Page 47 - UKRRptSept22

6.1.4 Budget dynamics - privatisation
The Ukrainian government announces the launch of mass privatisation.
On September 1, mass privatisation should start in Ukraine, said the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal. "Small-scale privatisation, especially in regions where people in villages and towns know about facilities that have been standing for years and are inefficiently used, is intended to provide an opportunity to buy these premises for a fair price and put these facilities into work. Privatisation will also give an opportunity to expand production for farmers.” The Ministry of the Economy reported that in early September, Ukraine will announce auctions for elevator capacity and bread processing plants.
This year’s privatisation will begin with two assets of state-owned alcohol producer Ukrspirt. The State Property Fund has identified the first objects that will be put on auction for privatisation in September 2022. The auctions will be held in the state electronic trading system Prozorro.Sales, the State Property Fund reported. The first two objects that will be put up for auction are the Marylivskyi and Kobylovolotskyi Ukrspirt properties in the Ternopil region. Bidding for the Kobylovolotsky plant will take place on September 19 with an opening bid of UAH 25.2M.($0.67M). Bidding for the Maryliv plant will take place on September 20 with an opening bid of UAH 54.3M ($1.46M). These auctions will be the first to be held under the new, simplified procedure. A total of eight privatisation auctions of assets are planned for September, and another 150 will be put up for sale by the end of 2022.
Ukraine will begin the privatisation of bread factories and distilleries. The resumption of the privatisation process, which is planned for September, will start with bread factories and distilleries, announced the State Property Fund. Currently, there are about 200 objects ready for privatisation. All these objects are attractive to investors because they are located in Western Ukraine and regions with no active hostilities. Moreover, most of the state properties set for privatisation are not currently functioning and are subsidised by the government. In addition, these factories can help store and process farm products, which is critically important for the country. The State Property fund director, Olga Batova, added that if the entire regulatory framework is adopted by September and active auctions start as early as September 1, the state budget can expect to receive UAH 1B this year.
Ukraine’s procedure for small privatisation has been improved. The government has ensured fair prices and increased the pace of small privatisation electronic auctions, the Ministry of Economy reported. In particular, the following innovations will be implemented: a repeated electronic auction will be introduced using the step-by-step reduction of the starting price and subsequent bid submission, and the period between auctions will be reduced from 20-35 to 10-15 days. The protocol for finalising the electronic auction results will now include the ability to use an electronic signature. Also, the auction winner must pay the object’s sale price within 20 working days from the day of the protocol finalisation. The purchase and sale agreement of the privatisation object must be concluded within 25 working days of protocol finalisation.
47 UKRAINE Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com