Local investors and foreign investment funds have been caught in the rush of the over 1.1 billion-RON dividends of Fondul Proprietatea (Property Fund – FP) and are making last minute share purchases. Left out of this, however, are the former owners who do not know how they can get the dividends, even though the Fund was created precisely to compensate them.
The dividends of Fondul Proprietatea are the hottest topic of
the moment, considering the 1.1 billion RON to be disbursed to the
Romanian state, which owns 49% in the Fund, and to the more than
4,000 private shareholders are a record high for the Romanian
economy.
With less than one week left until September 27, the shareholder
registration cut-off date, the shares of Fondul Proprietatea have
become increasingly more coveted and some people are willing to go
as far as to trade apartments in downtown Bucharest, plots of land
or cars for FP shares.
“I’ve got some plots I bought in the past few years that I want to
get rid of. The land market is frozen now and I’d rather exchange a
plot in the built-up area of Constanța for shares in the Fund that
I can sell,” said Cristi, who posted an ad for sale on the Fondul
Proprietatea web forum.