Almazny Mir to Make Private through Error
Russia’s Federal Property Fund (or RFFI) has put up for sale the 52.37 percent in Almazny Mir, which was set up on the assets of former Soviet Union’s Kristall (Moscow) lapidary enterprise. Until recently, the authorities were expected to contribute the stocks to the capital of ALROSA in a move to extend the federal ownership in the diamond monopolist.
RFFI auctions the 52.37 percent state-run stake in Almazny Mir, or 1,738,935 stocks of the enterprise, on November 22, 2005, the Federal Property Fund announced at the web-site, saying the bids are accepted till November 18, 2005 and the starting price is 787.556 million rubles.
Former Soviet Union’s Kristall lapidary enterprise was acknowledged bankrupt in 1998. Besides the state Rosimushchestvo, today’s holders are ALROSA (25 percent), AS Consulting (19.998 percent) and Gessomarket (2.37 percent). ALROSA’s holders are Russia’s government (37 percent), Yakutia (32 percent), employees of the company (23 percent), Yakut uluses (districts; 8 percent).
Until the RFFI announcement, the state-run stake in Almazny Mir was expected to be contributed to the stock capital of ALROSA. The officials are searching for the ways to legally pile up the federal ownership in the latter and one of the methods provides for contributing the stocks of profile enterprises, including the 100 percent in Kristall (Smolensk), 52.3 percent in Almazny Mir and 100 percent in Prioksky Works of Non-Ferrous Metal. Now it appears Almazny Mir has been crossed out of the list.
This move of authorities signals the federal officials might have preferred the so-called alternative scenario, i.e. making state-run the properly previously owned by Yakutalmaz, on which assets ALROSA was established in the mid.-1990’s, for further contributing it to the stock capital of ALROSA.
But most officials view the auction as an error resulted from the poor coordination between the departments. At least in Russia’s Finance Ministry (Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin heads the supervisory board at ALROSA), they speak of a certain “technical mistake.” Rosimushchestvo declined to comment Friday.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 24, 2005
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