With a privatization appeal

The Russian government in 2010 can sell stock packages in some companies in order to attract funds to the budget. Privatization will continue in the long run, said Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin on Tuesday at the Russia -Calls! ”Forum!

According to Minister Kudrin, the working group led by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov is already looking for assets "which, taking into account the market, can be sold now and not cheap." In the future, the government will sell assets acquired during the crisis for three or more years as a result of the pre -capitalization of the banking system and state support for the real sector.

According to Kudrin, we are also talking about oil companies, and about VTB Bank, and about the telecommunications industry, and about the aviation industry (UAC).

The main task of state corporations and large state holdings is now the restructuring of problem assets, and after they fulfill this mission, the government will sell large packages of these companies. “Our strategic goal is to sell large packages in large companies and holdings on the horizon of three or more years,” said Finance Minister Kudrin.

This statement followed shortly after last week the First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov in an interview with Bloomberg announced the possibility of privatizing a number of state assets. The state has about 5500 enterprises that can already be transformed into joint -stock companies and sold in the market this year, Shuvalov said. According to him, the state can sell its shares in companies such as Rosneft.

Kudrin supported the idea of ​​Shuvalov. He argued that the government began preparing a program to increase the efficiency of the country's economy, which involves reducing the presence of the state in it. The money from the sale of state assets will go to cover the budget deficit, which for the next year, as planned, is about 2.9 trillion. rubles.

During the crisis, the participation of the state in the economy (both indirect and direct) grew. In July, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Andrei Klepach said that the share of state participation in the Russian economy is 45-50%. He noted that we are talking about all types of state participation, including state corporations, as well as the share of the state in the largest companies - Gazprom, Rosneft, Sberbank and VTB. Klepach estimated the share of the federal government in the Russian economy at 25%.

The expansion of the presence of the state in the country's economy was outlined in the early 2000s, after the active privatization of the 1990s. However, in October last year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that nationalization of the country's economy will not occur. He called the expansion of the presence of the state in the economy a forced and temporary measure.

Until now, getting rid of property has not been very good for the state. From the plans to get rid of the “extra” property over the past few years, only the fraud of Sberbank shares has been implemented, the rest of the state-owned companies rather expanded the sphere of influence since 2005 Rosoboronexport and the structures close to it acquired in AvtoVAZ and the VSMPO-Avism, and state-owned companies gained control over the majority of the assets of the overslerupted YUKOS.

In the same telecommunication industry, the state during the crisis only strengthened the presence. So, an agreement was reached with the AFK System on the redemption of the block of shares “Svyazinvest”, and the company itself is waiting for a restructuring. In addition, Svyazinvest, the largest fixed communications operator, declared the desire to expand the presence of mobile communications market in the market.

Shuvalov announced the plans for the “further privatization” of Rosneft shortly after the IPO company in 2006. The head of the Federal Property Management Agency Valery Nazarov in the beginning of 2007 in an interview with “we believe that the Russian Federation is enough to maintain a control package of Rosneft shares. The main option for ordering Rosneft shares is the implementation of the second stage of public placement in the market. ”The government also planned to place the shares of Russian Railways (did not happen) about the potential access to the exchange of the United Aircraft Corporation and the government also planned to sell the KAMAZ state -owned package (Rostochnology GC has passed).

And as a result of the crisis of the State Bank, the owners of large packages of private companies, which were laid down by owners for providing loans to domestic or international credit organizations. Sberbank has recently been actively asking for debtor companies, just not to purchase a new restless economy. The VEB bought out a significant part of the debts of the Rusal, developers, auto builders, and some metallurgists are very re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re -re - The question arises: even if the economy of Russia resumes growth in 2010, who exactly can take part in the privatization of strategic enterprises, which packages will be implemented and in what form - in the form of objectification or by sale at auction. Regarding any of these issues, it seems that a very sharp struggle will unfold. Finally, it is important whether the state will be able to receive “real money” for the company and whether he agrees to sell something for, from the point of view of state managers, “fake price”.

Even the consent of part of the establishment with the plugging of budget holes by getting rid of small packages of state-owned shares (it is difficult to imagine, by the way, that the state will refuse to control anywhere) may become an insufficient condition for a new wave of privatization. And by 2010, it will be extremely difficult to agree on all positions. So the statements of the “liberals from the government” should be perceived as an important, but still a declaration. Herman Gref in the mid-2000s also regularly stated that the issue of privatization of Svyazinvest was practically resolved.