Russian government assets top $3tn
February 8, 2013, 1:25 pm

Oil pipelines belonging to Rosneft, an oil company of which the Russian government holds a significant share. [AP]

This figure is 50 per cent higher than the country’s 2012 gross domestic product (GDP).

The Russian government owns 2,325 joint companies with state participation, around 1,800 federal state unitary enterprises, over 20,000 establishments, some 25,0000 government facilities and over 553 million hectares of land.

“In line with our preliminary data, the aggregate nominal value of the above-mentioned facilities totals some 12 trillion rubles ($396.9 billion)” Andrei Belousov, the economic development minister said at a meeting of the Russian government.

“The market value, according to preliminary assessments, exceeds 100 trillion rubles ($3.3 trillion),” said Belousov.

Russia’s GDP in 2012 totaled 62 trillion rubles ($2.1 trillion). The management of governmental assets enriched the budget with 433.6 billion rubles ($14.45 billion), including privatisation profit of 201.5 billion rubles ($6.7 billion), and companies’ dividends of 212.6 billion rubles ($7 billion).

Belousov also suggested including the assets whose functions are not defined into the privatisation programme as of January 1, 2015.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister backed the idea and urged to speed-up the process, as “it is not only the way to enrich the budget, but the government is interested in long-term investors, efficient owners, those who have enough financial and technological opportunities, those who have good management competence.”

“Access to the auction, its procedure should be simplified. Information about each significant deal, results should be available for public discussion,” Medvedev said at the meeting.

The prime minister believes this will help make the privatisation process more transparent and will also minimise administrative risks.

Authorities want to decrease the state’s presence in the country’s economy, and to withdraw officials fromm the board of directors of the companies with state participation.

The then-president Dmitry Medvedev ordered to gradually remove state officials from joint stock companies within three years as of 2012.

Daria Chernyshova