Disastrous lack of money

Iryna Barkouskaya, head of the department of reforming of state ownership of the Fund of State Property of the State Property Committee, said the privatisation in Belarus was caused by necessity to “animate the economy of enterprises” by means of external resources.

“We should give up the practice of state aid to enterprises. However, the state might support some especially significant enterprises. But we must seek for external resources to animate the economy of enterprises. It is an objective of the privatisation plan,” she stressed.

The head of the fund department also said the State Property Committee would begin to work with ministries, departments and enterprises after the privatisation plan would be adopted. Checks to prepare documents for privatisation need to be carried out at enterprises, which are planned to be reorganised in joint stock companies in 2008.

Corporization of every Belarusian enterprise will be carried out on an individual basis taking into account its importance for the state, the official said.

“Some directors of plants fear the Russian capital will purchase everything. But we won’t allow it. Though we have set a course to mass privatisation, the approach will be individual... We will see in what degree an enterprise is important for us and if it is attractive for investors. We will think about every concrete investor, when creating a joint stock company and selling shares, to know what block of stock can be offered to it,” BelTA quotes Iryna Barkouskaya.

She doesn’t exclude blocks of stock up to 25 per cent of the authorised fund can be offered to investors on the first stage. “As a rule, investors are interested in these blocks. It gives them real power in the forming company,” the specialist emphasised.