We have also elaborated the strategy for preemptively recapitalizing and strengthening the remainder of the financial system, so that its regulatory framework can be brought fully in line with international best practices by the year 2000, and that governance concerns regarding the management of this key sector can be transparently addressed. The BOT will have a clear mandate to carry out the necessary restructuring of the sector. Crucial for both parts of the strategy is the liberalization of foreign equity investment in the financial sector. Thus, the government has already announced the full liberalization of such investment for a period of ten years, with all those who enter in this period being grandfathered permanently with respect to the absolute amount of their equity holding. Privatization, Social Services, And Legal Framework 17.
Privatization is one of the key medium-term goals of our program.
We have completed the preliminary work needed to increase the role of the private sector in energy, public utilities, communications, and transport sectors. We expect to announce firm plans in these areas by June 1998. The majority owned state enterprises which are already corporatized will be the first ones to be privatized. We also intend to submit to Parliament by June 1998, the necessary legislation to facilitate the privatization of the state enterprises which are not currently corporatized. Thus, we expect the Asian Development Bank to move speedily and announce a social sector support program by early 1998.