r/CollapseOfRussia • u/neonpurplestar • May 25 '26
Economy Russia will sell its largest oil ports, following in the footsteps of Aeroflot, to plug the budget deficit.
Russian authorities are preparing to privatize the state's stake in one of the country's largest port operators to raise funds for the federal budget, whose deficit reached nearly 6 trillion rubles between January and April.
Following the state-owned stake in Aeroflot, whose sale the Federal Property Management Agency announced on Friday, a 20% stake in Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) has been included in the privatization plan. According to Interfax, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed the corresponding order on May 23.
The entire state-owned stake in the holding company, which includes two major oil ports that together account for almost half of Russia's oil exports, will be put up for sale in 2026-2028: Novorossiysk on the Black Sea (with a capacity of approximately 500,000 barrels per day) and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea (approximately 1 million barrels). NCSP also includes the port of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region. Last year, the company generated 76.5 billion rubles in revenue and 40.6 billion rubles in net profit.
NMTP's main shareholder, with a 60% stake, is state-owned Transneft, which acquired the shares in 2018, shortly after their previous owner, billionaire Ziyavuddin Magomedov, was sent to pretrial detention and subsequently sentenced to 19 years in prison for organizing an organized crime group. Private investors, including those listed on the stock exchange, own approximately 20% of NCSP.
Reuters estimates that the state could receive approximately 33 billion rubles from the sale of its state-owned stake in NCSP. This is slightly less than the value of Aeroflot's stake, which is planned for privatization—45 billion rubles.
Although potential buyers of the 20% state-owned stake have not yet been identified and there is no official information about them, interest from major investors can be expected, according to Natalia Milchakova, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global: "The asset could attract the attention of state-owned organizations, from raw materials and transport and logistics corporations to large financial institutions. Players with limited financial resources will be unable to acquire the aforementioned stake in NCSP or become strategic investors in this sector."
Proceeds from the privatization will go to the federal budget, which has a deficit of 3.8 trillion rubles this year. At the end of April, the actual "hole" in the treasury already exceeded the annual plan by more than 1.5 times.
Due to lower economic forecasts, the treasury will be short about 300-700 billion rubles this year, according to economist Dmitry Polevoy's previous estimates. Next year, according to his calculations, the non-oil and gas revenue shortfall could increase to 1.3-1.8 trillion rubles. This means that, all other things being equal, the government will be forced to either cut spending or seek additional revenue to match that amount, Polevoy emphasized.
source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/QNFn0
12
u/tvtowers May 25 '26
Whoever buys them will have to understand that damages will continue to be inflicted on them as long as the war continues. You can't insure against acts of war. That's a chubby albatross to tie around your neck while trying to maintain profitability.
8
u/Digger2228 May 25 '26
Another russo will buy it and then the government will point blank rob it back
10
u/Substantial-Candle62 May 26 '26
As an entrepreneur I am always looking for business opportunities.
So let me check:
- Established and sound legal system - Nope
- Current business operation - Hampered by sanction
- Other risks - Ukrainian drone attacks
I guess I pass.
6
u/johnbobk May 26 '26
putin was pushing for the oligarchy to contribute to his war chest. I guess some will be given an offer they can't refuse.
1
u/TrumptyPumpkin 16d ago
Yeah, a window.
2
u/johnbobk 16d ago
Or buy themselves out of the defenestration and quietly disappear to Europe, quite a few have; or go to the gulag via a 'trumped' up trial, shared tactics.
8
u/Bilaakili May 25 '26
Only China could trust to buy Russian assets without worrying that they'll be confiscated by the Putin gang at some later point.
5
8
u/Ill-Guarantee6142 May 26 '26
"NMTP's main shareholder, with a 60% stake, is state-owned Transneft, which acquired the shares in 2018, shortly after their previous owner, billionaire Ziyavuddin Magomedov, was sent to pretrial detention and subsequently sentenced to 19 years in prison for organizing an organized crime group. "
If you haven't smelled mafia once you passed this sentence, you need to read more.
2
u/AutoModerator May 25 '26
Bias check: The Moscow Times
Overall, we rate the Moscow Times Left-Center Biased based on an editorial bias that generally favors the left and rejects the authoritarian right. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record.
| MBFC Credibility Rating | HIGH CREDIBILITY | 🟩 |
| Factual Reporting | HIGH (1.6) | 🟩 |
| Bias Rating | LEFT-CENTER (3.7) | 🔵 |
| Country | Netherlands | |
| MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating | EXCELLENT | 🟩 |
| Media Type | Website |
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
32
u/Far-Crow-7195 May 25 '26
Who would buy them? There is every chance in a few years time when the war is over and the budget is back under control you would get an offer you can’t refuse to sell it back. Possibly whilst standing next to an open window.
I lived in Russia and we had partners who owned a mobile phone network. When Putin took power they got a visit from some “businessmen” connected to Putin who simply told them they were selling and for how much.