Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis said he intends to replace a 1.5 pct stamp duty on share trades with a tax on capital gains, but did not specify a timeline for doing so.

Hellenic Exchanges, which controls the local spot and derivatives equity market, has long lobbied for the abolishment of the stamp duty tax on the sale of Athens-listed shares.

Speaking at a press function for international media, Alogoskoufis said his privatisation programme will proceed 'carefully' this year, with 2008 being more of preparatory year than one of execution, not only because of the fragile market conditions but also because the focus of the programme is increasingly on infrastructure and networks.

On the issue of Hellenic Telecomms (OTE), he repeated that the government would like to sell part or all of its 28 pct stake to a large European telecommunications company, and they were open to receive offers but they are in no hurry.

OTE, he said, can continue on its own to develop and grow and 'we need to let management continue to do the good job it has focused on'.

The minister noted that the model applied to OTE's privatisation, in searching for a strategic partner or investor, will be followed in the privatisation of other state-controlled companies.

He added that, other than OTE, they may be more possible ownership caps of below 20 pct imposed for single investors, and that to take stakes higher they would need approval from an inter-ministerial committee.

Marfin Investment Group has previously argued that the less than 20 pct cap on any single investor in OTE was passed to frustrate its efforts at stake building and the European Commission is seeking further information on the Greek regulation.

On the issue of sovereign wealth funds he said that the European Union needs to maintain free markets as much as possible but added that there had to be some exceptions in regulated sectors, for example for companies emerging from a monopoly position or ones that are in the process of being privatized.