| Moscow hotels will not be handed over to the wrong hands The privatization of hotels in Moscow is progressing, albeit slowly. Yesterday, the Moscow City Duma considered in the first reading the resolution “On the list of objects of privatization of state and municipal property for the period until December 31, 2001”, which, among other objects, indicated five hotels - “Belgrade”, “Beijing”, “Volga”, “ Leningradskaya" and "Golden Ear".
“The city has a program for developing the tourism business, but it doesn’t make sense to privatize hotels just like that, without any purpose,” Vladimir Avekov, first deputy head of the department of state and municipal property, noted in an interview with the Vremya Novostei newspaper.
After corporatization, all shares of the new joint-stock companies will be the property of the Moscow government. Then, perhaps, investors will be found who will agree to invest money in the development of these objects. Which package they will receive will depend on the amount of funds offered. In any case, judging by Mr. Avekov’s words, the authorities will try to keep, if not 50%, then at least a blocking stake (25% plus one share).
True, the desire of the mayor's office to retain a large stake in a particular hotel often prevents the reconstruction of these facilities. This happened, for example, with the Moscow Hotel. In the summer, an auction was announced with the help of which they wanted to raise funds to transform it into a congress hotel, but there are still no investors. According to Mr. Avekov, “the government’s interests in retaining a significant percentage of the hotel’s shares do not fit into the funds that need to be raised for reconstruction.” And “Moscow” with all its Stalinist empire style hung in the air and is waiting in the wings.
If investors are not found for the reconstruction of the Beijing, Leningradskaya, etc. hotels, then 100% of the shares can be given to the management of the state joint-stock company "Moscow" (it oversees the hotel business in the capital). Marina Smirnova, consultant to the association “University of Hotel, Tourism and Restaurant Business,” noted that all the hotels specified in the resolution are attractive to potential investors, and everything will depend on investment conditions.
Investments are so far guaranteed for only one hotel on the list - Belgrade. Yesterday at a meeting of the Moscow City Duma, some deputies expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that this hotel, it turns out, has been sold for a year already! So they propose to corporatize it retroactively. Mr. Avekov in response to this asked to “support the Moscow government.” We did not return to this problem again. Polina ZVEREVA |
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