Romanian president talks to investment guru Mark Mobius about state companies listing, private management

Investment guru Mark Mobius met Romanian president Traian Basescu in Bucharest yesterday (November 19 ) to talk about the listings of state – owned companies and private management appointments, issues that are important for the Fondul Proprietatea. Mobius, Executive Chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, the company which runs the Romanian fund, and Grzegorz Konieczny, Fund Manager of Fondul Proprietatea also discussed the development of the local capital market with the Romanian president. The same day, the Economy Minister Daniel Chitoiu announced Transgaz will no longer be listed as part of its privatization process, but will go through a share capital increase instead. The state was to perform a secondary listing of 15 percent of Transgaz, but chose not to do it because of the weak capital market. “This was a very constructive meeting and we hope the Romanian President’s strong commitment towards the reform of state-owned companies will be implemented, given that the success of the Fund depends to a large extent on the progress of this reform. We are confident that by coming to the market and appointing professional management, these companies will be closer to reaching their full potential, which will subsequently reflect positively on Romania’s economy,” said Mark Mobius. Greg Konieczny added: “We are hopeful that future listings and stronger corporate governance standards will significantly help to unlock the value of the Fondul Proprietatea’s portfolio companies that should ultimately support longer-term competitiveness of the Romanian economy. We are looking forward to working closely with the Romanian authorities in order to bring these plans to completion.” Romania's president also said the country showed it is a credible partner for investors, through the measures taken in previous years. Romania has already chosen private managers for the state owned airline Tarom, and will implement a similar system – private board and private GM for a handful of state companies in the near future. As of September 30, the Fondul Proprietatea's portfolio included stakes in 69 companies, 25 listed and 44 unlisted. The Fund’s portfolio is focused on the electrical energy sector, oil and natural gas – around 88 percent of its net assets. The biggest unlisted company in its portfolio of shares is Hidroelectrica, while the biggest listed company in which Fondul Proprietatea owns shares is OMV Petrom. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Fondul Proprietatea)