OREANDA-NEWS. As many as 255 state-owned companies will be transferred into private ownership in 2013.

Georgi Kuznetsov, Chairman of the State Property Committee, made a statement to this effect at a board meeting.

By now, about 5,000 state-run companies have had their ownership category changed. They make up two thirds of the total number of companies that are set to go private, Kuznetsov said.

The SPC chief said he finds it necessary to go ahead with state property reforms and create a favorable investment climate by means of setting up large-scale production.