Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Qatar and Azerbaijan have both shown interest in acquiring Greece’s state-controlled natural gas provider Depa SA, a stake in natural gas grid operator Desfa and the country’s 35 percent stake in Hellenic Petroleum SA, Energy Minister George Papaconstantinou said.

“The good news is there is considerable investor interest,” Papaconstantinou said today in Athens, according to an e-mailed transcript from his ministry.

The first announcements regarding the privatization of the three state assets will be announced next month, he said.

Under the last round of austerity measures passed in June, Greece planned on raising 5 billion euros ($6.9 billion) in state-asset sales this year, and 50 billion euros through 2015.

--Editor: Peter Branton

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Stoukas in Athens at astoukas@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angela Cullen at acullen8@bloomberg.net