the capital’s public-area maintenance company (FKF) and says the acquisitions are part of a plan to raise the state’s stake in sectors of strategic national importance.