Corporation(Latin corporatio - association) is a single set of three types of commercial structures:

· Joint stock company;

· Commercial manufacturing enterprise;

· Banking capital seeking to enrich themselves through profits.

Such a unification initially became, during the period of industrialization of production (the onset of the second stage of economic development), objectively necessary. To create large enterprises equipped with machinery, it was necessary to sharply increase money capital by creating joint stock companies. Owners of enterprises began to invest part of their profits in organizing joint-stock companies (JSC) - to issue shares and other securities.

Promotion- such a security that indicates that its owner has contributed his share to the capital of the joint-stock company, which gives him the right to receive dividend – income per share.

The joint stock form of the economy sharply accelerated the enlargement of the size of enterprises. We actively participated in this process large banks. They were converted to joint stock companies and began to issue and sell securities - stocks and bonds.

Bond(Latin obligatio - obligation) - a type of security (debt obligation) for which its owner is paid an annual income in the form of a predetermined percentage of the face value of the bond. Banks buy and sell bonds of joint-stock companies and bonds of government loans. The latter gives the state funds with which it covers the deficit (Latin deficit - lacking) - the lack of its budget funds.

The share of new corporate capital in the national economy can be judged from the following US data on beginning of XXI V.

In the USA, the shares of different types of businesses in the entire national product were distributed as follows: corporations – 20%, partnerships ( joint ventures individual shareholders) – 8%, individual private firms (independent business entities) – 72%. These types of businesses were divided by sales revenue: corporations - 87%, partnerships - 9%, individual private firms - 4%.

It is clear that corporations have become the dominant form of business in the United States. The situation was similar in other Western countries.

As for Russia, the rapid creation of joint stock companies (and, accordingly, corporations) began in 1992 during the privatization of state and municipal property. Statistics about this process are given in Table 11.

The main identification features that allow us to reveal the essence of the concept of a corporation:

1) Corporation as a legal entity.

2) Corporation as a synonym for joint stock company.

3) Corporation as an artificial entity.

4) The corporation exists on the basis of the contractual theory or theory of contracts.

5) The corporation exists on the basis of a broad approach to the goals of the business organization.

Corporations are an association of legal entities of economic entities into an organization that is a structured group of participating members entering into agreed and coordinated organizational, economic and managerial relations regarding the formation and use of joint stock property to achieve the desired result, as a synergistic effect of integration interaction.

Purposes of association into corporate structures:

1) Promotion financial stability within an integrated complex.

2) Transfer of accumulated capital to more promising directions activities.

3) Increasing the competitiveness of manufactured products and maintaining effective demand for it.

4) Carrying out technical re-equipment on an innovative basis.

Entering international business and international markets.

5) Obtaining certain advantages in the use of narrow segments or niches of the market.

6) Receiving a variety of marketing, consulting and other assistance.

Ways to create corporations:

1) At the initiative of the state:

a) Transformation state enterprises into joint stock companies in the process of privatization.

b) Creation of new joint-stock companies or state corporations with 100% state ownership.

2) Creating a corporation anew, or in other words, from scratch.

Advantages of the merger:

1) Concentration of funds, inaccessible to individual owners, which allows expanding production capabilities and market share.

2) Reduced unit costs or cost savings as a result of production scale.

3) Distribution of risks and responsibilities between participants, which reduces possible losses everyone.

Disadvantages of unification:

1) Loss of financial and sometimes production autonomy and independence when a company is merged.

Distinctive features of the corporation:

1) The independent existence of a corporation from its owners means that the corporation, as an independent legal entity, owns property and manages the results of its activities. Shareholders or members of a corporation are the owners of shares, but not property. Shareholders and the corporation are interconnected, since a share gives the right to receive income, participate in management and to part of the property of the corporation upon its liquidation. The share reflects rights of obligation. The shareholder is not liable for the debts of the joint stock company. A shareholder's liability is limited and his losses cannot be greater than he invested in purchasing the shares.

