Belarus is holding talks with Russia over selling off the state-held stakes of seven major Belarusian companies, Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich said on Tuesday.
During the Custom Union meeting in Moscow, Myasnikovich presented a list of seven Belarusian companies negotiating privatization deals with Russian investors. The list includes, among others possible deals between Russia’s Gazprom and Beltransgaz, Russia’s largest truck maker KamAZ and Belarus’ state-run Minsk Automobile Plant as well as Russia’s leading fertilizer, Uralkali and Belaruskali.
The Belarusian premier said that Uralkali had not outlined its proposals on the merger with the Belarusian potash producer, adding that the talks “could have been more dynamic.”
Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, a core Uralkali shareholder, is reported to be interested in buying a controlling stake in Belaruskali.
The ex-Soviet republic, struggling with a severe currency crisis, is actively selling off stakes in its major companies to boost state coffers.