Photo from UNIAN
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) argues that the use of stock exchanges for privatization purposes today is not an effective way of finding investor-shareholders, NSSMC head Timur Khromaev told UNIAN.
In addition, according to Khromaev, the NSSMC has already undertaken all formal steps to significantly reduce commissions that stock exchanges receive from privatization.
"Our main task at this stage is to exclude stock exchanges from this [privatization] process. And it is our consistent position, because stock exchanges have lost credibility, they are currently not operating in line with their main goals and objectives," Khromaev said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the State Property Fund of Ukraine intended August 26 to put up for sale a 5% stake in one of the largest chemical companies in the country - Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant (OPP) at Perspektiva Stock Exchange, with the initial cost of UAH 450 million as provided for by the privatization schedule.
Earlier, the NSSMC recognized the shares of Perspektiva, the largest trading stock exchange, as fake.
At a government meeting on August 19, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed the need to change the privatization rules and eliminate mandatory sale of 5% of shares in state-owned enterprises through a stock exchange when selling a large stake in such state entities. According to Yatsenyuk, such provision facilitates restoration of oligarchic schemes in the privatization process and uncontrolled rising or lowering the price of entities, to fit a particular buyer.
Yatsenyuk also recalled that a few months ago, the Ukrainian government had submitted a draft law for parliament's consideration on abolishing a mandatory sale of a 5% stake in OPP, but the latter did not vote for the government proposal.
A second vote is expected to take place in early September. According to Head of Ukraine's State Property Fund of Ukraine Ihor Bilous, the postponement in selling OPP has been agreed with the government, enabling the Verkhovna Rada to have enough time for consideration of the bill and implementation of the privatization in line with new rules.
UNIAN memo. Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant (city of Yuzhny, Odesa region) is Ukraine's second largest ammonia and carbamide producer, and the third largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers. The company also handles chemical products shipped from the CIS countries for further export. The company holds a monopoly position in the national market of specialized services for acceptance, cooling and transshipment of ammonia.
In January-June of this year, Odesa Port Plant received a net profit of UAH 151.953 million, against a net loss of UAH 116.806 million in the same period of last year.