Justifiable to sell 50% of TransContainer to strategic investor - econ min official
MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) has not provided convincing grounds for the idea of putting 50% plus one share in OJSC TransContainer into the capital of a unified Russian, Belarusian, and Kazakh logistical operator, head of the Economic Development Ministry's department for state regulation of tariffs, infrastructural reform, and energy-efficiency Yaroslav Mandron said.
"I haven't seen any RZD calculations as to why TransContainer needs to go there. I don't understand it at this point," he told the press in Moscow on Wednesday. "We are chief in this matter. Before the end of the month we should submit to [First Deputy Prime Minister Igor] Shuvalov our position. As for me, I've not seen RZD's grounds so far," he said.
He himself leans towards the advisability of privatizing that stock interest by selling it to a strategic investor. "We have already attracted investors to this business, and now we need to [sell] this company precisely to a [strategic investor]," he said.
The controlling stake remaining with RZD needs to be sold in its entirety, he said. "Why 25%? To whom, Summa? We've left [RZD] 25% of OJSC Freight One, and so what are we talking about now? We're also selling them now," Mandron said.
