MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Naliullina welcomes the idea of state companies’ entering the stock market, as this may attract trillions of rubles.
"Not all state companies want to enter the market, though I consider it very important. I am greatly in favor of this idea because the problem with our financial market is that there are a small number of issuers, as even industry leaders do not enter the market, recognizable ones, in which our citizens can invest. And even those that do enter do so with a small stake. We did the calculations: an increase in free float by a few percentage points could attract trillions of rubles to those companies from private investors. This is a resource for development, a resource for the economy, of course, I believe it should be done," she told a conference on Tuesday.
Not all major companies want to enter the market and offer stock as this means increased costs, requirements for transparency and predictability of the dividend policy, the regulator’s chief noted. "It is clear that these are costs, requirements for transparency, predictability of the dividend policy, corporate management rules. But it seems to me that together with the government, we should think it all through," she said, adding that the potential of large companies, including those with state participation, for entering the stock market is huge.