The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) is ready to resume large-scale privatization in Ukraine despite the war, but first wants to analyze their condition, Rustem Umerov, newly appointed head of the Fund, said.
“So far, we want to preliminarily analyze the situation at the enterprises. After that, we plan to discuss with the government which of them we can now put up for sale,” he said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine, which was published on Tuesday.
Among the enterprises that could be put up for large-scale privatization, the head of the State Property Fund named the Odessa Portside Plant, the United Mining and Chemical Company (OGCC) and the Zaporozhye Titanium and Magnesium Combine (ZTMK), adding that he also intends to wait for the resumption of their work.
Answering a question about the revision of privatization in previous years, the new head of the State Property Fund said that he was not in favor of such an approach. “We must move on without looking back at the past,” he said.
Umerov added that an analysis of about 800 enterprises that the Fund recently received by government decision is also being carried out.
According to him, the presence among them located in the temporarily occupied territories is explained by the fact that one of the functions of the State Property Fund will be to assess the losses of Ukraine from the occupation, including the loss of these enterprises. “After the assessment, we will file lawsuits in international courts demanding compensation for the damage,” the head of the department said.
He also confirmed that the government is discussing the idea of transferring the arrested assets belonging to the Russians to the Fund. “After analyzing their financial situation, we will put them up for privatization. We will transfer the proceeds to the government, which will send them to the country’s defense,” Umerov explained the idea.
Among other initiatives, he named an inventory of all leased areas, discussion of the possibility of creating a land bank together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, as well as work on the creation of a real estate agency – Real Estate Investment Trust.
Umerov also recalled plans to create a Sovereign Fund, to which enterprises of strategically important sectors for the state will be transferred: energy and critical transport infrastructure, as well as enterprises with a unique market position and licenses for the extraction of natural resources.
The Verkhovna Rada has passed at the final reading government’s bill No. 4543 on unlocking the large-scale privatization process.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that 257 MPs backed the bill with the required 226 votes.
As reported, large-scale privatization was suspended due to the entry into force of Law No. 540-IX dated March 30, 2020, which, in connection with the quarantine, imposed restrictions on the privatization of large facilities – both preparation for sale and holding the auctions. Bill No. 4543 removes this provision.
