English

Lukashenka upbeat about Belarusian Potash Company`s performance

Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) has recovered from the state "inherited from the Russians," Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on Monday while meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich.

"We`ll get more than $2 billion in revenues from the sale of potash fertilizers alone this year," he was quoted as saying by the presidential press office. "This result is not bad considering that everything is difficult in the potash fertilizer market."

On July 30, Russian potash giant Uralkali announced its decision to stop exports through Belarusian Potash Company, its marketing cartel with Belarus` Belaruskali.

Minsk claims that the collapse of the cartel caused severe economic damage to Belarus.

Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Lukashenka also noted the need to better protect the rights of minority shareholders in privatized companies where the government no longer had a stake. It is also necessary to sort out some legal issues to specify how government officials would represent minority stockholders in companies where the government holds a stake of less than 50 percent, he said.

In late June, the House of Representatives gave first-reading approval to a bill of amendments to the Privatization Law that would allow authorities to interfere in the management of privatized companies. The lower parliamentary chamber is expected to debate the second reading of the bill during its fall session. //BelaPAN