ALROSA Privatization May Net Russian Government $900 Million
May 22, 16
(IDEX Online News) – The Russian government could make as much as RUB84 billion ($1.3 billion) from the sale of stakes in diamond miner ALROSA and shipping firm Sovkomflot this year, according to a report on Reuters.
The economy ministry is responsible for choosing consultants for privatizations, and minister Alexei Ulyukayev has previously been quoted as saying that the state could make as much as RUB60 billion ($898 million) from the sale of a 10.9-percent stake in ALROSA.
Ulyukayev said that if the price of oil averages only $40 per barrel this year, the Russian deficit could grow to 4 percent of GDP in 2016. The government has considered a plan for a major privatization push to try and arrest budget deficit expansion.
ALROSA is the world’s largest diamond miner by volume.