Ukraine Preparing To Sell Big Government-Run Firms At Fire Sale Prices

Bloomberg: Ukraine Pitches High Returns in Wartime Fire Sale of State Firms 

(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine is looking for investors brave enough to bet that it will beat back Russia’s invasion with a simple pitch: High risk can offer high reward. 

As it fights to defend itself in a war that has killed tens of thousands of its people and devastated the economy, the country is preparing to sell big government-run firms at distressed prices. The aim is to shore up the aid-dependent budget and end a decades-old, post-communist legacy of corruption and mismanagement that has undercut the economy.

If lawmakers agree on changes at a session slated for the start of May, Kyiv could earn more than $400 million in a best-case scenario by selling enterprises ranging from a fertilizer producer to utilities, smelters and an insulin maker. Another $190 million could come from leasing farmland, Rustem Umerov, the head of the State Property Fund, said in an interview.  

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WNU Editor: There is a reason why no one is buying these assets. The rule of law, specifically contract law, is being completely ignored in Ukraine. I see this attempt to sell these assets (at pennies on the dollar) as one last attempt by the powers that be in Kyiv to try and grab as much money as they can before this house of cards collapses. 

Update: Here is an easy prediction. If this money is transferred to Ukraine, it will disappear like everything else .... US Justice Department Seeks New Authority to Transfer Seized Russian Assets to Ukraine (VOA).