The government is counting on foreign investors to help it privatize an estimated $29 billion in assets to reduce the state's "excessive" presence in the economy, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said Thursday.
Stakes in 11 state-run companies will be offered starting next year, and the sales will proceed even if state revenues outpace expectations, Nabiullina said during a government meeting on budget plans.
The timing and size of the sales — the largest since the controversial loans-for-shares privatizations in the mid-1990s — are still being discussed. But foreign investors said they were encouraged by the focus on restructuring the economy and raising funds, rather than just unloading property.
"The privatizations should not just be a fiscal matter and not so much oriented toward raising funds for the budget, although that's also important. … They are in large part a way for us to influence the structure of the economy," Nabiullina told reporters following the meeting.
Any changes to the list of companies will be made before a draft budget is submitted to the State Duma, she said.
Nabiullina conceded that the government has not yet arrived at a revenue forecast for the sales, although she said the Economic Development Ministry expected earnings of 600 billion to 700 billion rubles ($19.9 billion to $23.2 billion) from 2011 to 2013.
The Moscow Times
