Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov went so far as to call state regulation of the economy a “failure.”
Photo: Grigoriy Sobchenko
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Officials Will Leave Boards
The number of state representatives on the boards of directors of companies with state shares will be reduced this year and the list of state shares in companies that cannot be privatized will be shortened on the instructions of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. This was announced at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to enthusiastic mass approval. No specific companies were mentioned. Not only is this the first time that such a move has been mentioned, Shuvalov went so far as to call state regulation of the economy a “failure.” Shuvalov continued that the state would concentrate its influence in the economy in the future “where it’s needed.”
“It is necessary to replace officials with professionals,” Shuvalov said, “and to create boards of directors in state corporations that will act according to the rules of private companies.” That process will begin this month with wholly-owned state companies. Shuvalov later met with business leaders but did not disclose what companies would be affected by the decision. All that is known is that Gazprom will not be affected. There is not a wide range of wholly-owned state companies besides Gazprom, but the theoretically independent directors could appear at Russian Railways, oil transporter Transneft, atomic fuel provider TVEL, Zarubezhneft oil company or companies of the military-industrial complex.
A list of companies in which the state share could not be privatized was formed by presidential decree in 1996. Those companies include Rosneft, Rosneftegaz, Gazprom and Svyazinvest, as well as defense-related companies that would be of less interest to investors. According to Shuvalov, it is not yet known which companies will become privatizable, although government sources say Svyazinvest is the most likely candidate. There were no other signs of coming economic liberalization in Shuvalov’s speech at the forum. On the contrary, he mentioned the possibility of founding several new state corporations.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 09, 2008
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