Putin spoke about the plans of the “true privatization” of “Rosneft” – RBK

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting of the BRICS leaders.

Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS

the Possible Rosneft’s purchase of its shares will be only an intermediate step before the “real privatization,” said President Vladimir Putin. According to him, the government has already approved this “careful not to say delicately”

Rosneft’s purchase of its own shares is only possible as an intermediate step in the privatization of 19.5% of the oil company, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference in Goa on the outcome of the BRICS summit.

“If it (buy-back of shares “Rosneft”. the RBC) will be made is as an intermediate step, in order to do the following — true privatization, including with the involvement of strategic investors can be foreign and controlled by the state, because “Rosneft” is under the control of the state”, — quotes Putin “Interfax”.

He noted that if “Rosneft” and the government will be able to sell the package, it “will be a natural step, a real big privatization of large Russian state property”. At the same time if the market becomes low and “fail to agree”, then there is the possibility of Rosneft’s purchase of its shares as a preliminary step for further work on the privatization, Putin said.

“We will follow the path of real privatization, but not in a falling market, but if and falling — with those who understand that the market is falling, and he grows up and is ready to act as an investor with a certain prize”, — said Putin.

In 2016, the budget “still somehow have to get money,” he said. Meanwhile, Putin added that the government has already approved “be careful, if not subtle plan” (quote from the website of the Kremlin).

October 12, Putin said that the accounts “Rosneft” have the means to purchase “Bashneft”, and also temporarily buy back own shares. Press Secretary of “Rosneft” Mikhail Leontyev then told RBC that the company has no orders or instructions of the government on redemption of own 19.5% of the shares. However, he confirmed that in the case of such a designation, the money in the accounts “Rosneft” there are loans from the outside it will not be necessary.

the Government plans to 2016 to privatize 19.5% of Rosneft, hoping to gain for the package of $ 11 billion At the beginning of October claiming the “Bashneft” Fund Energy admitted that the privatisation of Rosneft, the company may purchase its own shares. The newspaper “Vedomosti”, citing a source, wrote that the option of privatization of “Rosneft” is really being discussed in the government. “The budget need money now and fast to find investors for this package will not work: the Chinese are cautious, look at US, the Indians just bought a large oil assets, they need to digest, but European investors will not buy. At the very same “Rosneft” there is money ($ 20 billion in the accounts — advance payment from the Chinese and the proceeds from the sale of assets), plus they can raise money in the market”, — explained the interlocutor of “Vedomosti”.

Earlier, Raiffeisenbank analysts calculated that at the end of the second quarter of 2016 on the accounts of Rosneft were $ 22.4 billion $ 4 billion the company may obtain from transactions in “Vankorneft” and “TAAS-Uraha” to the Indian investors (sale of 23.9% stake in “Vankorneft” and 29.9% “TAAS-Yuryakh oil and gas” by a consortium of Oil India, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroresources, and the sale of 11% “Vankorneft” ONGC), they noted.

repayment of debt in the second half of “Rosneft” needs to spend $ 4.7 billion, so she has enough money to buy not only state-owned “Bashnefti” (the deal closed on Wednesday, October 12), but also of its own shares, pointed the experts of Raiffeisenbank.