ZF seminar: State says BSE is only good for trial privatisations

The state answered again the desperate need for companies of the Bucharest Stock Exchange with promises, reassuring it would use the capital market for “trial privatisations” of the minority stakes it owns in the energy sector companies.

“We will conduct a trial privatisation through the capital market for the energy sector companies at first, such as Nuclearelectrica and Hidroelectrica and float minority stakes and then – I cannot tell you exactly when, the strategic privatisation will follow,” said Victor Cazana, head of the Office for State’s Interests and Industrial Privatisation during the “Capital Market Year” seminar organised by ZF in partnership with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Fund Manager Association and SAI Muntenia Invest.
The government official reassured the state would resort to the BSE to privatise as much this year as in the last decade: three minority stakes in Petrom, Transgaz and Transelectrica will change hands.
“Our goal is to be able to bring the Bourse in Bucharest in line with those in Budapest and Prague in the next two or three years and keep as much of the pension funds’ money in the country,” Valentin Ionescu, general manager of BSE, said.