Gorbunenko: the 2026 OPZ auction will show whether the state is capable of honest privatization

The appointment of former "Servant of the People" MP Dmytro Natalukha as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) comes at a time when privatization of major assets, particularly the Odesa Port Plant (OPZ), requires from the state not loud statements, but predictable rules and professional management decisions.

This was stated by Oleksandr Gorbunenko, partner at Agro Gas Trading (AGT), in an interview with Yuriy Romanenko, commenting on market expectations from the new SPFU leadership.

"This person [Dmytro Natalukha] faces a choice – not just one that defines him as head of the State Property Fund, but one that shapes the future of privatization in general," Gorbunenko noted.

According to him, the key question is not about the personality as such, but whether the SPFU will become an institution operating on transparent principles that are the same for all process participants.

"This is not about a surname, but about whether the system functions according to clear, transparent, predictable and consistent rules – with norms that apply equally to everyone," Gorbunenko emphasized.

Gorbunenko added that for the market, the story around OPZ goes far beyond personnel decisions and becomes a signal about the state's real intentions – whether competition, access to information and equal conditions for investors will be ensured:

"Either privatization works according to predictable rules, or the state continues to lose investor confidence."

Gorbunenko confirmed that AGT maintains interest in participating in future OPZ privatization auctions and is ready to work within the legal framework, with equal rules for all market participants. The repeat OPZ privatization auction in 2026 could become a marker of whether the state is capable of building a truly competitive and predictable investment process, Gorbunenko notes.

As a reminder, the previous OPZ privatization auction in November 2025 was declared failed due to absence of participants. At the same time, Gorbunenko claims that AGT was groundlessly not allowed to participate in the previous privatization auction, and artificial administrative barriers were created for the company.