Transparent and successful privatization of state assets with the simultaneous change in management in state-owned companies, those that cannot be sold, will allow the Government to ensure a 6-7% annual growth of the economy, to create new workplaces and to improve the quality of lives of the citizens in Ukraine. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said during a meeting of the National Reform Council chaired by the President of Ukraine.

The meeting focused on privatization issues, its key event was the presentation of a draft law that was elaborated to change mechanisms for the sale of state assets, to introduce new tools for protecting the rights of investors and to improve the investment climate within the state.

In his statement the Head of Government stressed that the state had proved its ineffectiveness as the owner of a significant amount of property. Instead, the sale of non-strategic enterprises at its initial stage is expected to provide the desired flow of foreign direct investment that is necessary for Ukraine as the air for us to breathe. Volodymyr Groysman compared Ukraine with the total amount of investments worth USD 48.3 bn during the entire independence years with the neighboring Poland that over the same period received over USD 186 bn in investments.

"We have a strong interested in investors coming - efficient, competitive, with advanced technologies, new quality of management. And the new draft law (presented during the meeting) creates equal rules for attracting investors. People at enterprises are waiting for new working conditions, cutting-edge technologies", urged Volodymyr Groysman.

Hence, Prime Minister underlined, the Government considers among the principal objectives of privatization investment promotion, competition development, increase of efficiency of companies. According to him, Ukraine should shorten the amount of strategic and state-owned enterprises to under a hundred companies, which would undergo modernization, corporatization and be switched to new management standards, thereby growing the profit of enterprises. The rest - over 3 thousand objects - should be divided into concession (with the right to lease) or those that are subject to privatization.

“For privatization we offer large enterprises and enterprises that work in unregulated industries. Among those are SE Tsentrenergo planned for the spring of 2018, the United Mining and Chemical Corporation, the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, the Agrarian Fund, the Odessa Oil Refinery, which was returned to the state property, Odessa Port Plant, Ukrgasbank, Turboatom, Ukrspyrt and others”, the Head of Government said.

He expressed confidence that the adoption of the draft law should take place in several months.

"The delay is no longer an option. We have wasted 26 years. Instead, if we make changes in the course of several months, I believe that growth of the economy at the level of 6-7% per annum will become possible, while the development of competition will allow us to take the rightful place in international markets. And here is how we will be able to invest in the quality of people’s lives", stressed Volodymyr Groysman.