Page 68 - RusRPTNov19

Russia’s privatisation programme was re-launched with much fanfare in 2008 after Dmitri Medvedev took over as president, but immediately stalled thanks to the 2008 global financial crisis.
Since 2017 the government and the Ministry of Economic Development has been consistently cutting the privatisation plans, while the new economic growth paradigm announced by President Vladimir Putin for his 2018-2024 term largely focusing on state-driven infrastructure investment.
The valuation of Russian container operator Transcontainer soared ahead of a proposed privatisation of a majority share in Russia’s leading logistics company. Investors estimated the value of shares in the Russian container operator Transcontainer in the past 1.5 months had exceeded the asking price at the upcoming Russian Railways auction 1.6-fold, Vedomosti daily reported on October 18. Currently, the market value of the 50% plus 2 shares stands at RUB58.7bn, going up by 21% since the auction has been announced and exceeding the starting asking price of RUB36bn. Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti d aily suggest that the rally in the shares is related to uncertainty around for minority shareholders regarding the buyout offer and dividend policy under the new future owner of the company. The rally is seen as speculative and the prices could decline by 10-15% ahead of the auction. As reported by bne IntelliNews, the auction by Russian Railways scheduled for November 27 sets a starting price of RUB36.16bn ($553mn) for 50% plus 2 shares in Transcontainer, one of the most valuable transportation assets in Russia.
6.1.3 Budget dynamics - govt funding plans
Extra cash at the Russia's sovereign National Welfare Fund (NWF) available after the fund reaches the 7% of GDP threshold could amount to RUB1.7 trillion ($26bn) in 2020 , Reuters reported on October 4 citing the Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The Finance Ministry suggests investing
68 RUSSIA Country Report November 2019 www.intellinews.o