Kariņš said the issue would be seen in the government next week, and although two coalition partners – the National Alliance and the United List – have a variety of concerns about it, “I am sure we have to go in this direction”, said Kariņš.
Kariņš said that this would not mean the privatization of state capital companies, but that minority shares of state capital companies could be listed on the stock exchange. Which companies they would be and what proportions – this is an issue to be debated, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said that the large state capital companies in Lithuania and Estonia are also on the stock exchange, but we [Latvia] have them “seated in ministries, and there is too much political influence over capital company activity, a desire to influence politically”, which hampers development.
Getting rid of this system will contribute more actively to economic development, the Prime Minister said.
Although there is no consensus on this in the coalition, the Prime Minister hopes that “a peaceful and constructive negotiation will be able to reach the common denominator of how this direction could be developed”.
Economics Minister Ilze Indriksone (National Alliance) said in turn that the development of capital markets is a priority and that the state and local governments have companies that can be listed on the stock exchange. She also stated that strategic resources such as “Latvian State Forests” or “Latvenergo” would not be the first capital companies to enter the stock exchange, but there are companies that can do so in the near future.
The government of Māris Kučinskis five years ago also discussed the idea, but dropped it after the negative reactions from "different parties".
