Oltchim files for insolvency

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Oltchim will become insolvent, as the respective request will be sent to the Valcea Tribunal, the minister of Economy, Varujan Vosganian said for Mediafax. The proposal was presented to the government yesterday and the company’s Board of Administrators will meet to adopt a decision with this regard. The insolvency request of Oltchim will be sent to the Valcea Tribunal. Premier Victor Ponta discussed Tuesday evening with IMF officials about the situation of Oltchim, and the main variant taken into consideration is the insolvency of the company, as a solution that will facilitate the subsequent privatisation of the company, a process that will imply layoffs. The minister of Economy announced Tuesday, shortly after a meeting with the joint mission of IMF, EC and WB, that he will propose in the Cabinet meeting a solution for Oltchim, but did not unveil it. Under the insolvency procedure, the government will sent in court a request for opening the procedure and will wait for the decision of the syndic judge, added the sources. Also Tuesday evening, the minister of Finance, Daniel Chitoiu mentioned that, as former minister of Economy, he sees insolvency as the only solution of recovery at Oltchim, which requires a restructuring process. He confirmed for Realitatea TV that layoffs will be made and related activities will be closed, adding that during his term as minister of Economy the company Alvarez&Marsal, special administrator, drafted a reorganisation plan of the company which included the necessary number of layoffs. Chitoiu added that he knows that the acting minister of Economy, Varujan Vosganian began talks with potential investors interested by Oltchim.The tender for the majority stake in Oltchim was won last year by Dan Diaconescu, the owner of OTV. However Diaconescu did not receive the shares because he did not pay the sum – EUR 45 M – to the state. After this failure, authorities did not announce any deadline for the privatisation of the chemical plant.Corneliu Cernev, the leader of the Oltchim trade union, says that the main concern for the union is keeping more jobs. The trade union will accept reorganisation and restructuring, but not “the insolvency in view of bankruptcy.”