The money raised from the initial public offering (IPO) – the biggest undertaken in Italy in more than a decade – will go towards reducing the country’s huge public debt of more than €2 trillion, Padoan said.
The government is listing a 34.7 percent stake in Poste Italiane on the Milan stock exchange as part of a wider plan to privatize state-run assets in the hope of raising €12 billion.
An investor roadshow got underway earlier this month, with shares for the the upcoming IPO priced at €6.75.
The company is also hiring 8,000 new staff as part of plans to modify the service and “reinforce the professional profile of postal service workers in order to better serve the public,” CEO Francesco Caio said last week.
Poste Italiane, which is 153 years old, also has a thriving banking arm. The company holds around €240 billion in savings' deposits and has annual revenues of €24 billion.
The government has also proposed the partial sale of railway group Ferrovie dello Stato and national aviation group, Enav.
“Privatizations remain an important part of the government's efforts and they will continue in the coming months,” Padoan said.
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