Oil change
IT SHOULD be unremarkable: a state-owned company is sold to the highest bidder, with no visible foul play. In Russia it is sensational. On September 12th, the government sold Onako, a regional oil firm, for $1.1 billion—more than double the starting price. Even better, the winner was not the politically best-connected bidder, but a somewhat cleaner rival.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Oil change”
From the September 23rd 2000 edition
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