Greece it would sell up to 15.7 percent of the electricity monopoly Public Power Corporation, known under its Greek initials DEH.

"Pricing is expected to take place by the end of October 2003," the economy and finance ministry said in a statement. More details would be announced later in the year, it added.

The government currently controls around 70 percent of the electricity group, with the remaining shares traded on the Athens and London stock exchanges.

In 2002 the company posted surging pre-tax profits of 343 million euros (370.4 million dollars), 157.9 percent higher than the 2001 figure.

Lower and cheaper borrowing has helped reduce DEH's debt from 249 million euros to 215 million.

The company produces two-thirds of its electricity by burning cheap lignite coal.

With 66 million tonnes extracted annually from mines at Ptolemaida in western Macedonia and Megalopolis in the Greek Peloponnese region, DEH is the European Union's second-largest lignite producer.

The sale should help Greece reduce its public debt - the euro zone's second largest. On Thursday, Greece announced an increase in its forecast deficit for 2004 due to construction costs for the 2004 Athens Olympics.