Russia’s Rostelecom may be privatised in 2015, after it has completed its government-decreed reorganisation, according to communications minister Nikolai Nikiforov.
The government is considering several options for the telco’s privatisation, Russian…
Russia’s Rostelecom may be privatised in 2015, after it has completed its government-decreed reorganisation, according to communications minister Nikolai Nikiforov.
The government is considering several options for the telco’s privatisation, Russian state-controlled news agency Ria Novosti quoted Nikiforov as saying.
An alliance or gradual entry into the market are among the possibilities, although the final decision will depend upon the market situation at the time, Nikiforov said.
In March, then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree ordering a merger between Rostelecom and state telecoms holding company Svyazinvest. The decree says the government and national development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) will retain a controlling stake of at least 50% in the new company, which will operate under the name Rostelecom.
Rostelecom completed the first phase of its reorganisation, which saw it merge with several regional operators, in April 2011 and is now in the second phase.
BCS senior TMT equity analyst Anna Kurbatova told TelecomFinance that while Rostelecom would technically be ready to go private in 2015, she believes the government’s plans are still hypothetical at this stage.
“[A]s far as I understand it, there is no consensus within the Russian government about the privatisation … and it’s difficult to predict how the official position will change in the next two years, i.e. whether the government will be ready to lose control over the essential infrastructure asset.”
A Rostelecom spokesperson said the company could not comment on government plans for its shares, including a possible privatisation.
