Fondul Proprietatea might seek London, Warsaw, Vienna or Hong Kong listing

Fondul Proprietatea (FP) might seek stock exchange listings in London, Warsaw, Vienna or Hong Kong, Mark Mobius, executive chairman of PF manager Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets said on Tuesday, the first day of trading for the fund's shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. One key objective will be to get some Romanian companies in the fund's portfolio privatized and listed in Romania and further on international markets.Considering that banks in China, Korea, Japan and other Asian country have plenty of money, Romania should start setting its sights on Eastern Europe and envisage listing, perhaps even in Hong Kong, said Mark Mobius. He mentioned that Franklin Templeton has offices throughout Asia and could be instrumental for Romania's raising money for both Proprietatea Fund and other companies. The FP listing, five years after the Fund's becoming operational as a joint-stock company in December 2005, is an event long awaited for by fund's shareholders awarded in compensation for the property lost during the communist regime. The Fund holds stakes in 83 private and state-owned companies, and the sectors of electricity, oil and gas represent a major component of its portfolio. AGERPRES