Franklin Templeton, as fund administrator of Romania's biggest investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, expresses "extreme disappointment" at the change of the members of the board of directors of state-controlled salt company Salrom.

Former reformist minister Claudiu Nasui (USR-PLUS), who resigned last week, condemned the rushed move taken by the Government and accused the replacement of the board members in some state-controlled companies (including Salrom) that were previously selected on performance criteria, according to Mediafax.

Nasui also implied that Salrom's graphite mining project would be at risk simply because it was launched by a reformist minister (who is no longer a member of the ruling coalition).

Fondul Proprietatea also considers that this decision to replace board members at Salrom risks harming the company and jeopardising important projects, such as the listing of Salrom on the stock exchange and the evaluation of the options regarding the exploitation of the graphite deposits in Gorj.

"In fact, the people appointed now by the majority shareholder in Salrom's board of directors are none other than those who held these positions in 2020, a year in which Salrom's profit fell almost seven times and in which operating revenues fell by 36%," Fondul Proprietatea stresses. 

andrei@romania-insider.com

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