Romania expects at least three firm offers for the privatization of the state owned Oltchim chemical producer, with the deadline for submitting offers set for today (September 17 ). So far, the task book for the privatization was bought by 13 companies, and the bid is set to take place tomorrow (September 18 ).

“We don't exclude and we actually want one of the offers to come from a large Russian company. In general we would want a large investor from Russia for Oltchim because it is a country with huge resources and large quantities of fossil fuels. It is a country which can supply oil to the Arpechim refinery and to other refineries in Romania and this would help Oltchim a great deal. Of course it would also help the investors, Romania has the needed industrial capacities to capitalize on such an investment,” said Remus Vulpescu, the head of the Office of State Ownership and Privatization in Industry (OPSPI).

Romania's Government approved earlier in August the privatization strategy for Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea, where the state will see the 54.8 percent package it owns in the company, as well as the debt package of the Authority for State Assets Recovery (AVAS) and Electrica, some EUR 400 million.

The upcoming Oltchim privatization recently caused social unrest, with employees protesting at the plant in Ramnicu Valcea, and 17 executives, including the GM Constantin Roibiu, handing in their resignations. This came after the government changed Oltchim’s privatization strategy to selling the state-owned stake via a collective procedure.

Corina Chirileasa, corina@romania-insider.com

(photo source: sxc.hu)