State-owned energy giants become most valuable companies

Electrica and Hidroenergetica, the two companies through which the government is trying to sweepingly reshuffle the energy generation system, may have a market value of more than 4 billion euros and 3.5 billion euros respectively, according to the 100 most valuable companies of Romania ranking ZF annually draws up together with Capital Partners investment house.

This is the biggest energy business of the past 10 years and the restructuring process will completely change the domestic energy market for the next decades. The question that arises, though, is whether calculations on paper are enough to truly generate “regional champions” in the field of energy, or whether, lacking a professional management, the companies will be operating as “gauchely” as they have so far.

Electrica’s turnover will top 2bn euros, while Hidroenergetica is likely to reach turnover worth above 1.7bn euros. Overall, the two companies have above 40,000 employees. With these market values, the energy giants can leave behind companies such as Petrom, Orange or Vodafone that have dominated for years the ranking of Romania’s most valuable companies.

The project for the reorganisation of the energy system has already been approved by the Country’s Supreme Defence Council, the Government, and the decision was published in the Official Gazette.

Through this move, Romania is trying to catch up with other countries that have built national champions, have run them well and have managed to turn them into regional players.

The most quoted example is that of Czech CEZ, a model Bucharest authorities have been trying to copy for several years. The two companies need investments worth billions of euros, several hundred people will be made redundant, and the regional ambitions of the two giants are likely to start being felt as late as 2012.