Russia has expanded the list of investment banks that will advise it on its planned $59 billion state asset sale programme over the next five years.
The government had previously selected 10 banks, including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Renaissance Capital and VTB Capital in October for its asset sales starting next year. It added 13 more lenders to the list, according to a December 20 decree posted on its website late yesterday.
Moscow-based OAO Sberbank, the country’s biggest lender, Alfa Bank, the largest private lender, and Troika Dialog, Russia’s oldest investment bank, are among those added along with BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, according to the decree.
Russia plans to sell as much as 15 per cent of OAO Rosneft, its biggest oil producer, and stakes in its two biggest banks, Sberbank and VTB Group, as the government seeks to raise 1.8 trillion roubles ($59 billion) in asset sales over five years to help balance the budget.
