IZHEVSK (Russia) (Sputnik) — The Russian government is in talks with private Asian investors on planned privatization of Russia's state shipping company Sovcomflot, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Tuesday.
"We are working with various investors, new proposals are coming in. Initially, we were thinking about placing shares on the Moscow stock exchange in favor of portfolio investors. Now, new prospects have emerged, and we are now discussing them, including with our Asian partners," he said.
2 June 2017, 06:59 GMT
Sovcomflot operates the world's second largest fleet of oil tankers and has long-term contracts with major energy producers.
According to the Russian Economy Ministry, the state is selling 25 percent of Sovcomflot and hopes to raise as much as 30 billion rubles (some $500 million at current exchange rate) from the sale.