2) The special nature of the transfer of ownership is manifested through the sale of shares. A share can pass from one owner to another, but the joint stock company itself does not cease to exist; only a transfer of a share or share occurs in value terms, and not in kind. Since a share reflects the cost of capital of a joint stock company per 1 share. The specifics of the transfer of property in the Russian Federation depend on the type of joint stock company in the OJSC - there are no restrictions on the transfer of shares to external inverters. CJSC has a special procedure. Shares are offered to the shareholders of the CJSC, secondly to the CJSC itself, and thirdly to external investors. In this case, the refusal of the CJSC to repurchase its own shares is documented in an extract from the meeting of shareholders.

3) Separation of ownership from management. In corporations, especially large ones, the owners are not able to carry out operational management. Therefore, they transfer management rights to hired managers who represent their interests both within society and in external institutions. Since managers do not always use their powers in the interests of shareholders, control over their activities is necessary on the part of society.

Control is carried out using three links:

1) General meeting shareholders.

2) Board of Directors.

3) Executive body.

Distinguish following signs corporation classifications:

1) By breadth of geographical coverage:

Transnational;

Interstate;

National;

Industry;

Regional;

An enterprise as an independent economic entity.

2) According to the purpose of creation:

Commercial;

Non-profit.

3) By type of capital combination:

Associations on a property basis;

Contractual forms of associations;

Associations of entrepreneurs.

Let's take a closer look at the main types of corporate associations in Table 1

Table 1 - Main types of corporate associations on a property basis

Corporations and their role in the Russian economy

Corporation as an organizational and legal form of large business

The concepts of 'small', 'medium' and 'large' businesses are widely used in the economic literature, but there are no generally accepted criteria for their definition. In our opinion, the qualitative certainty of a small business is the combination of the functions of the owner (founder) and the general manager. This determines the advantages of small business - prompt decision-making, flexible adaptation to the needs of the market and its specialized or small niches, high labor intensity due to the direct contact of the manager with all performers, minimal management and control costs. However, a manager can only process a small amount of information (up to 600 bits per day), so his business is not able to carry out large tasks alone. innovative projects, which determine the competitiveness of the modern economy.

Medium-sized businesses solve this problem by separating ownership from management. It is represented by indivisible economic entities, economic agents (firms) that produce goods and services in the real or financial sector, managing, as a rule, one property complex (enterprise) with the help of hired managers. Of the 3.7 million legal entities in Russia, 85% were registered in 2007 as LLCs (since 2006, important changes were made to the law on their status), and approximately 5% were registered as state unitary enterprises, municipal unitary enterprises, business partnerships, industrial cooperatives, non-profit organizations (NPOs) representing small and medium-sized businesses. Medium-sized enterprises, as microeconomic entities, process the bulk of production resources into goods and services, while reducing transaction costs.

Big business- merger of enterprises. Around a certain product group (diversified company), technological chain (vertically integrated company) or general group owners and senior managers (integrated business group IBG). His main feature is the ability to change the economic institutions of a certain sector of the economy, national or even world economy, to have a “topological” impact on the socio-economic environment. The main quantitative indicator of a large business is the volume of sales of goods and services (turnover), since the amount of profit and market capitalization largely depends on the adopted accounting system or the behavior of stock market players. *

Large business performs not only microeconomic, but also meso- and macroeconomic functions, ensuring consistency, i.e. consciously maintained proportionality of economic development. Many publications claim that Russia is moving from a planned to a market economy. This is a profound misconception, following which leads the economy to a dead end. An innovative and, especially, a post-industrial economy is planned by its nature; only the content and methods of planning change. The state develops forecasts and target programs (national projects), in the financing of which it participates, and large business, its alliances and business associations develop innovation and investment projects, which become the main form of strategic planning. Russian reforms mean a transition from a mobilization to a contract market economy, where orderliness is achieved on the basis of voluntary agreements of economic entities, rather than centralized administrative orders.

