Gov't to sell 26% in Rosgosstrakh

The Russian government agreed to sell 26 percent minus one share in Rosgosstrakh, the Russian state insurance company, this year, First Deputy Property Minister of Russia Yury Medvedev told journalists in the House of Government today. According to him, the sale of this state stake was included in the additional list of sites to be privatized in 2003. Another large privatization deal this year will be the sale of a 17.84-percent block of shares in the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The government is also planning to sell a 25-percent-minus-two-share stake in the Svyazinvest telecommunications company. The privatization of these stakes is on the major list of enterprises to be privatized in 2003, which was adopted by the government on August 20, 2002.

According to Medvedev, the best-prepared deal to date is the sale of the stake in the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. From this deal, the government is planning to earn $175m. However, this is a preliminary expert estimate, Medvedev stressed. Revenues from selling Svyazinvest shares could reach $1bn. The Rosgosstrakh stake could bring about $10m, the Deputy Minister reported.

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