RIGA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis suspended a plan this week to list shares in some of the Baltic country's largest state-run companies amid public concerns that the process might turn into something like the "wild" privatization of enterprises Latvia saw in the early 1990s.
However, Economics Minister Arvils Aseradens said on Tuesday that the idea will have to be debated again after this year's parliamentary elections, which Latvia is due to hold in early October.
Admitting that extreme public reactions to controversial issues are characteristic of the pre-election period, the minister said that it is necessary to wait for a period of greater political stability and then consider the proposal again.
Indars Ascuks, head of Nasdaq Baltic Market, a cross-national Baltic securities market, underlined that the listing of state-run companies cannot be compared to privatization because the government, as the key shareholder, can decide how many of the given company's shares it wants to sell on the stock market without losing control over the business.
The Interinstitutional Coordination Center of Latvia has drawn up a report to the government in which it calls on ministries to consider listing shares in such state-owned enterprises as Latvenergo power utility, Latvijas Dzelzcels national rail company, airBaltic carrier or Lattelecom and LMT telecommunications services providers.
Prime Minister Kucinskis, however, said on Monday that the plan was being shelved in order to allay public fears of a possible privatization of the major state-run enterprises.
"We still remember the privatization period of the 1990s. At that time, there were concerns that the privatization might not be in the best public interest. But I think there is little or no resemblance at all," said Ascuks.
The head of Nasdaq Baltic Market argued that the listing of state-run companies would provide an opportunity to invest more of the money accumulated in Latvia's retirement funds into national economy.
The state-owned enterprises, meanwhile, could raise capital and make their management more transparent as the companies' executives would be accountable to the investors.
