"We are selling partial stakes in state enterprises not because we do not have enough money for some concrete budgetary expenditures, no. We do this for a number of reasons," Putin said at the annual press conference.
"Firstly, it actually improves the structure of the economy and the arrival of new owners — like a Swiss trading company Glencore and Qatar's state fund — we believe that ascension of their representatives to managing positions will improve the quality of the company's management. Although it is in general considered to be one of the most efficient in the world," Putin said.
"And it was initially envisaged in the budget's revenue section, the budget was originally planned in such a way, not to finance any specific industry but all of them," he added.
In early December, head of Russian oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin told Putin that Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority bought a 19.5-percent stake in Rosneft.
