MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia’s umbrella industrial organization, Rostec, will boost the private investment share in the Kalashnikov Concern arms manufacturer to 75 percent, its chief said Thursday.
"Private investors initially held a 49-percent share, but we have agreed to increase their share to 75 percent," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at an annual report presentation, Chemezov said the state-run high-tech giant would keep 25 percent of shares plus one to retain "general control" over arms production.
Kalashnikov Concern was created in 2013 in a merger of two Soviet-era plants – Izhmash and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant – becoming Russia’s largest producer of rifles and other weaponry. The firm sells civilian firearms and combat weapons in over 25 countries, including in Europe, Africa and Asia.
