The Ministry of Economy is actively working on amendments to legislation that will open the possibility for partial privatization of large state enterprises. According to the Minister of Economy, Oleksiy Sobolev, this step is aimed at attracting significant foreign investments and increasing state budget revenues.
This is reported by Business • Media
Legislative Changes for a New Wave of Privatization
Oleksiy Sobolev reported that a new phase of privatization is being developed, characterized by the sale of stakes in the largest state companies. To implement such an initiative, certain adjustments need to be made to existing laws, as the current legislation does not fully allow for such operations. The minister emphasized the importance of promptly adopting these changes, which will significantly enhance the effectiveness of privatization and ensure substantial budget revenues.
“We are currently preparing a new phase, looking to sell stakes in large state companies. We have not done this before; the legislation is not fully ready, and we need to make minor changes to several laws to make this possible,” he said.
Challenges and Expectations from Privatization
Sobolev highlighted that one of the main obstacles to privatization is the large debts of state enterprises. Resolving this issue is necessary to accelerate the process of preparing companies for sale. The ministry has already prepared the relevant changes to the laws and is actively cooperating with parliament for their swift adoption. It is expected that these updates will significantly increase revenues from privatization, as, according to the minister, “we need much more – we need billions of dollars, while currently, only billions of hryvnias are recorded.”
However, a final list of state companies whose stakes may be put up for sale as part of the large privatization has not yet been formed.