Russia welcomes foreign bids for assets of embattled Yukos oil giant

AFP, December, 2004

NEW DELHI (AFP) — Russia said it would welcome Indian and other companies bidding for the assets of Russian oil giant Yukos, the country's biggest oil exporter, due to be sold off later this month.

Russia is putting up for auction Yukos's main oil producing unit, Yuganskneftegaz, and has set 8.65 billion dollars as the starting price for the sale December 19.

Moscow "wants the auction of the assets of Yuganskneftegaz to be as open as possible and we want as many as candidates as possible," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told reporters on Saturday.

Earlier, Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said the Oil and Natural Gas Corp would participate in the bidding and may forge an alliance with Russian firms like Gazprom for the purpose.

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