RUSSIA'S information technology minister said plans to privatise telecommunications giant, OAO Svyazinvest, would not face delays affecting auctions of other major state-owned enterprises.
Leonid Reiman said no firm decision had been made on how or when the government's 75 per cent stake in the telecoms holding company would take place. But he said that President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov both "fundamentally agree" about the privatization.
Analysts were sceptical the Svyazinvest sale would happen, since the government has repeatedly postponed auctions and reforms in other major state-owned companies, such as power grid monopoly RAO Unified Energy Systems and natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom.
Mr Reiman said he was optimistic about the telecoms sector because it was more developed than other Russian industries.
"You can't really compare telecommunications and other sectors such as gas, electricity or railways," Mr Reiman said.
"What other sectors are working on now - elimination of monopolies, liberalization, encouraging small- and medium-sized businesses - we have done a long time ago," he said.
In 1997, the government sold a 25 per cent stake in Svyazinvest for US$1.88 billion ($2.41 billion).
The Associated Press |
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