On 18 January, the Ukrainian parliament passed in the second reading and in general bill No. 7066 on the privatization of state property, which was one of the requirements of the International Monetary Fund.
The bill supported by 266 MPs is a single legal framework aimed at replacing seven legal acts regulating the sale of state property and is significantly simplifying this procedure.
The bill divides state property assets into big (valued at over 250m hryvnyas) and small ones. Big assets will be sold with the help of professional consultants while small ones will be put for sale at electronic platforms similar to ProZorro and may include assets of bankrupt banks and non-core assets of state-owned enterprises.
The process of privatization will no longer require the involvement of valuators as the cost of assets will be determined by the market.
Also, the law will shorten the period of preparation for sale from the current 9-12 months to 4-5 months and will increase the period for filing bids of potential buyers from 20-45 to 20-180 days.
Finally, the new legislation gives investors stronger protection of their rights and a chance to appeal to international courts as well as use the English law as the law of agreements subject to parties' consent.
The bill prohibits Russians from taking part in privatization.