AVAS Receivables Reach 4,000 Billion Lei

Mircea Ursache: "We must not hurry to privatize Antibiotice because it is imprudent to privatize the only domestic medicine producer now, when the market conditions are not favourable".

• To this adds 14.11 million EUR and 274.21 million USD

• AVAS doesn"t know how much has been collected so far

The State Asset Recovery Authority (AVAS) holds receivables of over 4,000 billion lei, 14.11 million EUR and 274.21 million USD on 73,096 debtors, according to the report presented by AVAS President Mircea Ursache yesterday. "We are trying to make an evaluation of what has been recovered so far, and then we will release the final figures," Ursache added. According to him, some of the AVAS receivables are the debts of 16 companies that were transferred from the National State Reserves Agency to AVAS last year. Of them, 15 are already insolvent.

• Mircea Ursache: It is obsolete to speak about privatization in 2009

AVAS President Mircea Ursache yesterday said he wanted the State to be more active on the domestic capital market in relation to future privatization deals as well as potential acquisitions. "The State should be an active player who decides when to sell the companies in its portfolio and for what price. Considering what is going on in Western Europe, it is obsolete to speak about privatization in 2009," Ursache added.

The State must be able to sell and buy stock. That shouldn"t surprise us, considering that the Western countries are massively intervening in the economy," Ursache added. Judging by this, the privatization of companies that have been in the media spotlight for quite some time could take a little bit longer. Antibiotice - Iasi (BSE:ATB) is one example. "We must not hurry to privatize Antibiotice because it is imprudent to privatize the only domestic medicine producer now, when the market conditions are not favourable," Ursache said.

For the time being, AVAS has a portfolio of 412 commercial companies with an aggregated share capital of 3,232.01 million lei. AVAS is the majority shareholder in 36 of them. In 2007, AVAS collected dividends from listed companies in the amount of 1.98 billion lei, out of a total of 2.06 billion lei it should have collected. According to Ursache, the privatization of the 41 companies recently transferred from AVAS to the Ministry of Economy will continue. The companies were originally transferred from the Office for State Holdings and Industrial Privatization to AVAS in end-2006.

• AVAS - Fondul Proprietatea Merger Would Be Pointless

A merger between AVAS and Fondul Proprietatea would be pointless, AVAS President Mircea Ursache said. "Should merger is pointless. There is no need for it. Although the two institutions are similar, they are regulated by different laws," he said, responding to allegations that the two entities could merge to create a single authority to manage State holdings, similar to the Privatization Authority in Hungary.

• AVAS President to Call Eximbank Shareholder Meeting to Change Board

Mircea Ursache said yesterday that he would call a meeting of the shareholders in Eximbank to replace the Board of Directors as soon as he received the analysis of Eximbank"s performance indicators. "I am currently analyzing the performance criteria of Eximbank and we will discuss the conclusions. I will have the report in a week," Ursache added. He pointed out that the plan was to replace the Board, but not the president of Eximbank.

• Oltchim Debt-for-Share Swap Should Be Reconsidered

The creditor is the one who decides in the Oltchim case. At the moment, the company has a market value of 8 million EUR and debts of 134 million EUR, Ursache said. "The decision is up to the creditor, therefore the State, and I believe that the debt-for-share swap should be reconsidered, if we think that the market value is 8 million EUR and the receivable is 134 million EUR," Ursache said. He added that the Oltchim case would be analyzed today, during a ruling coalition meeting.

• AVAS Resolves 46% Of Claims Filed By Former FNI Investors

The State Asset Recovery Authority (AVAS) has so far disbursed 242.47 million lei to the investors who lost money with the National Investment Fund (FNI) and will continue to pay towards undertaken obligations, Mircea Ursache added. "The State will pay undertaken obligations to all the 23,431 investors who lost money with the National Investment Fund and have filed a claim. So far, we have disbursed 242.47 million lei," the AVAS president said. AVAS has so far resolved 10,472 claims filed by investors, equal to 46% of the total number of received claims.

The money paid by AVAS to FNI investors are booked under the "own expenses" line of the AVAS budget. The money is generated from privatization, asset recovery, banking receivables and commercial receivables. Payments to the FNI investors are made as the funds become available. According to Court Ruling no. 13732 of 17. December 2004, AVAS has been sentenced to pay approximately 400 million lei to over 21,000 FNI investors.