ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SIF MOLDOVA Valentin Ionescu thinks he can get the projects of SIF Moldova in gear

• He would prefer Vienna for a dual listing of SIF2

Running for a seat on the board of SIF2 Moldova, Valentin Ionescu, the former general manager of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, wants to aggressively promote the SIF among investors and he announces shareholders that he wants to speed up the implementation of the proposed projects.

"I am a man of action and I felt like I had spent too much time doing nothing", Valentin Ionescu said, as an explanation for his decision to run for the Board of Directors of SIF2, which he made following the talks he had with Mr. Costel Ceocea (ed. note: the president of SIF2), Claudiu Doroş and other important shareholders who promised him their support.

Mr. Ionescu feels he can do many good things at the SIFs and that it is important that the Stock Exchange benefit from those changes as well.

Valentin Ionescu said that the agenda of the next shareholder meetings will include very important items, such as the increase of the share capital, the reduction of the quorum required for the General Extraordinary Shareholder Meeting, as well as the potential listing of SIF2 on another regulated market.

• Ionescu: "The price the shares will be offered at during the second stage of the share capital increase is very important"

SIF Moldova has proposed the increase of the share capital by 103.8 million lei, to 155.7 million lei, with contributions in cash, in two steps.

According to Valentin Ionescu, the increase of the share capital will essentially provide active investors with the opportunity to increase their holdings, to the detriment of inactive investors.

SIF Moldova has a very large shareholder base, of approximately 5.8 million, of which the shareholders originating from the mass privatization process, with holdings of less than 100 shares, account for about 25-30%.

Mr. Ionescu said that if the share capital increase were to take place, then the small shareholders will be diluted, and the current shareholders will have the ability to consolidate their positions.

"What is important is the price which the second step of the share capital increase will be conducted at. From my point of view, the price will need to be just as good as the one of the first step, to be attractive to shareholders", he said.

According to Valentin Ionescu, a dual listing would be another method for increasing the shareholder base of the company.

At the General Shareholder Meeting which will be held in April, SIF Moldova also proposes giving directors the right to decide on listing SIF Moldova on a different exchange.

Valentin Ionescu says that he would prefer it if SIF2 chose Vienna for a possible dual listing, because he sees Warsaw as a market which is a competitor to the BSE.

The shareholders will also have to decide on the reduction of the required quorum for extraordinary shareholder meetings (down to the level of the quorum stipulated in the law no. 31/1990 concerning companies, for extraordinary shareholder meetings: 25% for the first summoning, 20% for the second summoning).

If this item will not be approved by the General Shareholder Meeting, Valentin Ionescu says that he will continue to pursue its implementation, as he feels that quorum restrictions are the main barrier towards making the management of SIF2 more flexible: "If the quorum requirements are lowered, the management will have the ability to more easily approve various projects, such as: using cash for stock buybacks, other exchanges into equity, or the listing on other markets".

He thinks that next year, there will be major changes on the boards of the SIFs.

"If I succeed in joining the Board of Directors, I will only be on it for a year, and in 2013 I would be required to run again. I would like to do that", he said.

Valentin Ionescu considers that last year, SIF Moldova was the most active of the SIFs when it comes to the management of its portfolio, and he feels that in the future, the company will have to lower its exposure to the banking sector and increase its exposure to the energy sector, which is actually one of the notions stipulated in the company's strategy.

Mr. Ionescu said: "I feel that SIF2 needs to participate in the offerings of the state, even more so in the IPOs, especially in Romgaz, if the price is right".

Valentin Ionescu also says that SIF2 should begin taking the unlisted companies in its portfolio public, or even become shareholders of start-ups and increase their worth, in order to get them listed on the Stock Exchange later.

One seat on the Board of Directors of SIF Moldova has remained vacant after Matei Alexandru the former head of SIF Moldova was dismissed, because he was accused of harming the company through unfavorable contracts, during his term at the top of the company.

The management of SIF Moldova had summoned the shareholders in November to fill the vacant position, but none of the nine candidates received the necessary number of votes to be elected.

In 2011, SIF2 Moldova had a net profit of 191.49 million lei, double compared to 2010, on the back of revenues of 328.85 million lei and expenses of 99.6 million lei.

The Board of Directors has proposed a gross dividend of 0.22 lei/share.