Russia's central bank on Monday announced plans to go ahead with the long-delayed auction a 7.58-percent stake in main lender Sberbank following a recent improvement in global market sentiment.
The Bank of Russia said in a statement that the sell-off would leave the state holding a 50-percent stake plus one voting share in the country's main financial institution.
The auction comes in the midst of a three-year $40-billion privatisation programme designed to kick-start the economy after a decade pf strong growth that was followed by a marked slowdown following the 2008 global financial crisis.
The 7.58-percent stake will be auctioned off in both dollars as global depository shares (GDS) and rubles as ordinary shares sold on Moscow's MICEX exchange.
Russian news reports said the bidding would close later this week.