Romanian Govt. assault on private pension funds brings stock prices down

The Bucharest Stock Exchange’s main index BET lost over 2.2% of its value on Wednesday, May 30, going down to almost 8,000 points, after labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu announced on Tuesday evening that the mandatory private pension funds (Pillar II) will become optional. Mandatory private pension funds, which currently manage assets of over EUR 9 billion, have been among the biggest investors on the local stock market in recent years. The other investors fear that the pension funds won’t make new investments in local stocks or that they may start to sell if contributors decide to switch to the state pension system, which would put pressure on stock prices. The local banks’ shares recorded drops of over 3.5% on Wednesday, while the shares of gas transporter Transgaz went down by almost 5% and the shares of private medical services provider MedLife dropped by over 5%. In the past month, the BET index lost over 10% of its value, after passing the 9,000-points threshold on April 25, its highest level since 2008. editor@romania-insider.com