Oltchim's sale, next year at the earliest

The privatisation process of the Oltchim plant cannot be initiated this year because it has to go through a series of legal steps, which will take a few months, said the company’s general manager, Constantin Roibu. The Ministry of the Economy will sell 53% of Oltchim’s shares, as well as the plant’s debts to AVAS (The State Assets Resolution Authority) – 95.2 million dollars. “There are a few steps that need to be taken: the General Meeting of Shareholders (GM), for the annulment of the capital increase, which will take place in August, the publication of the GM decisions in the Official Gazette and the 30 days until the GM decisions come into force. This already will take us to September 30,” says Roibu. Solving the dispute with the minority shareholders in court, as well as re-registering AVAS as the company’s creditor, in accordance with Oltchim’s diminished capital are issues that will be finalised by November, added the company’s manager. “Assuming everything goes smoothly and there are no motions to challenge our actions, this will still take until November, so I don’t see how the privatisation process could start this year,” says Oltchim’s general manager.