The State Duma on Wednesday passed in a second reading a bill aimed at regulating state and municipal property privatizations.
The new bill will allow banks and stock exchanges to sell federal property alongside the Federal Property Management Agency, which is currently the only entity authorized by the government, the Duma's Property Committee said in a statement.
The bill also stipulates the use of electronic trading as a platform for selling state property, it said.
The legislation also lowers the amount of money required upfront to take part in the auctions, allowing small and medium-sized businesses to take part, Deputy Yekaterina Semyonova said in the statement.
Property could also be sold in an initial public offering under the bill.
Under the legislation, auctions of state property will no longer have a minimum or standard price, and the auction's starting price will be determined by a property estimate report.
The Economic Development Ministry hopes to raise more than 100 billion rubles ($3 billion) by selling off stakes in several state enterprises this year, including Sovkomflot, 13 percent of insurer Rosgosstrakh and 25 percent of power utility TGK-5.
Russia currently owns 3,765 federal state unitary enterprises and is a shareholder in 3,337 joint-stock companies, according to the state property privatization program for 2010 published on the Federal Property Management Agency's web site.