Olga in the Federal property management Agency in 2012 recruited current Advisor to the President for economy Andrey Belousov, at the time, he was the head of the Ministry of economic development. Her candidacy was supported by the Vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Vedomosti wrote. Civil service Dergunova came from the business she has previously worked as the head of representation Microsoft in Russia and then was appointed to the Board VTB.
Compared to predecessors in Dergunova was a special status: she was appointed and the head of Rosimushchestvo and Deputy Ministry of economic development responsible for this unit. Thus her immediate superior was the Minister Belousov first, and then Alexei Ulyukayev. The main task that confronts Dergunova is the implementation of the privatization program.
Sale
In 2011, the government of Vladimir Putin on the instructions of President Dmitry Medvedev adopted an ambitious privatization program for 2011-2013. Including planned to sell up to 25% of Rosneft, to reduce to a controlling stake in VTB, to privatize 100% of Sovkomflot and 25% of Russian Railways, to reduce the government stake in RusHydro and inter RAO. In 2013 was adopted the privatization program for 2014-2016 and the list of planned sale of major assets has not changed.
The biggest deal that the government could implement when Dergunova is the sale of 16% of ALROSA at the Moscow stock exchange and SPO VTB in 2013, when the state share was reduced from 75.5% to 60,93%. In the case of VTB the money remained in the Bank, from the sale of shares in ALROSA, the Treasury received 18 billion rubles. Dergunova also when the Central Bank sold on the stock exchange of 7.58% stake in Sberbank for 159,3 billion rubles, and Rosneftegaz – 5.66% in Rosneft to BP for 148 billion rubles, However the deals did not the government and the Central Bank and Rosneftegaz, respectively. The Central Bank has transferred money to the budget and to take money from Rosneftegaz to the government and failed.
Formal privatization was the Union in 2015 public and private assets at the airport “Sheremetyevo”. At its end a controlling shareholder of the airport and TPS Avia became Ponomarenko Alexander, Alexander Skorobogatko and Arkady Rotenberg. Of the smaller assets the Agency has sold 49,9% “United grain company” group “the Sum”, 100% “Murmansk sea trade port” company “Mechel-TRANS”, etc.
The majority of the planned transactions never took place. For example, was not sold a controlling stake of “Sovkomflot”, although the sale of the company actively prepared in 2012-2014. Privatization of “Rostelecom” has locked the FSB and the defense Ministry, to reduce the government stake in Russian Railways was not able because of the need of reforms in the railway industry. And the sale of state “inter RAO” is hardly in the truest sense of privatization, because it was sold for 18.8 billion rubles of the state company “Rosneftegaz”.
However, the government’s plans Dergunova even exceeded. Since large transactions depend on market conditions and the decisions of the President, the Finance Ministry has not budgeted large privatization revenues or significantly reduced the plan during the year. For example, in 2013, the plan was only 5 billion rubles, and the government sold assets to 6.4 billion In 2015, the Agency transferred to the budget of 8.1 billion rubles with the plan of 3 billion In 2016, the government is preparing to sell shares of “Rosneft”, “Bashneft”, VTB and “ALROSA”, but in the Federal budget revenues of 32 billion rubles.
Structural reforms
When Olga Dergunova was able to establish the lower limit bar to the payment of dividends for state companies — not less than 25% is what made the revenues to the budget from state-owned companies more predictable (the Federal property management Agency has developed a model regulation on the dividend policy, where this rule was fixed). In addition, the government has agreed that state-owned companies will gradually begin to pay dividends based on the profit under IFRS, but there has been debate regarding the timing of application of the new rules and strap on dividends. For several years the Ministry of Finance insisted on increasing the limit to 35% and calculate the profit under IFRS in 2016, which would significantly increase revenues to the Federal budget. Dergunova believed this threshold was too high and insisted on the individual approach to companies. Neizmenenny strap would mean a predictable policy towards state-owned companies, she said. But in the end the predictability of policy prevented the need to seek new sources of revenue for the Federal budget. In February of 2016 Olga Dergunova said that the economic development Ministry has proposed to increase the bar on dividends in 2016 to 50%.
Dergunova attempted to create a transparent system of selection of candidates to the boards of Directors of state companies. In 2012 the government established a Commission for the selection of Board members in state-owned companies, minutes of Commission meetings are published on the Agency’s website In 2013 Dergunova said that a lack of formalized criteria for the selection of candidates leads to “corruption distortion”. In the end, the Agency had developed it. But in practice the idea was not implemented completely, because the Commission’s decisions are not always fully supported by the government.
The reasons for the resignation
Rumors about the resignation Dergunova appeared over a year ago — in February 2015 Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev declared reprimand. The reason was that the government delayed the timing of transfer of the building in Sochi Olympic University, explained later, the Minister of economic development Alexei Ulyukayev. The government official then said that the initiator of reprimand was precisely the Minister with whom she had a conflict. Another source from the government office said that speaker and Dergunova happened fierce disputes. But a source in the Ministry said that the open conflict she was not.
In November 2015, speaking at the state Duma Committee on budget, Dergunova said at a meeting with first Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov was recommended accelerated sales of large state assets “regardless of what the prices will be in the international markets.” “… we Express our willingness [to sell], if the President supported this decision”. The representative of the Secretariat first Deputy Prime Minister denied the words of the Deputy Minister. He said that “we are not talking about selling without regard to price, such orders nobody gave, although we from the agenda of privatization do not remove”. From Dergunova in the government wanted that she took the initiative for the sale of large assets on less favorable terms, but thus took the responsibility. But she took another position — it is in the current environment will be to execute the orders of their superiors, explaining the reasons for dissatisfaction Dergunova source .
