MOSCOW, Dec 21 (Reuters) -
The Russian state may reduce its shareholding in some large companies while maintaining a controlling stake, and has listed about 30 companies for possible privatisation, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear which companies may be included on the list.
"The Ministry of Finance has made proposals to the government in large companies where the state's share is more than 50%, and proposed reducing the share without losing a controlling stake," Siluanov said in an interview on Russia 24.
"And this could be tens, hundreds of billions (of roubles)," he said, adding that the list was with the government and still required further discussion.
"There are around 30 large companies where it is possible to consider lowering the state's share and replacing it with private business."
The state owns many companies outright, and Siluanov said the presence of private shareholders would reduce costs and stimulate companies to be more profitable.
The idea of privatisation has been
championed
by Andrei Kostin, the head of state bank VTB, Russia's second-largest lender.
Earlier this year, Kostin said Western sanctions had destroyed elements of Russia's economy that had taken 30 years to build, and that it needed to create a
new growth model
through privatisations, reallocated budget funds and more state debt. (Reporting by Reuters in Moscow, Alexander Marrow, Darya Korsunskaya; additional reporting by Filipp Lebedev; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
