The consolidated capital market law that will also regulate the financial investment companies (SIF) does not include any provisions about the biggest stake a shareholder may own in one of those companies. The National Securities Commission (CNVM) will have the possibility to raise the threshold later, and use the secondary legislation to do it. Until such time comes, the SIF statute, which prohibits any investor to hold more than 0.1% in a SIF, stays in effect.
“The consolidated capital market law will only include principle-like provisions related to SIF, with details such as the maximum interest threshold and the portfolio structure to be set by a CNVM regulation,” Gabriela Anghelache, the Commission chairperson told Ziarul Financiar. Anghelache added the new law was considering only the compliance with the European legislation provisions.
Rumour on the capital market has had it for more than a year now that regulations allowing investors to buy more than 0.1% in a SIF are imminent. First it was about the special law supposed to regulate the SIFs, but that was not released eventually. Then word about the consolidated law including these provisions spread. Anghelache did not care to specify whether the new regulation would include legal provisions related to the maximum interest threshold. Analysts were estimating the increase in the interest threshold would allow SIF shareholders to sell their shares at a better price, and every information in this regard was pushing prices up. The reason was the interest voiced by some Romanian investors to accumulate significant stakes and the possible entry of foreign investors on the market for SIF shares.
The modification of the 0.1% threshold might be theoretically operated as a result of a decision of each company’s shareholders, yet brokers say that the shareholder dispersion makes it virtually impossible to change the statute. vlad.nicolaescu@zf.ro