Vimpelcom CEO: No point in Svyazinvest sale now

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's government has no reason to privatize national telecommunications holding company Svyazinvest while high oil prices pad the state budget, head of Russia's No. 2 mobile carrier Vimpelcom (VIP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) told Reuters on Monday.

"I do not quite understand why the government should privatize Svyazinvest now, especially while oil prices are high," said Alexander Izosimov, chief executive officer of Vimpelcom, in an interview at the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.

"From the economic point of view, there is no need to do that. The only logic would be to improve quality of services, as the state governance is not usually notable for high efficiency," Izosimov said at the event, held at the Reuters office in Moscow.

Telecoms Minister Igor Shchegolev said last week the privatization of Svyazinvest was not on the agenda, in contrast to remarks by his predecessor Leonid Reiman, who had said the privatization could be considered this year.

"(A decision) to further delay it (the privatization) can't be called illogical. The only thing the privatization could do is intensify competition, in a way," Izosimov said.

Svayzinvest is 75 percent minus one share controlled by the Russian government, while Russian services conglomerate Sistema (SSAq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) owns the rest.

The privatization of the state-owned stake has been anticipated for nearly a decade. Svyazinvest controls seven regional fixed-line operators and has 51 percent in the former long-distance monopoly Rostelekom (ROS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)