Russia considers 19.5% Rosneft sale – probably to the Chinese

The Russian government is preparing to sell a 19.5% stake in Rosneft in 2016, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last week,  indicating that the minimum price was likely to be set at RUB500bn ($7.1bn). He did not name any potential buyers but hinted that proposals from Chinese investors would be considered and confirmed that the Russian Ministry for Economic Development was “actively working on the deal.”
69.5% of Rosneft – Russia’s largest publicly quoted oil and gas concern  is currently owned by the state-run company Rosneftegaz, with a further 19.75% controlled by  BP. If it goes ahead with the share sale, the government would therefore still retain 50%. It originally considered selling off a stake last year on the provision that shares did not trade below their IPO price of $7.55.
At the close of play on Wednesday, the Moscow stock exchange valued the company at RUB 520.8bn, or  $7.4bn.