Russia plans to secure pre-emptive rights to purchase shares of strategic JSCs from foreigners - source MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - The Russian government plans to implement pre-emptive rights for itself to purchase the assets of strategic joint-stock companies and entities that are being divested by foreigners exiting the Russian market, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax.
As reported, there was a meeting in April this year regarding a strategy to work with the assets of foreign entities and to improve regulating transactions between residents and non-residents. Based on the results of the meeting - and the list was signed in early June - one of the Russian president's instructions was to develop a framework, by July 15, to grant the Russian government, through the Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimuschestvo), pre-emptive rights to purchase assets sold by foreigners "at a significant discount for subsequent sale at market price and transfer of funds received to the federal budget".
According to Interfax's source, the Finance Ministry has drafted a presidential decree on amending the current decree No. 520, dated August 5, 2022, "On implementing special economic measures in the financial sector and the fuel and energy sector regarding the unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organizations". The document will grant the Russian government pre-emptive rights to purchase the shares of companies included in the list of strategic enterprises and strategic joint-stock companies, as approved by presidential decree No. 1009, dated August 4, 2004, as well as JSCs on the special list from government order No. 91-r, dated January 23, 2003.
The two lists largely overlap, and they include nearly all major issuers with government participation. These include 100% state-owned companies and enterprises, for which pre-emptive rights to purchase from non-residents is irrelevant, as well as companies and banks whose shares are traded on the market. These entities include Rosneft , Gazprom , VTB , Alrosa , Aeroflot , Transneft , Inter RAO , FGC Rosseti , Sovcomflot , Rostelecom , Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), RusHydro , and others.
The Finance Ministry told Interfax that the government was approving the draft decree.
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