UK Ambassador: State-owned comp. inefficiency, biggest obstacle.

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Greg Konieczny, Fund Manager of Fondul Proprietatea, says foreign investors brought EUR 750 M for FP shares to Romania. Romgaz could be listed in September-October.

British Ambassador in Bucharest Martin Harris  said that the inefficiency of state-owned companies had been the biggest obstacle for the competitiveness of Romanian economy, requiring additional effort on the part of public finance. The ambassador gave a speech during an event organised by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) marking the official opening of the trading session as well as two years since the listing of Fondul Proprietatea, Mediafax notes. ‘The inefficiency of companies has taken additional effort on the part of public finance. But this is a key-aspect of the reform programme Romania agreed on with the IMF. Progress in this field could transform Romanian economy and make it more attractive to investors, including those from Great Britain’, Harris further said. The ambassador would like to see that competent and professional managers are appointed to state-owned companies this year, capable of making them successful. Martin Harris also noted that ‘the restructuring of state-owned companies is still difficult and dotted with political and administrative barriers’. On the other hand, the diplomat remarked the active role Fondul Proprietatea had had in ’monitoring state-owned companies’. Greg Konieczny  Executive Vice President, Templeton Emerging Markets Group and Fund Manager of Fondul Proprietatea, in turn said foreign institutional investors had brought EUR 750 M to Romania when buying Fondul Proprietatea stocks since its listing in January 2011. FP is the most liquid stock at BVB and the volume of foreign investment is a record in the history of Romanian stock market. The amounts that have entered Romania for the acquisition of FP shares represent 20 per cent of the total FDI in Romania in the last two years, BVB President Lucian Anghel also noted.

Konieczny: Minister should show respect to CE Oltenia shareholders

The Fondul Proprietatea Manager, Greg Konieczny, also gave a few extra explanations following statements having been made by the Minister Delegate for Energy, Constantin Nita, on Wednesday, on the appointment of the general manager of the Oltenia Energy Complex (CE). He said the minister’s words had made him ‘sad’ and that the official should show more respect to the energy producer.Nita said on Wednesday that the appointment of the head of CE Oltenia, challenged by Fondul Proprietatea, had been perfectly legal and that the Fund ‘is free to criticise what it wants, how much it wants’. Konieczny said yesterday that FP’s position was that the appointment had not complied with the law and that the Fund officials were looking at ‘legal remedies’ available to challenge the decision.FP manager also appreciates Romgaz will be listed on the Stock Exchange in September-October, although the Minister of Economy, Varujan Vosganian, had recently said April was the deadline for privatisations. Romgaz’s offering will be mediated by the Goldman Sachs, BCR, Raiffeisen Capital&Investment (RCI) consortium and the Nuclearelectrica operation will be assisted by Swiss Capital and ET Securities. On the intention to sell stocks in energy companies, announced in March last year, Konieczny said interested investors were still applying the wait-and-see policy. On a distinct note, BVB CEO Victor Cionga, also attending the event, said Romania could receive a warning from the European Commission unless Rasdaq’s status is not clarified in the sense that it is either a regulated market under European directives or an alternative trading system.