These issues have not been adequately researched. The literature presents mainly microeconomic concepts of the company (their classification was studied by N.V. Pakhomova *).

For large businesses, the agency problem becomes particularly acute: owners, managers, investors, consumers, and employees are divided and have their own, often conflicting, interests. Russian state in the 90s turned out to be unable to harmonize them and subordinate them to the interests of society; on the contrary, it itself was essentially privatized by big business. This business itself (IBG Menatep, Millhouse Capital, Basic Element, Alfa Group, Renova, etc. are registered in offshore zones on the islands of the Caribbean (perhaps he discovered the commonality of his mentality with Pirates of the Caribbean , Oceania, Cyprus, Gibraltar, etc. Their trading companies are also located there, which receive products from Russia at low transfer rates and sell them at market prices. According to the World Bank, up to 20% of Russian GDP is thus transferred from enterprise accounts to trade accounts; taxes are not paid on this profit, as well as on dividends paid in offshore zones. In fact, Russian big business is outside Russian jurisdiction.

Corporation- an economic entity whose authorized capital is divided into equal shares - shares that give the right to access information and participate in profits and are in free circulation. The rules for this treatment are established by law and the corporation's charter. Corporations formally include 40 thousand JSC, whose shares can be distributed by open subscription among an unlimited number of persons, and 260 thousand CJSC - their shares are circulated in the CJSC itself and among a predetermined circle of people, for example, shares of a meat processing plant - among meat suppliers. Shareholders of OJSC and CJSC, as participants in contractual relations, are exempt from individual legal and property liability for the results of the JSC's activities; it is limited to the size of the capital share they invested in the shares.

Corporation- the main organizational and legal form of large business. Of the approximately 60 million firms registered in the world, only 10% are corporations, but they produce more than half of the world's GDP. The share of corporations in Russian GDP is even higher, because small and medium-sized businesses are underdeveloped.

What are the main advantages of a corporation as a market entity?

The main one is the ability to attract additional capital by issuing securities and selling them on the stock market. The corporation, by analogy with the Central Bank, essentially acts as an emission center, exchanging its obligations recorded in paper or electronic form for real investments. In 2006-2007 About 50 Russian corporations conducted an IPO (initial public offering) - an initial public offering of their shares on Russian and foreign stock exchanges, receiving about $40 billion - 6.5 times more than in the decade 1996-2005. Capitalization of the Russian stock market in 2005-2006. has grown more than fourfold and in 2008, according to the forecast of the National Association of its participants, will amount to 1 trillion, and by 2015 - 3 trillion. dollars. The volume of transactions in shares is forecast to increase 25-30 times and reach 4.6-5.7 trillion. dollars, and with corporate bonds by 21-27 times (up to 350-450 billion dollars)

However, only 800 corporations have issued their shares publicly, and the share of these shares is often only a few percent share capital. The shares of only 200-300 corporations are actively quoted on stock exchanges (in India - more than 10,000). About 38% of the capitalization of the stock market in 2007 was provided by only 50 joint stock companies. This means that the majority of Russian corporations are essentially not such corporations. They do not list (evaluate) their securities on the stock exchange, because To do this, you need to disclose information about the composition of owners, income, financial flows, debts, and switch to the international system financial statements(IFRS). Disclosure of information sharply increases the risk of a hostile takeover, which is carried out with the help of corrupt government officials. So, after Togliattiazot, one of the most successful chemical corporations, refused to transfer a controlling stake in its shares to an oligarchic structure, in 2006 the plant was subjected to two hundred tax audits, the court arrested part of the corporation’s stake, which would allow unfriendly minority shareholders to receive majority of votes (in 2007 this decision was overturned by the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court). It is necessary to radically improve corporate legislation to protect the rights of founders and investors.

