The National Asset Management Company (MNV) will take over state-owned companies it does not yet oversee, such as railway company MAV, National Development Minister Tamas Fellegi told MTI.
New principles for inventorying state assets are to be decided by July and applied to the existing inventory system in the first half of 2011, Mr Fellegi said.
Fidesz, which won a two-thirds majority in general elections in the spring, said earlier that Hungary’s deficit was bigger than thought because the previous government had failed to take into account debts of state-owned companies such as MAV.
Board membership at state-owned companies will be reduced as much as possible, he said. At companies where the management takes over the role and tasks of the board of directors, a supervisory board with a mandate to make decisions will be established, Mr Fellegi said. At companies required to include union representatives on the board, workers will account for two of a total of five board members. The board of directors will remain at just 8-10 state-owned companies.
The aim is to establish a policy of negotiation with utilities companies, Mr Fellegi said, adding that gas prices had risen the most and electricity prices were higher in Hungary than anywhere else in the European Union.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced a week earlier that the government would freeze energy prices for households until an agreement can be reached on a new pricing mechanism.
Asked about the government’s stand on troubled airline Malev, Mr Fellegi said the government is looking for possible solutions to ensure the company’s liquidity in the long term. Hungary needs a national carrier, he added noting that they have to consult on the form and content of Malev’s future operation with its minority owner Airbridge, partly owned by Russia’s state-owned Vnesheconombank
The ministry is reviewing public-private partnerships (PPPs) signed earlier, Mr Fellegi said.