OREANDA-NEWS. Belarus' parliament is due to consider a bill that will empower to the government to delegate state representatives to private business entities.

The bill was supposed to have its second reading during the spring session of parliament in 2014, but then the matter was dropped as the document received a lot of criticism from the business community, a representative of the corresponding commission of the National Assembly of Belarus told.

“It is unclear what will become of the bill before it is forwarded for debates during the autumn session, as the parties concerned are still working on the document,” the official said.

As previously reported, there were a lot of debates and arguments about the new law on privatization, which suggests a new form of owner supervision with government representatives delegated to Belarusian OAOs.

The hottest issues, which cause controversy, are the new system of owner supervision, which suggests disbanding supervision boards and delegate government representatives delegated to Belarusian OAOs.

It turned out the Economy Ministry was strongly opposed to the new system of owner supervision, as it would undermine Belarus' investment climate and reduce the market value of Belarusian enterprises.

As previously reported, Belarus prepared a bill to amend the law on state property privatization. The bill also suggested adjusting regulations pertaining to state-owned enterprises getting reincorporated as open joint stock companies (OAOs).

The majority of amendments introduced by the bill aim to reinforce the government's control over enterprises, in which the state used to have or still holds a stake.

The bill differentiates between OAOs created on the basis of 1) former state-owned companies, 2) companies in which the government holds a 50% stake and a 100% stake, 3) companies with a state-owned stake under 50%, 4) privately-owned companies.

With regard to the first group of companies, the bill suggests giving up on supervision board and letting shareholders take decisions.

What concerns companies with a state-owned stake under 50%, the bill suggests establishing supervision boards and letting government representatives vote on behalf of minority shareholders to protect their interests.

With regard to OAOs in which the government does not have a stake, the bill says that local administrations are free to appoint government representatives, who will vote on behalf of minority shareholders and will be able to veto decisions taken by the general meeting of shareholders.

The bill also specifies the scope of authority of appointed government representatives at OAOs.

The document also specifies a procedure for the government to reclaim its stakes in OAOs, which were established in violation of the law.

The bill passed its first reading at the lower chamber of Belarus' parliament in June 2013. The second hearing was due in the autumn session, but the issue was not on the agenda, as the document was still under consideration.