Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law abolishing a 20-year-old list of over 1,000 state-run enterprises that were not allowed to be privatized.
With this Oct. 28 signature, the president demolished a major barrier to launching large-scale privatization.
According to Yulia Kovaliv, deputy head of the President’s Office, there were around eight unsuccessful attempts in Ukraine’s parliament to shorten this list over the past seven years.
“We are very pleased with the support of parliament, which in the first two months of its work was able to adopt a law which completely abolishes the list,” said Kovaliv during a press briefing.
Most of the small state enterprises included in the list will be sold off through the ProZorro online public procurement platform, while some giant enterprises will be added to the “big privatization” list, which includes 16 enterprises like machinery giant Azovmash and fertilizer producer Odesa Portside Plant.
There is currently no publicly available estimate of how much money privatization could generate for the state budget. However, Kovaliv noted that the sale of state-owned potable alcohol production monopoly UkrSpyrt alone could bring in more than Hr 5 billion ($200 million).
Among the first five objects that have no legal issues and are put up for privatization are Kyiv’s Dnipro Hotel and agricultural producer Chaika.
On Oct. 28, Zelensky also signed a decree transferring these assets to the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
“The Dnipro Hotel will be sold in privatization with the involvement of an advisor, since it’s a very important object not only from the economic point of view, but also because it is (part of) the visual appearance of our capital,” said Kovaliv.
Kovaliv also announced that another nine objects would be scheduled for privatization in the coming months. They include Kyiv’s central Ukraine hotel and the Pushcha Vodytsya resort and the Concha Zaspa sanatorium in Kyiv’s suburbs.
“There is ongoing inventory and preparation work. In some cases, we are defending the interests of the state in court,” Kovaliv said.
The state enterprises and assets in question will be transferred to the State Property Fund for privatization within the next 3-4 months.
All money received from privatization will be used to repay state debts and fund social programs.
Privatization also aims to intensify investment activity in the country by making enterprises transparent and efficient businesses.
“Only after privatization will the state and society be able to receive the most productive impact from their activities,” said Economy Minister Tymofii Mylovanov, according to a publication on the Cabinet’s website.
