"I don't think foreigners will be allowed to take part in the auction," Yevgeny Sotskov, an analyst with the Metropol think tank, has said in a RIA Novosti interview. In his view, it is not in Russia's interest to sell assets in such a strategically important sector off to foreigners. "Yuganskneftegaz is Yukos' main production unit and Yuganskneftegaz's output accounts for 12% of Russia's total oil production, and assets like that should remain at home," Mr. Sotskov has noted.
Oleg Maximov, an expert with the Dialog Troika group, also believes that foreigners will not be allowed to bid for Yuganskneftegaz. He expects its assets to pass on to domestic companies in which the government is a major shareholder.
Konstantin Gulyaev, an expert with the investment company region, agrees. "In all probability, foreigners will not be allowed to take part in the bidding process. It's won't be all that nice should such volumes pass into foreigners' hands," he pointed out.
Commenting on a statement by the Economic Adviser at China's Embassy to Russia that companies in his country would like to bid for Yugansneftegaz, Russian experts have noted that the chance of letting the Chinese bid was a slim one and that the bidding will in all likelihood be closed to foreigners.
China is not the only foreign country to show interest in purchasing a stake in Yuganskneftegaz. It was reported this past July that a consortium of foreign investors had proposed settling Yukos's debts in exchange for the stake held in the corporation by its former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. According to Charles Stuart Smith, spokesman for the UK-based consortium, a letter with the proposal was sent to Russian authorities and the top management of Yukos. He assured the public that the consortium will keep the public updated on the situation surrounding the Russian oil giant. But there has been no development since then.
Experts interviewed by RIA say there may be large Yukos shareholders or petroleum transnationals behind the consortium of private British investors.
In early August, reports came that a group of investors based in Dubai and including members of the ruling al-Maktoum family, offered $10 billion to pull Yukos from the brink of collapse. But the official spokesperson for the government of Dubai (the United Arab Emirates) denied the report as misinformation.
At the moment, Yuganskneftegaz's shares are under arrest, and being prepared to be put up for sale for Yukos to be able to settle its huge tax bill for 2000. The Russian Justice Ministry has invited the international investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein to evaluate Yuganskneftegaz's worth.
The Russian companies Gazprom, Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz stand the strongest chance of getting Yuganskneftegaz, analysts say.
