OREANDA-NEWS. On 14 August 2009 was announced, that Alexander Shlapak, first deputy head of the presidential secretariat, said yesterday that the president supports the privatization of Oblenergos. According to Shlapak, the sector is already largely in private hands and the advantages of the government remaining involved are limited. Shlapak said the main concern over selling the government's stakes now is achieving a satisfactory price.

Concorde Capital: though Shlapak's statement cannot be taken as the official position of the president, it sheds the light on the presidential secretariat's views. Currently, both the SPF and Cabinet of Ministers are for privatization, leaving only the president to oppose it. The news increases the chances that the privatization of Oblenergos will start in 2009.

Concorde Capital is a full service investment bank operating on the Ukrainian, Russian and CIS markets. In 2007 Concorde Capital’s analytical team was recognized as the Top Team covering Ukraine by Thomson Extel's Pan European Survey. Senior Analyst Alexander Paraschiy was recognized as the Leading Pan-European Investment Analyst – European Emerging Markets. Concorde Capital is a leader when it comes to private placements and M&A deals. Concorde Capital’s sale of a stake in Electron Bank to Volksbank International AG was named the Best Ukrainian M&A deal of the year 2007 by the Adam Smith Institute.