Severstal has accused the Ukrainian government of discriminating in the Krivorozhstal steel works' privatisation. The tender is open to makers of at least 2,000 tonnes of rolled steel products a year.

Another condition requires them to have produced and sold at least one million tonnes of coke in Ukraine in the last three years.

Severstal has said only the Industrial Metallurgical Union meets this conditions.

The latter unites Ukraine's Interpipe corporation and the Donetsk- based System Capital Management, which manages share packages in Azovstal and the Avdeyevka by-product coke plant.

A consortium of Severstal and Arcelor will still submit a bid. If it is rejected, the consortium will appeal the decision in court.

(NewsBase 17.v.04)