RFE/RL Newsline
June 27, 2005
PUTIN'S CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS KREMLIN NOW CONTROLS GAZPROM...
Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Dmitrii Medvedev, the head of the presidential administration and chairman of the board of natural-gas giant Gazprom, said in an interview with RTR on 26 June that a general assembly of company shareholders on 24 June approved increases in the state's stake in Gazprom to just over 50 percent (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 June 2005). Medvedev said many people thought Gazprom was already a state company but that was not the case, as the government controlled Gazprom only politically, i.e., through a majority on the board of directors. "Now we control the company economically, as well," he said. "By so doing we can block decisions that put the economic interests of the country at risk." With the state owning a controlling stake in the company, Gazprom could begin liberalizing the domestic and foreign market of its shares in order to merge them, Medvedev said. Consolidating both markets would allow for raising the capitalization of Gazprom and, therefore, increasing the capitalization of the Russian stock market and, eventually of Russia, Medvedev concluded. VY
...AS COMPANY CEO OUTLINES NEW STRATEGY OF GAS GIANT
Speaking at the general assembly of Gazprom shareholders, CEO Aleksei Miller said on 24 June that by the fall a joint commission of Gazprom representatives and the government will launch a liberalization of the market "which help to fairly evaluate the real capitalization of Gazprom," polit.ru reported. The company plans to improve its transparency and raise the share of oil assets in the structure of the company to 55 percent so that the Gazprom structure will look similar to the composition of world oil giants ExxonMobil, BP, and Shell polit.ru reported. To this end, Miller, the company plans to buy new oil deposits in Russia and abroad. In 2006, Gazprom will increase the price of Russian gas exported to former Soviet republics and will do business with them only on a market basis, eliminating barter deals, Miller said. Finally, Miller said that Gazprom will not increase the price of gas in Russia. According to the energy strategy, the domestic gas price will not exceed $60-65 for 1,000 cubic meters, Miller said. VY