“We are extremely disappointed and concerned about the efforts of lawmakers to further expand the ‘blacklist’ of state-owned companies exempted from the corporate governance law. This is a huge step back in the process of increasing the quality of management in state-owned companies, essential for the economy of Romania,” says Greg Konieczny, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Fondul Proprietatea.
On June 6, 2017, the Senate voted for a number of state-owned Romanian companies, including the CE Oltenia (which covers one-third of the country’s electricity needs), be exempted from the corporate governance law. At present, the legislative proposal is sent to the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making chamber on this exemption. “In addition, we are worried that the list of exempted companies could be supplemented with other state-owned enterprises,” the representatives of Fondul Proprietatea said.