The Romanian state has re-become shareholder in oil company Rompetrol Rafinare, with a stake of 44.7 percent, according to the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The Rompetrol group owns 43.7 percent in the company. The state is yet to announce how it plans to use the share package.

The state has received shares in the company stemming from a historic debt which had been turned into bonds, but the majority shareholders in the Rompetrol group, the Kazakh KazMunai Group, was unable to repay the debt in full. The company paid only EUR 54 million out of the total EUR 517 million debt, enough for the Kazakh company to remain majority shareholder in the Romanian Rompetrol.

The state's stake in Rompetrol is worth some EUR 218 million, given the current market prices.

Rompetrol Rafinare recorded in the first half of 2011 a consolidated turnover of over USD 2.42 billion, up 37 percent from the level reported in the same period in 2010. The company has reduced losses to USD 63.7 million, from USD 119 million in 2010.

editor@romania-insider.com