Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia eyes Russia 091125 Basic Political Developments.5 bln from privatisations in 2010

Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia eyes $2.5 bln from privatisations in 2010

* Govt approves privatisation programme

* To boost state coffers, raise efficiency

* Stakes to be sold in over 400 state firms

(Adds details, background, banker comment)

By Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Russia aims to raise about 72 billion roubles ($2.5 billion) next year selling stakes in more than 400 state-owned companies, including ports, shipping and power firms, Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina said on Tuesday.

Russia's privatisation drive seeks to boost competitiveness in a country where the state is viewed as an inefficient corporate manager, as well as to replenish state coffers drained by helping the country through its first recession in a decade. "The privatisation plan for 2010 has been approved," Nabiullina told reporters after a government meeting.

"The preliminary estimate is about 72 billion roubles of budget revenues. We are doing this not only to get revenues for the budget, but also to increase management efficiency and to create a competitive environment," she said.

The state sell-off offers investors entry to 28 strategic companies, including shipping form Sovcomflot, although some say the privatisation programme for 2010 falls short of expectations by failing to offer up stakes in the country's crown jewels.

Investors interested in state-controlled heavyweights such as banking giants Sberbank (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and VTB (VTBR.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) or energy majors Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) will have to wait beyond 2010.

A Western banker, who declined to be identified, said that Sovcomflot would probably draw strong interest from investors but that other firms on offer were less attractive. Russia would be less inclined to sell, he said, should the economy recover.

"If oil goes up to $120 per barrel, do you think there will be any sizeable privatisation in Russia?" he said.

Oil CLc1 URL-E, Russia's key export commodity, is trading at around $75 per barrel, half its peak value in July 2008 but almost double its worth at the start of this year.

UP FOR GRABS

Russia plans next year to sell stakes in insurance firm Rosgosstrakh and power firm TGK-5 (TGKE.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), as well as cement and salt-mining firms and construction company Moskovsky Metrostroi.

Also potentially up for grabs are stakes in three airports -- Koltsovo in Yekaterinburg, Tolmachevo in Novosibirsk and Anapa, which serves the eponymous Black Sea resort town -- and the sea ports of Novorossiisk, Murmansk, Vanino and Tuapse.

The 72 billion roubles quoted by Nabiullina was slightly lower than the 77 billion roubles quoted by a source in the government on Monday. [ID:nGEE5AM163]

The source told Reuters that the Russian market could potentially "digest" between 50 billion and 100 billion roubles of state asset sales annually over the next three years.

Nabiullina did not name individual firms, but she said the privatisation of strategic firms was expected to yield 54 billion roubles of the 2010 total. Large, non-strategic firms would yield 12 billion and small firms a further 5 billion.

She said some of the stakes would be sold via Internet auctions. (Writing by Robin Paxton; Editing by Ron Askew) ((robin.paxton@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: robin.paxton.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ($1=28.79 Rouble)

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

By Maria Kolesnikova

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The following shares may have unusual price changes in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the previous close unless otherwise noted.

The 30-stock Micex Index lost the most in three days, falling 1.8 percent to 1,331.12 in Moscow. The dollar- denominated RTS Index declined 1.3 percent to 1,447.23.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net.

By Tal Barak Harif

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s Micex Index, the world’s best-performing benchmark equity gauge this year, will surpass 1,400 by the end of December as oil prices rally, said Richard Ross, a technical strategist at brokerage Auerbach Grayson & Co.

The Micex will gain more than 5 percent to a 14-month high by the end of 2009 as crude rises to $82 a barrel, Ross said, citing 50-day moving averages. Oil, which traded at $76.02 a barrel yesterday, may climb to $90 in the next six to nine months if the U.S. maintains its economic recovery, he said.

“A breakout is imminent and could certainly occur by yearend,” Ross said in a telephone interview from New York. “Oil should catch up and provide the catalyst for that breakout above 1,400 and beyond.”

The Micex has surged 115 percent this year to 1,331.12, the best performance among 89 benchmark equity indexes tracked by Bloomberg, as oil and metals prices jumped amid a global economic recovery. Russia’s dollar-denominated RTS Index is up 130 percent. Oil, the country’s biggest export, has soared 74 percent this year.

The Micex’s 50-day moving average outperformed the 200-day moving average, a sign the index may extend gains, said Ross, whose firm trades in 128 countries. The measure’s convergence and divergence moving average, a technical tool that analysts use to gauge the most appropriate time to buy or sell, has also shown a buy signal.

In technical analysis, investors and analysts study charts of trading patterns and prices to forecast changes in a security, commodity, currency or index.

Russian stocks may also benefit should U.S. retail sales get a boost from “Black Friday” on Nov. 27, the traditional start of the holiday-shopping season, Ross said.

“If retail sales come in better than expected here in the U.S. on Black Friday, I think this could provide a catalyst for both stocks and oil,” Ross said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tal Barak Harif in New York at tbarak@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 24, 2009 18:49 EST