* Govt. seeks to raise $525 million
* Follows three previous failed sales
* Point of conflict between PM and president
(Adds details, quote)
By Yuri Kulikov
KIEV, July 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine intends to hold a repeatedly-delayed sale of the Odessa Port chemical plant on Sept. 29 and is looking to raise at least 4 billion hryvnias ($525 million), the privatisation agency said on Wednesday.
The plant, a fertiliser producer and one of the biggest firms in Ukraine, has been a flashpoint in rows pitting Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko against her estranged ally, President Viktor Yushchenko, who has barred the sale three times.
Yushchenko last banned the sale in May 2008 on the grounds that the plant was a strategic asset giving the buyer exclusive access to a key pipeline and port terminal. At the time, buyers from Ukraine, Russia and Estonia were touted
The government wants to sell a 99.6 percent stake in the plant, based in the southern Black Sea port. A State Property Fund spokeswoman told Reuters the auction would take place on Sept. 29.
Last year, when the State Property Fund last tried to sell the plant, it set a minimum price of 3 billion hryvnias, which at the time amounted to over $650 million, and said it had hoped to get $1 billion for it.
Ukraine's stretched finances would benefit from any new funds. The budget's export and tax revenues have declined sharply as the country faces a deep recession and billions need to be spent to shore up the banking sector.
CONDITIONS SET
Conditions for the plant include guarantees that the plant remain profitable and that investments of 1.3 billion hryvnias ($170 million) are made during the first five years of ownership.
The new owner would also be obliged to increase revenues at the chemical plant to 3.02 billion hryvnias by the fifth year of ownership, from 2.34 billion hryvnias in the first year.
The plant had revenues of 3.6 billion hryvnias and profits of 800 million hryvnias last year, against revenues of 2.3 billion hryvnias and profits of 310 million hryvnias in 2007.
Revenues stood at 419 million hryvnias in the first quarter, against 756 million hryvnias in the same period last year. The plant recorded a loss of 4 million hryvnias in the first quarter, compared with a profit of 118 million hryvnias a year ago.
The figures reflect a decline in industrial activity in the ex-Soviet state after a fall in commodity prices late last year and the onset of a deep recession.
The plant is also dependent on Russian gas, which was cut off to Ukraine for three weeks in January due to a pricing row with Moscow. The price of Russian gas doubled in the first quarter, though it fell in the second quarter and is expected to decline significantly further by the year's end.
"The State Property Fund could now find a buyer for the Odessa Port plant," said Oleksander Valchyshen, head analyst at Invest Capital.
"Russian, and possibly Ukrainian companies, could apply, though in relation to domestic companies there is a large amount of scepticism as to whether they have the funds." (Writing by Sabina Zawadzki; editing by Simon Jessop)