The second important advantage of corporations is the creation of subsidiaries, grandchildren and dependent companies that jointly serve a certain market segment. This allows you to use not only purely market means associated with price and non-price competition, but also organizational and planning methods associated with mesoeconomic marketing (formation and development of demand in a given market segment) *, and management, innovative forecasting, management of intersectoral investment programs and projects , global and regional logistics). The corporation, as middle management, plans and organizes the entire technological cycle in the mesoeconomics *, including the production and sale of the final product, after-sales service to its consumers, while taking into account the full - direct and associated costs.

In a number of sectors of the economy, only a few corporations are in the lead, which enter into alliances with each other and increasingly determine and organize the development of the corresponding market segment. Thus, the main manufacturers of personal computers are Dell, Hewlett Packard and the Chinese Lepovo; chips are produced by 4 transnational corporations. The Russian cellular communications market is dominated by 3 corporations - MTS (35% of 120 million subscribers). VimpelCom (34%) and Megafon (19%). Such corporations and their alliances are fundamentally new form systematic cooperation between competitors - accept and implement strategic decisions on the development of new markets, the development of new products and technologies, the creation or liquidation of production facilities and jobs in various countries and regions. They decide where to register a company, pay taxes and resolve legal disputes, in what currency to nominate contracts and open accounts, where to transfer capital, the amount of which often exceeds the budgets of many states.

This requires the introduction of a new reporting system for corporations. In the USA and EU countries recent years the heads of large corporations were convicted, who caused multibillion-dollar damage to their shareholders and investors by organizing fictitious financial flows between dozens of shell companies specially created for this purpose. External auditors are unable to control these flows. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (USA) made senior managers criminally responsible for reporting. Social reporting according to the CRI C3 standard, created in a process of consultation with shareholders, employees and the public, characterizes the corporation's strategy and its impact on the economic security and socio-economic well-being of the country and region. Uralsib was the first company in Russia to present such reports.

Another advantage of corporations is the democratic division of power between legislative (general meeting of shareholders, executive (board of directors and management) and control and audit bodies (audit commission and mandatory external audit). To implement this principle, independent (not working in the corporation, not having its shares, etc.) directors, representatives of personnel, scientific, consumer, environmental organizations Legislation and the charter of the corporation should contribute to solving the agency problem, coordinating the interests of shareholders, investors, managers, employees, clients, local authorities and the public.

2. Types of corporations

The variety of types of corporations allows you to make full use of their advantages. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation specifies closed and open joint-stock companies. However, the differences between most of them are insignificant. Only those corporations that have registered the initial placement of their shares and store them in a special depository should be classified as OJSC. In foreign practice, in addition to CJSC (close corporation) and OJSC, there is an S-corporation - an association of capital of individuals that has tax benefits. This classification is based on the organizational and legal form.

Based on the content of their activities, investment and production corporations are distinguished. Investment IBGs are diversified financial holdings that do not produce goods and services for external buyers, but only buy and sell assets, control the movement and profitability of capital, manage financial risks, select the heads of the corporations included in the holding and determine their strategy, organize the issue and turnover of securities papers Almost all of these IBGs are registered abroad and are conglomerates - associations of companies in a wide variety of industries, connected only by unity of ownership and financial management. Thus, IBG `Renova` owns assets in metallurgy, oil, mining, food, chemical industries, energy, housing and communal services. Interros, along with the Norilsk complex, includes the Profmedia holding (TV channel, radio stations, publishing houses, electronic information, entertainment). AFK Sistema, along with telecommunications, development and production of electronic equipment, owns construction, development, tourism, oil companies, and the Perm Machine-Building Holding.

Manufacturing corporations (in the “Basic Element” - Russian Aluminum, Avtoprom, Ingosstrakh, Glavmosstroy, Cable Networks, etc.) organize marketing, development, production and sales of goods and services in a certain market segment, independently enter stock market. They often create base-level subsidiary corporations (for example, the Sayan and Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelters), which carry out operational management of production within the framework of the overall strategy.

