Foreign Bidders Could Be Excluded from Rostelecom Privatization

The Moscow Times
The state will not allow foreign bidders to take part in the auction of a stake in Rostelecom but is ready to sell 50 percent of the telecommunications giant to the country’s leading cell phone operators, Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing its own sources.
The decision is aimed to satisfy a demand of the Defense Ministry, which said the company was a strategic asset and should remain in the government’s hands.
The government is discussing a compromise version of Rostelecom privatization that could provide a balance between national security and economic interests, Kommersant said.
An official familiar with the situation said that even if foreign companies were excluded from the privatization, the government would still be able to raise $5 billion by selling the stake to one of the domestic mobile phone operators.
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