Lukoil Sale: Good for Who»

The Russian government's 7.6% percent stake in Lukoil is worth a bundle. However, according to UFG analysts, the government has no need to sell their piece of the oil giant since there are no problem with government budget implementation. On the other hand, the current share price of the company has approached its maximum level and the selling of the stake might be a very good possibility to increase budget revenue.

The company's relationship with the government also appears to be improving. LUKoil President Vaghit Alekperov declared after his meeting with Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin that LUKoil did not have problems with tax payments. The issue to possible tax inspections in LUKoil was raised by Kudrin several weeks ago in his interview to The Times. However, this issue seems to have been solved already. A planned inspection of LUKoil by the Audit Chamber will not find any substantial violations, analysts say.