National Banking Board to vote on Sberbank privatization program in March - Gref
MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) - Russia's National Banking Board will vote on Sberbank's privatization program in March, bank President and CEO German Gref told journalists on Monday.
The depositary receipt program will be launched before the sale of shares, he said.
"The procedure is that the National Banking Board approves the privatization. The meeting will be held in March. The materials are ready. As soon as they are approved we are ready to begin the privatization," he said.
The privatization sale will most likely be held in the third or fourth quarter of 2011, he said.
Gref did not specify the size of the stake. "I am not ready to say for now, but we will definitely manage [to sell the stake this year]," he said. "The question of size - either a half or more than a half - will depend on the situation," he said.
Sberbank is focused on the interests of current shareholders but also takes into account the interests of new shareholders, he said.
Sberbank has only just begun consultations on the issue, Gref said when asked about demand for the privatization stake.
It was reported earlier that Sberbank plans to sell 7.6% of shares over its three-year privatization plan. But last week Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina cast doubt on whether the stake would be sold in 2011.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the privatization schedule would be upheld. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said last week that the planned Sberbank privatization sale would occur in 2011 if the market is favorable and a quality investor is ready to buy.
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