ANDREEA LAMBRU, THE PRESIDENT OF HIDROELECTRICA: "There isn't any chance of Hidroelectrica getting listed this year"

Andreea Lambru, the new chairman of the supervisory Board of Hidroelectrica, doesn't expect the company to get listed this year, hinting that time is needed for the Ministry of Energy to change the privatization method, in order to make the proceeds from the sale of the 15% stake to go to the state budget rather than the company.

Andreea Lambru recently became the president of Hidroelectrica, after Liviu Nistoran resigned for personal reasons.

The appointment of the new Supervisory Board for four months has been criticized in the energy market, due to the lack of experience of the new members.

Andreea Lambru seems to have wanted to prove she deserved her appointment, even though, often times, her answers to the journalists' questions were completed by Remus Borza, the former judicial administrator of the company, who expressed his support for the new Board of Directors.

Mrs. Lambru thinks that she owns the management knowledge necessary needed for the position of Hidroelectrica CEO, even though she acknowledges that she does not have the technical abilities of CEO Ovidiu Agliceru.

When asked what her goal are for her term, she said: "I am a representative of the Ministry of Energy, the majority shareholder of Hidroelectrica.

I am going to have to implement the mandate received from the Ministry of Energy, which currently stipulates the implementation of a business plan left by deputy Borza.

That plan includes the expansion of Hidroelectrica, to turn it into a regional player in the energy sector.

We certainly won't be able to do that. It will be the new Supervisory Council, which will be selected through Ordinance 109, that will.

We are here for a period of 4 months, which stipulates the beginning of these works and the unlocking of existing situations in Hidroelectrica, such as the approval of the revenue and expense budget for 2017, which at the time of our appointment had still not been approved".

Andreea Lambru said that she was 32 years old and that she had been voted on the Supervisory Board as president, stating that she had previously held the position of Chairman of the Board of directors at the Grigore Alexandrescu Hospital for a year.

Mrs. Lambru didn't say whether the Ministry of Energy has made a selection for the appointments at Hidroelectrica.

Remus Borza intervened to defend Mrs. Lambru countless times, even though she seemed to be annoyed at being interrupted, judging by her gestures, suggesting that she could handle herself.

"The fact that she is young, the fact that she is a woman, doesn't mean that she is stupid or anything", said Remus Borza.

He urged people to lend confidence to the new management: "I believe in her (ed. note: Andreea Lambru), I believe in Oana Truţă (ed. note: the representative of the Proprietatea Fund on the Board of Directors), they are two very ambitious ladies, of good faith and who want to do good work at Hidroelectrica. My request is that we should have faith in them".

Concerning the listing of the company on the Stock Exchange, Andreea Lambru said: "The current Supervisory Board will support the procedure for the listing on the stock exchange, but there is a committee made up of several institutions that is in charge of the listing on the stock market and of a consortium that Hidroelectrica has a contract with".

In her opinion, the listing method by which the money would go to the state budget would be preferable. In other words the direct listing of a 15% stake of the stock held by the Ministry of Energy. According to the current method for the listing of Hidroelectrica, approved by the government in 2013, meaning through a share capital increase, the funds should have stayed with the company's budget.

"Hidroelectrica currently has enough money for investments", Mrs. Lambru explained, who added: "I don't think we can invest more than that this year, we won't even be able to spend the money that we have, therefore it is more welcome (for the funds to go - ed. note) to the state budget".

When asked, whether under these circumstances, she sees the listing of the company being possible this year, Lambru responded: "No, since it is about the resumption of a procedure, of a changing of a Government decision. It is about a government decision which the Ministry of Energy and the consortium is drafting. At that time we can discuss about resuming the listing procedure in the new circumstances".

According to her, the selection procedure of some members of the Supervisory Board according to Ordinance 109. "The selection of the recruiting firms is currently under way at the Ministry of Energy", Lambru further said.

She said that the current Supervisory Board has extended the terms of the Board of Directors until the end of this month.

Remus Borza claimed that if Hidroelectrica gets listed, its activity would be more transparent, and control would be greater, once the number of shareholders increased.

The Proprietatea Fund, which holds 20% of Hidroelectrica, requested the distribution of 100% of last year's profit.