Cupru Min Abrud, Oltchim, ISCIR-CERT privatisation to be completed by mid-2012

The privatisation of Cupru Min copper mining company based in Abrud, chemical plant Oltchim based in Ramnicu Valcea and certification body ISCIR-CERT will be completed in the first half of 2012, according to the 2011 report of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Climate.

Furthermore, the viable parts of electricity network maintenance company Electrica Serv have been separated from the non-viable ones and the procedures for turning majority stakes to private hands in the six newly-established companies have been started. The procedures for the privatisation of Electrica Furnizare (electricity supply) have also begun, the ministry announced.

'The privatisation actions relating the economic operators in the ministry's portfolio target both minority and majority stakes', it added.

In this respect, the ministry, in July, conducted the secondary public tender for the sale of 9.84 percent of the shares held by the Romanian state in Oil Company OMV Petrom. Since the underwriting rate for the asked price was too low, the Government decided to resume the tender in 2012.

The privatisation moves have also started for minority blocks of shares in all the companies written in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, namely grid Transelectrica at 15 percent, natural gas transporter Transgaz at 15 percent, natural gas producer Romgaz at 15 percent, hydro-electric power producer Hidroelectrica at 10 percent, nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica at 10 percent, with all these privatisations to take place on the Stock Exchange in 2012.

Developed by Codecraftsman