Tariceanu: Romanian state-run companies must invest abroad

Romgaz, CEC (The Romanian Savings Bank) and the companies in the energy field which have not yet been privatised will make their investments available to other countries in the region, in order to boost their value and later be sold for a bigger sum than the present value, said Prime Minister Tariceanu (photo) on Wednesday night. “I want Romania to have strong companies which will play an important role, both nationally and in the region. In the coming period, this is the role we will assign to CEC, Romgaz and to the small number of companies in the energy field, which are yet to be privatised. I am not a supporter of centralised economic controls, I am a committed liberal, but I also think Romania needs to have a few strong companies, which it can take advantage of at a later stage, in 10-20 years, under even better circumstances than those at present,” Tariceanu said in a public television broadcast. He gave CEZ as an example, a company that although based in the Czech Republic – ” a small country” – took part in Romania’s privatisation process. CEZ, which is 60% controlled by the Czech state, took over the majority stake in electricity distributor Electrica Oltenia in 2005, and intends to invest both in electricity production and distribution in Romania.