Due to the specifics of the interests and structure of the Russian economy, one of the main elements of our daily work is reading draft regulatory documents published by the authorities on regulation.gov.ru. At the same time, in addition to their main content, which gives an idea of what the state considers to be relevant for itself in the field of economic management, observations of the second order are sometimes useful – for a change in intonation and new arguments. For me, a discovery in this area was the use of the credit rating of a joint-stock company and the subtle differences between the controlling and blocking stakes in the discussion of government agencies on how to divide an asset.
On Friday, the Ministry of Economy published a draft government decree on the transfer of a block of shares in JSC SME Corporation (de facto the administrator of the system for distributing state support from the ministry to small and medium-sized businesses) to the state corporation VEB.RF. It gathers all development institutions into a vertically integrated structure, and there is nothing phenomenal in such a transfer itself. But, describing the parameters of this transfer, the Ministry of Economy makes a non-trivial argument in favor of keeping the government’s blocking stake in the SME Corporation. The fact is that now the corporation has the highest credit rating (AAA from the ACRA agency), which allows it to issue guarantees against which banks lending to small businesses do not need to create reserves. And since this rating is ensured by control over the government’s joint-stock company, then it is necessary to keep the block of shares in its ownership.
Further, the explanatory note includes a strange passage that this package must be a blocking one, 25% plus 1 share. Because, although it is called “blocking,” it can, in fact, be considered a control one, since it will allow the government to retain control over the main issues of management of JSCs, which means both the rating and the cheapness of lending in the sector. In this case, according to the Ministry of Economy, “the transfer of SME Corporation JSC under the control of VEB.RF will not have a negative impact” on its long-term credit rating, “determined on the basis of the corporation’s relationship with the state.”
The explanatory note is silent about the relationship with the state of VEB.RF (and its equally positive influence on the rating of JSCs). Maybe the Ministry of Economy in such a strange way hopes to retain at least a blocking stake? But the White House’s right to decide for itself how many shares of the SME Corporation to keep for itself is already enshrined in the law on the role of VEB.RF in coordinating development institutions. It remains only to assume that it is in the interests of the Ministry of Economy to give VEB as many shares as possible: then, at least, the passage becomes clear that the blocking stake is almost a controlling stake and that it is enough for the government.
The only pity is that the use of a new argument rarely turns out to be successful on the fly: what does the credit rating have to do with it, it is absolutely incomprehensible.
.