* Govt confirms plans for 2010 sale
* To dispose of its entire stake
* Sale could fetch more than $1 bln
KIEV, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian government plans to sell its entire 93 percent stake in fixed-line monopoly UkrTelecom, it said on Tuesday, confirming the deal, which could fetch over $1 billion, would take place this year.
The government first announced plans to revive the sale -- repeatedly delayed for years -- in June but has until now taken no formal steps in that direction. On Tuesday, it issued a decree saying the stake will be sold in an open auction.
The document did not say when exactly the auction would take place or what the starting price could be.
"We expect this privatisation (deal) to happen before the end of this year," Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told reporters.
Analysts say the cash-strapped government needs to sell assets to cut budget deficit and finance reform programs.
UkrTelekom has been slated for privatisation for years but its initial public offering had been delayed by political wrangling and infighting. Estimates of its value swing from $3 billion to $1 billion.
The company, which controls about 80 percent of Ukraine's fixed-line market and has a relatively small mobile business, earned $6.1 million in the first half of this year, which compared to a loss of $16 million in the same period of 2009. (Additional reporting by Yuri Kulikov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Ron Askew)