PM Shmyhal: International partners do not demand privatization in Ukraine

"Regarding privatization, a large package of small, medium-sized, and large privatizations has really been prepared this year. Of course, we and the State Property Fund very carefully assess the possibilities of the market and investors; we talk about the so-called small privatization, because some small and medium-sized state enterprises in the regions ... do not actually bring profit in the form of dividends or taxes to the state budget, and some enterprises actually fail to pay wages because there is no effective owner. This privatization must be carried out in the first place," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal said at the Parliament, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the PM, more than 3,900 state-owned enterprises of various sizes operate in Ukraine now. At the same time, the state can effectively manage several dozen of the most efficient enterprises that can replenish the budget, i.e. pay large sums of taxes, dividends and be budget-generating enterprises.

The Prime Minister noted that such enterprises had already been identified. They are not subject to privatization and will be corporatized in order to increase management efficiency.

"All the rest - inefficient state-owned small and medium-sized enterprises, which today are a burden on the state, must be definitely privatized. It is not a question of the demand of international partners. The international partners and international experts unequivocally support the path that all civilized countries once took, and today we must do so. The sooner we do this, the more effective the state management of these enterprises will be,” Shmyhal summed up.

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