The Government endorsed the bill “On the list of state property
objects not subject to privatization” elaborated by the Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade.
The draft was developed to optimize the list of state enterprises exempt
from privatization. A list of such objects was approved in 1999 and includes
1478 enterprises, with 497 out of them liquidated.
The new bill envisages the cutting of the list of state-owned enterprises
to 705 companies. All the companies are of strategic importance for defence,
economy or social life of the country. Among them 394 enterprises are subject
to corporatization, which implies the creation of a new transparent and
publicly accountable governance structure. Another 275 enterprises located in
the Autonomous Republic of Crimea have been included into a separate annex –
those in property of the Ukrainian state and not for sale.
According to Yulia Kovaliv, First Deputy Minister of Economic
Development and Trade of Ukraine, the new law has two objectives: to allow the
privatization and corporatization of an increasing number of state-owned
enterprises, as well as to clean up the list from already eliminated objects.
“We stress that the state shall not be an effective owner, neither in
Ukraine nor globally. A large number of state-owned enterprises which
are now prohibited for privatization are either unprofitable or corrupt. The
possibility of attracting private investors, even for purchasing just a
minority stake, is a chance that these businesses would start earning profit
for the state,” said Yulia Kovaliv.
As
a reminder, today in Ukraine there is in effect a two-level mechanism for the
protection of public assets. Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On privatization
of property of state-owned enterprises” defines the objects that shall not be
subject for privatization. These include, for example, natural resources,
property of budget organizations and public institutions, nuclear installations
and objects, and more. The second level of protection is the Law of Ukraine “On
the list of state property objects not
subject to privatization”.
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