MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Russia’s government plans to privatize a number of energy sector companies in 2016, including Rosneft and Bashneft oil majors, Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev said on Sunday, adding that privatization plans for the foreseeable future do not include Sberbank, one of Russian’s biggest and oldest banks.

"Privatization of Sberbank is not planned in the foreseeable perspective," he said in an interview with NTV television channel. "Our proposals that have been approved in general by the country’s leaders include assets of the fuel and energy sector, such as Rosneft and Bashneft. There are other assets as well."

He said these included companies active on the market and having market-value appraisal. "Naturally, we will not go down beyond this market appraisal," he said.

Ulyukayev noted that the country’s economy had a big number of funds that could be efficiently invested and investing these funds into the government assets was quite reasonable.

He said his personal contacts with Russian businesses proved that they were interested in buying assets. He said he hoped the assets on the 2016 privatization plans would be in high demand.

A possibility for regions

Russia’s ministry of economic development supports the initiative of real estate tax remissions for small business, Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said.

"We support this idea. Russian regions have such a possibility. But we make a special provision making in possible to deduct from the appraised value a sum of leasing up to 500 square meters. If you are a small business and have, say, 800 square meters, your 500 square meters will not be taxable. You will have to pay a tax for the remaining 300 square meters," he said in an interview with NTV television channel.

He said it was just one of the package the government planned to implement to support the economy.