Former US Ambassador to Romania applies for Fondul Proprietatea's board seat

Mark Gitenstein (in picture), the former US Ambassador to Romania, recently submitted his application for a seat on the board of representatives for Romania's investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, according to Ziarul Financiar. Gitenstein will be a candidate on behalf of of the investment fund Emerging Markets Country Fund, managed by City of London, the second largest shareholder in Fondul Proprietatea.

The fund will organize elections for two vacant seats in its board on April 25, and the mandates of the two new members will start on September 30, when Sorin Mîn­dru­ţescu and Cristian Buşu's mandates will expire. Gitenstein, a lawyer, ended his term as ambassador in Romania in December last year, after a three-year mandate, and was replaced by Duane Butcher as interim, until a new ambassador is named. Foreigners have invested over EUR 750 million in Romania's Fondul Proprietatea shares in the two years since the fund was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Foreigners are the largest individual shareholders in the fund, with Elliott Associates holding 14.95 percent in FP, while City of London Investment Management holds 9.69 percent and The Royal Bank of Scotland, 5.39 percent. With 9,363 shareholders, the fund created in 2005 had 6.4 billion of its shares traded in 2012, and an average daily turnover of EUR 3 million. The value of the traded shares was of EUR 768 million. The average daily turnover was more than three times higher than the second placed blue chip BRD. The fund's largest assets in portfolio are OMV Petrom, which is listed. The second largest, Hidroelectrica, is currently insolvent, while the third, Romgaz, is due for IPO in 2013. CE Oltenia and Nuclearelectrica are also due for IPO or sale in 2013. The fund's top ten portfolio holdings have a value of some EUR 2 billion. editor@romania-insider.com