Ukrainian News Agency reported that the parliament has rejected a proposal to ban privatization of the Nikopol pipe plant

The first reading of the relevant draft law No. 2657 entitled "On Amendment of the Law of Ukraine on the List of State Assets that are not Subject to privatization received 205 votes while at least 226 votes were necessary for its approval.

The explanatory note to the draft law states that the Nikopol pipe plant is on the list of six enterprises subordinated to the National Space Agency that the Cabinet of Ministers proposes including on the list of enterprises not subject to privatization.

The parliament also rejected a proposal to remove from the list of 45 assets that have lost their national status six that the Cabinet of Ministers has transferred to municipal authorities, and two that have been transferred to the Crimea. It also rejected a proposal to remove 19 assets from the list because they have been liquidated and 72 because they have lost the status of corporate entities following their reorganization.

The parliament also refused to add to the list the following five assets that were created on the basis of the above-mentioned reorganized assets: the Enerhostal enterprise, the Ukrhidroenerho company Crimean Generating Systems, Dniprovskyi Scientific and Industrial Complex for Electric Locomotive Manufacture and the Kyiv Dniprovskyi inter-sectorial enterprise for industrial railway transport. The parliament also refused to re-consider the first reading of this draft law.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Mr Viktor Yanukovych former prime minister instructed the National Space Agency in 2007 to prepare the Nikopol pipe plant for privatization. Before then, the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration initiated preparation of the plant for privatization.

The Nikopol pipe plant was established in 2003 on the basis of one of the workshops of the Nikopol Pivdennotrubnyi plant.

The main products of the Nikopol pipe plant are thin-walled and super-thin-walled pipes made of stainless and titanium steel, which are used in high-technology industries, including the aircraft construction industry.

After the parliament approved the first reading of the state privatization program for 2008 on June 3rd 2008, then-parliament speaker Mr Arsenii Yatseniuk called on the Cabinet of Ministers to submit to the parliament a draft law on amendment of the list of state properties that were not subject to privatization.

(Sourced from Ukrainian news agency)