According to the form of ownership, state, public and family corporations are distinguished. Radical liberal economists strongly object to the creation of state-owned corporations, which allegedly interfere with the "invisible hand of the market." Meanwhile, just such a corporation was created in Singapore, which even super-liberals consider a model of marketism and effective participation in globalization, on the initiative of its long-term leader Lee Kuan Yew. It was not engaged in the production of goods, but contributed to the planned (consciously maintained proportionality) development of the economy, which allowed Singapore to take one of the first places in the world (in 2007 - 2nd) in terms of its competitiveness.

In Russia, an aircraft manufacturing corporation was created in 2007, uniting 11 factories, a number of design bureaus, leasing companies, training centers, etc. It is a holding company with a dominant stake in the state, which determines the development strategy of the production corporations Sukhoi, MIG, etc. The holding is built as a horizontally rather than vertically integrated company, i.e. does not include manufacturers of engines, avionics, etc. The United Shipbuilding Corporation was built on the same principle, including three groups of shipyards - in the North-West, North and Far East. State corporations operate in the nuclear complex (Atomenergomash), the titanium industry, and special metallurgy. After the return of illegally withdrawn assets, the state regained a controlling stake in Gazprom, the largest corporation in Central and Eastern Europe.

Initially, some state corporations, especially in the military-industrial complex and infrastructure (RAO Railways, Pulkovo) are created on the basis of federal state unitary enterprises with 100% state participation. Then part of the shares is sold, incl. to a wide range of small investors ('public placement') to finance the renewal of production. This is what I did in 2006-2007. Vneshtorgbank, the state's share in which is reduced from 99.9% to a controlling stake. At the same time, 10-20% of shares, incl. in strategic industries (weapons production, military equipment, special steels and alloys, aerospace industry, natural monopolies, nuclear energy, offshore fields with oil reserves of more than 70 million tons and gas reserves of more than 50 billion cubic meters. m., the use of infectious disease agents and agents active influence on geophysical and hydrometeorological processes), where a controlling stake cannot belong to non-residents.

State corporations must operate on a competitive basis market fundamentals, promoting the development of private business, incl. small and medium. This is facilitated by the new procedure for competitive distribution of government orders.

Public corporations are owned by a large number of shareholders, none of whom have a controlling interest. Thus, the owner of the largest stake in General Motors, K. Kerkorian, has only 7% of the shares. Hundreds of thousands of individuals own shares in a public corporation, allowing them to turn their savings into investments. For these companies, public assessment of their social responsibility plays a special role. Rosneft shares in 2006-2007. bought by more than 115 thousand private investors (about 28% of them are pensioners, about 12% are teachers and scientists, more than 10% are office workers, housewives, and students). Vneshtorgbank, Sberbank, Gazprom, Tatneft are following the same path. However, in general, the share of public corporations in their total revenue is approximately ¼ in Russia, and 4/5 in the USA and a number of other countries.

The family corporations of Rockefeller, Ford, Morgan, Rothschild, Siemens, Bayer, Peugeot, Toyota, Agneli played a special role in creating the competitive economies of the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Japan. Family companies Mittal and Tata from India are leaders in the iron and steel industry, in recent years years they acquired such giants as the Krivoy Rog plant (Ukraine), Arcelor (Luxembourg), Corus (England). IKEA is the leader in the furniture industry and trade. In 2002-2006 According to Credit Suisse, the capitalization of family corporations grew by 8%, and in the technology sector - by 44.5% per year - faster than that of public ones. However, there are almost no companies left abroad that are 100% owned (like Basic Element by O. Deripaska) or in the predominant part (like AFK Sistema by V. Evtushennov, State Customs Committee Norilsk Nickel by V. Potanin, Severstal Group ` - A. Mordashov, Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant group - V. Lisin, `Renova' - V. Vekselberg, etc.) would belong to one person.

Based on the nature of their specialization, corporations are divided into horizontally and vertically integrated. In Russia, vertically integrated companies predominate, which include both suppliers of raw materials, materials, components, and trading, transport, financial firms. This reduces the risk of disruption of deliveries, violation of contracts, and inflated prices, but at the same time does not allow full use of the benefits of globalization by choosing the best supplier, transporter, and distributor based on a competition. Vertically integrated oil corporations, which own oil refineries (refineries), pipelines and gas stations, have become monopolists in many regions of Russia, which allows them to inflate gasoline prices.

