MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Attraction of private investments to the Russian defense industry is possible and necessary, but only after a restructuring program is implemented, Viktor Ivanov, deputy head of the Russian president's administration and chairman of the board of directors of the Almaz-Antei holding company, has said.
"The state must know the real market value of its assets. Real capitalization, which includes taking into account the intellectual component, can only be achieved during the restructuring of enterprises in the framework of the single technological link bringing together development, production and sales. Attraction of non-state investments in the defense industry is possible and necessary, but only after capitalization of defense industry holding companies is increased," Ivanov said in an interview published in Issue 22 of the Kommersant-Vlast magazine.
"A managing body that is responsible for the creation, upgrade and maintenance of air defense assets had to be set up" during the creation of the holding company, he said.
Ivanov stressed that inclusion of over 40 enterprises in the holding company is very important for the preservation of critical technologies.
"There are enterprises where the state defense order amounts to only seven to ten percent. There are people and production facilities, but only seven percent of funds are available. If personnel quit, and if the enterprise is auctioned off, it is impossible to restore the school under current circumstances. We can lose the entire industry," Ivanov said.
According to him, nearly all enterprises within the holding company have been transformed into joint-stock companies.
The creation of the Almaz-Antei consortium and abolition of competition on the domestic Russian market will not result in the stagnation of the industry, Ivanov went on.
"Military-purpose products are not on the free market. The Defense Ministry is our only customer," he said.
Ivanov spoke for granting the consortium the right to export its products independently.
"Now as large corporations, such as Sukhoi and the air defense consortium, have started to emerge, they can represent Russia decently on international markets. Arrangement of the corporations' work by themselves is an international tendency. This idea was confirmed by the military-technical cooperation commission under the president in autumn 2002," Ivanov said.
According to him, the consortium cooperates closely with the Rosoboronexport state-owned arms trader, but there may be a conflict of interests between them.
"Both Rosoboronexport and the air defense consortium are economic entities. Therefore, each of them wants to get more opportunities," he stressed.