SPF Is Blocking OPP Privatization

KIEV, Ukraine -- After the Cabinets approval of the privatization terms of Odessa Portside Plant (OPP), the State Property Fund (SPF) refused to call for the privatization auction at its meeting yesterday.

Valentyna Semenyuk
The head of the SPF, Valentyna Semenyuk, explained this refusal as being due to discrepancies in the privatization terms of the Cabinet and the Competition Regulatory Authority, especially in the area of protecting employees.

Mrs. Semenyuk said that before she can sign the protocol, she must report to President Viktor Yushchenko about these significant changes.

Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko has already demanded Mrs. Semenyuk to remove obstacles for the OPP privatization.

It is quite obvious that the OPP privatization is very political and the struggle has already reached highest levels.

Yuliya Tymoshenko urgently needs revenues from OPP privatization for financing the budget including the significant social spending that will improve her popularity, especially ahead of the 2009 presidential elections.

And it's clear that Viktor Yushchenko is trying to delay this process.

As President Yushchenko declared several times that he generally supports the privatizations, he cannot play this game for long and we expect that the OPP privatization will continue soon.

Source: Millennium Capital