In countries where strict enforcement of contracts is ensured by developed legislation, an independent judiciary and business ethics, mergers and acquisitions occur mainly horizontally. Oil corporations sell refineries, gas stations, etc., and use the services of specialized drilling, repair and sales companies. In Russia, Lukoil also sold its drilling division, tanker fleet, etc. However, many corporations own non-core assets - seaports, television stations, newspapers, football teams, etc.

Based on the scale of activity, local, national and transnational corporations (TNCs) are distinguished. According to the Boston Consulting Group, there were 7 TNCs operating in Russia in 2007 - Gazprom, Lukoil, RusAl, Severstal, Norilsk Nickel, VimpelCom and MTS. In Brazil there are 12 such TNCs, in India - 21, in China - 44, in the USA, EU and Japan - several hundred each. In recent years, Russian corporations have been increasingly actively acquiring assets in the near and far abroad. This allows you to enter new markets, obtain advanced technologies, and bypass customs barriers.

Of particular importance is the creation of strategic alliances - value chains based on joint innovation and investment projects that allow sharing risks, but do not require the pooling of core assets and the creation of cumbersome management structures. Thus, the strategic partnership agreement between the GAZ Group, Russian Machines corporations and Magna International Europe AG provides for joint development of design, engineering, production preparation, production and logistics of automotive components (dashboards, body panels, interior and exterior modules, plastic parts, equipment and stamps). Assembly of body components and parts in Nizhny Novgorod remains an independent business.

Alliances, which even the worst competitors enter into, represent a qualitatively new form of corporate relations. They allow systematic breakthroughs in technology (plasma panels, liquefied gas transportation, alternative and hydrogen fuel engines, etc.) and transformation of proportions in the economy.

The essence of a corporation

The economic object of an enterprise is a separate, independently operating organization. For example, companies, organizations. Such objects can be either commercial or non-commercial. Objects also differ in their forms of management. For example, public joint stock companies or open joint stock companies. IN Russian Federation Civil Code a form of association and management has been established as a corporation.

To study the corporation as an object of enterprise economics, the same methods and market laws are used as for other commercial enterprises. Features appear only in connection with aspects of the corporation.

Also, under the economics of corporate management, such a concept and field of knowledge as corporate governance is often used.

Definition 1

A corporation is an economic entity that has the properties legal entity. Created based on legislative framework. Property in a corporation belongs to shareholders collectively. The board of directors is responsible for economic policy. The peculiarity is the unification of various parties in order to achieve common goals.

Examples of the world's largest corporations: Unilever, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson. In the Russian Federation, corporations are developing in such industries as insurance, finance and credit, and the fuel and energy industry. Examples of corporations in Russia: OJSC Gazprom, OJSC Severstal.

Features of corporations

The main features and properties of corporations are as follows:

• pooled resources;
• information monopoly;
• operating standards without admitting internal competitors;
• separation of corporate capital from the personal capital of corporate entities;
• opportunity to mobilize capital;
• increased liquidity;
• legal entity status;
• often a center of economic interest in a country;
• there is a system of delegation of powers;
• may include several enterprises in a group;
• a large number of employees and a leading position in the market.

Depending on the specifics and form of activity (commercial or non-profit firms), the characteristics of a corporation may change. The laws of a particular country also greatly influence legal aspects activities of corporations.

There are three main corporate systems: German, Anglo-American and Japanese. The Anglo-American model is characterized by the presence of many small shareholders, while the management of the enterprise's economy lies with the top management of the corporation. In the German model, on the contrary, all parties involved can take part in making and finding solutions. In the Japanese model, a special feature is social community, corporate culture and solidarity.

