Finance Minister says that revenue reduction due to fact that at least 60 percent of money will reach state coffers only in last quarter of 2001
cast volume of privatization revenues in the new version of the 2001 budget, it will not scale down its ambitious plans for the sale of state enterprises in 2001, Finance Minister Ihor Mitiukov told a press conference.
Mitiukov said that the reduction in privatization revenues was due to the fact that at least 60 percent of this money would reach state coffers only in the last quarter of 2001. This, according to Mitiukov, will give rise to a shortage of budget funds in the first nine months of the year, which is why the government decided to reduce this article of revenues.
As Ukrainian News already reported, the Cabinet of Ministers sent the revised draft budget for 2001 to Parliament for its second reading on Wednesday, November 15. In the revised draft, planned privatization revenues are set at Hr 5.9 billion.
In the first version of the budget, the Cabinet had planned to receive Hr 9 billion, but the International Monetary Fund and several members of parliament came out against this figure, considering it unrealistic.
However, Mitiukov said, changes in the budget do not mean a scaling down of privatization plans.
He said that the authorities are continuing to count on receiving $1.5 billion from privatization, or Hr 9.3 billion using the government’s forecast for the average exchange rate over the year.
Mitiukov said that state shares in Ukrtelekom – the jewel of Ukrainian privatization – will be sold at the end of next year.
He said that if the plan is fulfilled and privatization revenues exceed the Hr 5.9 billion figure included in the budget, then the authorities will spend the excess money on paying off foreign debt and on investment.
“The thing is that we mustn’t just consume a significant part of privatization revenues right now, what we have to do is solve the problem of our debts and raise the potential of the economy,” said Mitiukov.
The government had previously announced that state shares in a number of top enterprises will be sold to Western investors next year, as earlier reported.
The privatization plan includes state stakes in energy distribution companies, machine-building and metallurgy plants, and Ukrtelekom, according to the report.
