Belgium May Sell Belfius Stake For Defense Needs, L’Echo Says

The Belgian federal government is weighing the sale of a 20% to 30% stake in Belfius Bank SA to boost its defense budget, L’Echo newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The country’s council of ministers could debate the sale before July 21 with discussions focused on when and how to launch the partial privatization.

Other options floated by the newspaper are a public listing of Belfius or the sale of Belgium’s 5.6% stake in French lender BNP Paribas.

A finance ministry spokesperson and a representative of Belfius declined to comment on the report when contacted by Bloomberg News. BNP ...