(Reuters) - Russian shares rose on Monday as the finance ministry confirmed it had put forward a plan to sell minority stakes in some of its biggest companies, a move that would help plug budget deficits and lure new investors. Ministry sources told Reuters on Saturday the plan could include minor stakes in ten firms including Russia's biggest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) and second-biggest lender VTB (VTBR.MM) -- raising $29 billion for state coffers. There was no comment on the plan from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's office -- vital for policy in Russia -- though the ministry sources said it had been discussed and approved at a preliminary meeting chaired by Putin. "It is a positive development -- less state in the economy is better for the economy. The government has to sell assets as it fights for every rouble to tackle the state's budget deficit," said Anton Struchenevsky, senior economist at Russian investment bank Troika Dialog. "I think it is a genuine attempt to broaden the investor profile in Russia," added Kevin Dougherty, a portfolio manager at Moscow's Pharos. Others, however, pointed to failed past attempts by pro-reform forces in Russia to push through further sell-offs. Russia's first wave of chaotic privatizations in the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin resulted in major state oil and metals assets being sold for cheap to a group of well-connected businessmen, known in Russia as the oligarchs. Putin, who was Russia's President between 2000 and 2008, has repeatedly criticized the sales and brought some of the assets back under state control, including through the bankruptcy of oil major YUKOS, whose oil fields were sold mostly to Rosneft at state-forced auctions. "It's not a sensation and its only a draft. We've heard such talk before," said VTB analyst Mikhail Galkin. MAJOR LIST The finance ministry confirmed it had drawn up a shortlist of companies earmarked for privatization, but said it had yet to make a final decision. "Such a list exists, but it is only a proposal," a representative of the ministry's press service said. The ministry sources told Reuters on Saturday sales would include 27.1 percent in state oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNF_p.RTS), 24.16 percent of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM), 24.5 percent of Russia's No.2 bank VTB (VTBR.MM), 9.3 percent of largest lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM), 25 percent minus one share of rail monopoly RZhD. Other firms on the list include 28.11 percent of power grid FSK (FEES.MM), 9.38 percent in hydro power generator RusHydro (HYDR.MM), 49 percent in mortgage agency AIZhK, 49 percent in agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank and 25 percent minus one share in shipping major SovComFlot. Moscow's MICEX index jumped over 1 percent in early trade, but later pared gains to be up 0.5 percent by 5:07 a.m. ET. Transneft (TRNF_p.RTS) shares rose 7.4 percent. Investors said the company, which controls the biggest oil pipeline network in the world, was the most interesting of the assets and could have the biggest price-tag. "The big one is Transneft -- it is potentially a very-very interesting asset. It is a huge profitable company that pays dividends," said Kevin Dougherty, a portfolio manager at Moscow's Pharos Fund, although he declined to speculate on who could buy it. The rouble hit its highest level versus the dollar since mid-May, but the boost was put down to rising oil prices and the need for companies to make local tax payments. The asset sale would be the biggest in Russia since the early 1990s, when a chaotic series of privatizations saw a oil and metal assets sold on the cheap to a small number of well-connected businessmen, now knows as the oligarchs. (Reporting by Lydia Kelly, John Bowker and Dmitry Sergeev, Writing by John Bowker; editing by Patrick Graham)