Note 1

The main element of a corporation is the main company and many subsidiaries. Main company responsible for developing strategies, planning, control. For example, OJSC Gazprom is the main company in the corporation, and companies such as Gazprom Neft, Burgaz and others are responsible for oil exploration and production, Gazprom Pererabotka (and others) are responsible for refining, and for marketing and gas distribution - regional companies in Russia.

Classification

Let's consider the main classification of corporations.

Can be divided into three main groups:

• based on coverage;
• according to the form of organization of financial and industrial capital;
• according to the purpose of creation.

The first group includes: transnational, interstate, national, sectoral, diversified, regional, enterprises. The second group includes: associations, syndicates, trusts, holdings, concerns. The third group includes: commercial and non-profit corporations.

In recent years, several large corporations have been created in Russia. In terms of strategy and economic size, among them we can distinguish “champions”, such as Russian TNCs, for example, VNIK LUKoil, MFPG Tochnost, AvtoVAZ, OJSC Gas, including its financial and industrial group Nizhny Novgorod Automobiles, RAO UES of Russia, FIG Interkhimprom and the global corporation Gazprom OJSC.

Each of these structures contained a large concentration of economic potential and the center acted strategic management. Their enterprises accounted for most of the GDP, tax payments and debts to the budget. Based on their condition, one can judge the development trends of the entire Russian economy as a whole. The entire vital activity of the state, its entire economic, social and, ultimately, political situation depend on how they work.

These companies are unequal in size, enterprise composition, ownership structure, consolidation and organization, management and corporate board (top-level board).

In the 80s, before and during perestroika, several dozen all-Union production associations and about 25 inter-industry associations were created in the country state associations(MGO), such as Energomash, Quantemi, Tekhnokhim and others.

By the summer of 1991, there were 16 MGOs, 17 concerns, about 80 consortia and 207 business associations in Russia. They could become the basis for the formation of a system of up to 500 industrial corporations capable of providing sustainable development the country's economy. The economy would move forward, albeit slowly, but surely, along the path of developing civilized market relations. However, only a few companies, those who created a positive balance, were able to survive the default, with varying degrees of success:

• - the foundations laid in the Soviet period;
• - the results of government decisions after 1991;
• - solvency of demand;
• - use of market opportunities;
• - more or less predictable market;

This applies to OAO Gazprom, RAO UES of Russia, RAO Norilsk Nickel, a number of vertically integrated oil companies such as LUKoil, Surgutneftegaz, and several financial industry groups, such as GKNPTs im. Khrunicheva, FIG "Defensive systems" and "Accuracy".

Few people manage to work successfully in the current conditions. None of the current ones Russian companies, included in the world rankings, were not created clean market methods, there was too little time for this. Foreign companies trace their history back to ancient times, market relations are regulated and, having a complete form, still continue to develop and improve.

But Russian companies show tremendous resilience and ability to adapt in an extremely aggressive environment. As a result, the national economy has continued to shrink for 10 years. The condition of many corporations is very difficult. (Table No. 3 - newspaper "Economy and Life" 1999 No. 16, pp. 28 - 29)

Characteristics of Russian corporations (before August 1998)

A small number of world-class corporations capable of competing on a global scale and included in the main world rankings (5-10) or whose securities (usually ADRs or GDRs) were traded on the world's leading stock exchanges (only 20-25)

Low authorized capitals And market capitalization, undervaluation of most Russian corporations

A small number of companies that have carried out systemic (corporate and financial) business restructuring

Unstable and ineffective ownership structure of the majority of joint-stock companies

Low competitiveness and effective demand with fairly satisfactory quality of many types of products

Neglect of corporate governance: poor information transparency and financial, management and accounting systems

Acute conflicts and scandals in many Russian companies, including relations: companies and the state, managers and shareholders, large and small shareholders, companies and partners

According to the State Statistics Committee of Russia, more than 50% of large and medium-sized enterprises were unprofitable in 1998. To work successfully in market conditions it is necessary to create several dozen corporations - “national champions”, responsible minimum requirements geo-competition.