Putin: Rosneft's Purchase of Bashneft to Boost Privatization Effect

Russia's privatization drive will be more efficient after the country's largest oil producer Rosneft purchases a state stake in mid-sized oil firm Bashneft , President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an economic forum, Putin said that now a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft could be sold to private foreign investors.

The Russian government asked Rosneft board to approve the purchase of a 50.1 percent stake in Bashneft for a price not higher than 330 billion roubles ($5.3 billion).


(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Katya Golubkova, Writing by Andrey Ostroukh)