The Russian government is moving ahead with a long-planned sell-off of state-owned companies, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. A list of companies the government hopes to sell in 2020-2022 is set to be finalized on Thursday.

For several years, Russia has considered selling the companies but has delayed the process with justifications such as that the market situation is not favorable or that the companies themselves are not ready.

According to the source, the list includes, among others, the oil company Transneft, the airline Aeroflot, the railway company RZD, the electricity grid company Rosseti, the hydroelectric power company Rushydro, the transport company Sovcomflot and the country's largest grain company.

The Russian Ministry of Finance does not want to comment on the information, but writes in a statement:

”"Privatization is seen as a structural measure to reduce the degree of state intervention in the economy, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the operations of companies.".

Source: TT