Five banks have applied for participation in the privatization of Russian assets. About it reports “Interfax” with reference to the information source from the press service of the Ministry of economic development.
The banks are: Credit Suisse, UBS, Citi, UniCredit and Raiffeisen. According to the source, foreign banks would like to participate in the organization of privatization transactions, but are afraid of the reaction from the American and European regulators, which recommended banks not to take part in the placement of sovereign Eurobonds of Russia.
Earlier today, President Vladimir Putin said that the state will seek a strategic partner in the privatization of large state assets, which will be to look at the current stock price, and in the future.
“We will look for a strategic partner who understands and is sure that no need to superdelegate when buying, say, 19% of Rosneft shares, and not need to pay attention to today’s quotes, and we need to look to the future,” he said.
The President believes that there is nothing unusual in privatization is not, and it happens in a falling market, because “the state needs the money”.
Putin recalled that in his pre-election articles 2012 he spoke about the need to support privatization, including in the oil and gas sector. “If such a partner we’ll find, and I think that it is possible, despite the falling market, then we will go to this step in the privatization”, — concluded the President.
At the beginning of this year, the government has prepared a list of companies that can be partially privatized in the near future, including Rostelecom, Transneft, Aeroflot, Rosneft, Sovcomflot and other companies. While a search has begun for the organizers of the sale of shares in only three companies — “Bashneft”, VTB and “ALROSA”.
In mid-March, the Agency Reuters with reference to sources in the foreign credit organizations reported that many American and European banks refuse to apply for participation in privatization of Russian state companies after them, and do not want to help Russia to attract money through the planned Eurobond issue.
While two sources said that foreign banks have the same risks as with the participation in placing of the Russian Eurobonds, as it may be interpreted as helping the Russian government in attracting funding that can go the companies and banks under sanctions.
March 15 Financial Times referring to sources in banks informed that officials of the European Commission encouraged European banks to withdraw from participating in the forthcoming transaction on placing of the Russian Eurobonds, as this can violate the sanctions regime. Prior to that, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Ministry of Finance and the US state Department has issued a special warning about the contradiction of such transactions sanctions policy.
