Resita failure, hardly disheartening

US Ambassador to Bucharest Michael Guest at the end of last week said the failed privatisation of Combinatul Siderurgic Resita (Resita Steel & Iron Plant – CSR) at the hands of Noble Ventures and the issues arising from this privatisation had not caused American businesspeople to lose heart and no longer want to invest in Romania, as they were facing totally different issues. Guest explained that his talks with all the parties involved in CSR’s privatisation enabled him to conclude that the problems stemmed from the privatisation contract itself. “Both parties probably made mistakes, and I also think both of them were honest, but this has already become an issue for international settlement and I cannot afford to comment on this any further,” the US Ambassador said. He explained the businesspeople were not avoiding Romania on purpose, but were rather interested in regional opportunities and in the benefits deriving from the existing infrastructure and the business environment quality. ZF