The only big state-owned companies whose privatisation may happen before the year's end are the Boyana Film studios and three thermal power plant for which a sell-off procedure has been launched. The Privatisation Agency's plans are to kick off the sale of the Bulgarian River Shipping Corporation in the coming days, following the approval a week ago of the sale strategy by the MPs. The deal, however, is unlikely to be finalised during the term of the incumbent cabinet. The list of companies in an advanced stage of preparation for privatisation includes Avtotechnika Pirin, grain warehouses-owner Zarneni Hrani and medical equipment maker Meditsinska Tehnika, as well as several road maintenance companies and a dozen water power plants. The sale of air carrier Bulgaria Air, national maritime carrier Navigation Maritime Bulgare, youth tourism operator Orbita, Koshava-based gypsum maker Gips and Vointeh, a company that provides diverse civilian and military training services, has stalled for different reasons: the sea and air carrier sell-offs are pending parliament's adoption of a sale strategy while Orbita, Gips and Vointeh are entangled in legal disputes. Also on sell-off queue are military industry companies Kintex, Teraton and VMZ-Sopot, for which a privatisation strategy should be adopted first. Investor interest, however, is most likely to be whetted by a group of water power plants that includes the Ustovo and Rossitsa cascades of water power stations and the Lukovit, Beli Iskur, Simeonovo and Topolnitsa water power plants. Practice shows that when it comes to the water power plants, the state settles on an auction as the means of privatisation, and that the bids are quite high. The procedure for most of the hydro facilities, however, has often stumbled over issues related to appraisal updates, concessions or issue of certain property ownership documents. The Privatisation Agency team is preparing to divest its majority stake in 50 companies. A large part of these will be sold in a public auction on the local bourse. At the next centralised public auction, which will be staged in a couple of weeks, 80 to 100 companies will be offered for sale. Only ten of them will make their debut on the capital market. Some time ago the sell-off agency offered to the ministries to liquidate over 35 loss-making enterprises wherein they hold a majority stake, arguing that they have been shunned by investors even though they have been put up for sale on a number of occasions. Most ministries have not responded to the proposal yet. Another 180-plus companies - including railway carrier BDZ, the National Electricity Transmission Company, the Kozloduy nuclear plant and gas distributor Bulgargaz, are on a privatisation blacklist.