Russian Govt may delay assets sales by few months, official says
The Russian government could delay the sale of certain assets by several months or longer due to an unfavorable economic environment or a deepening of the economic recession, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Monday at a conference, PRIME reports.
According to Dvorkovich, the government expects to follow an earlier approved privatization plan of state-held companies. “The dates of deals are to be determined by the government and consultants. If, on the basis of a consultant’s recommendation, we decide to postpone the deal by a few months, this would be the case,” Dvorkovich added.
“Under the current market situation, we will not delay the transactions by more than several months…However, if we face a crisis of the scale of 2008–2009, then we will put it off for a longer period,” Dvorkovich also said, adding that terms would be extended in case the recession stretches over six–nine months.
The government intends to carry out its plans to sell a number of its assets despite the fact that many experts and heads of major state-controlled companies oppose the sales, citing unfavorable market trends.