Russia's Trade and Industry Ministry has agreed to include Apatit, the country's leading apatite concentrate producer and part of FosAgro holding, into the privatization list for 2011-2013.
"Our plans are to privatize Apatit, and we plan its sale in 2011. The Trade and Industry Ministry has agreed to include it into the privatization plan," Alexei Uvarov, head of the property department at the Economic Development Ministry, said on Thursday.
The idea of including Apatit's stake in the share capital of state-owned hi-tech conglomerate Russian Technologies had nothing to do with privatization, he added.
Currently the Russian government owns a 20 percent stake in Apatit.
Russian Technologies head Sergei Chemezov suggested in the summer that the government should establish a large chemical holding, which would consolidate the assets of the sector's key enterprises. Russian Technologies negotiated it with Sibur Holding and Silvinit. Chemezov also offered to include Apatit's 20 percent stake into the holding's capital.
In August, Kommersant business daily said that Vladimir Litvinenko, chairman of the FosAgro's board of directors, had suggested that the government should consolidate FosAgro and Silvinit.
It was presumed that initially stakes in the united company would be owned by FosAgro's current shareholders and owners of Silvinit's controlling stake. Other companies with assets of interest to the holding, including the state, could join the united company later, according to Litvinenko.
MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)
