State-owned enterprise Forests of Ukraine was added to the list of business entities of the public sector that are critical for the economy, which should contribute to the improvement of corporate governance, the Ministry of Economy reported.

The Cabinet of Ministers made a corresponding decision at a meeting on Tuesday, amending Resolution No. 777 on the competitive selection of heads of business entities in the public sector of the economy dated September 3, 2008 and No. 643 on some issues of managing state-owned property during martial law dated May 31, 2022.

"This is the first step towards improving corporate governance, which will allow the company to attract investment. The formation of a supervisory board through a transparent and open competition with the participation of a committee for the appointment of managers, which includes representatives of both government bodies and international organizations, is the next stage for introducing the best standards of corporate governance in the public sector," the message quotes Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev.

SOE Forests of Ukraine is one of the largest forest users in Europe and the largest forest user in Ukraine. It manages 6.6 million hectares of state forest fund lands.