Russian government sells 10% holding in RUSNANO

This is a very brief news bit from a June 22, 2012 article by Scott Rose for Bloomberg Business Week,

Russia’s government plans to sell stakes in its rail monopoly, grain trader, biggest shipper, nanotechnology holding and largest banks within 18 months as it loosens its grip on an economy dominated by commodity exports.

The state must also sell half of Rosagroleasing, 25.5 percent of OAO Bank VTB, 10 percent of nanotechnology holding OAO Rusnano and 7.6 percent of OAO Sberbank in the same period. [emphasis mine]

After selling 10% of RUSNANO, the government will still own 90% if the information in the Wikipedia essay is correct,

Rusnano (Russian: Роснано) (formerly Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies) is a joint-stock company created and owned by the government of Russia and aimed at commercializing developments in nanotechnology. Rusnano’s task is to create by 2015 a nano-industry in the country that will make marketable products worth 900 billion rubles ($29 billion). In April 2012 they invested US $79m in Quantenna Communications, a manufacturer of semiconductors for wireless networks and devices. According to a press release issued by Rusnano, this investment will leverage synergies between Quantenna’s portfolio and a number of nanotechnology initiatives that are under way at RUSNANO.

One hundred percent of the shares in RUSNANO have become the property of the government. At this moment, the Board of Directors and the Auditing Commission have been formed; the chairman of the Executive Board has been appointed—Anatoly Chubais. During its first meeting, planned for late March 2011, the Board of Directors of RUSNANO will form the Executive Board of the company.

This 10% sale seems more symbolic than serious  when compared to the requirement that the government sell 100% of its shares in various business enterprises such as the OAO RusHydro, Russian Agricultural Bank, Sheremetyevo Airport, amongst others.

2 thoughts on “Russian government sells 10% holding in RUSNANO

  1. Pingback: RUSNANO and 12BF’s clean energy investment fund « FrogHeart

  2. Pingback: Richard Branson, take your hands off my nano « FrogHeart

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