ROMANIAN INVESTORS, DISCRIMINATED IN THEIR COMMUNICATION WITH THE ROMANIAN AUTHORITIES Negriţoiu and Anghel only speak about the dual listing of Petrom abroad

Petrom, the biggest Romanian company, may be listed on a foreign stock exchange as well, but that information reached investors in a discriminatory manner, contrary to what would have been normal and mandatory, according to the capital markets.

On February 13th, prime minister Victor Ponta attended an economic event in New York, where special guests Mişu Negriţoiu, the president of the Financial Supervision Authority, and Lucian Anghel, the president of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, have presented the process for the international listing of some of the major international companies, such as Petrom, Romgaz and Electrica, according to a press release by the government.

In other words, foreign investors found out about the government's intention to sell more of Petrom before their Romanian peers, from the very officials of our stock exchange.

Victor Ponta has discriminated domestic investors through his behavior before, when he went to the London Stock Exchange, on the occasion of the Romgaz and Electrica IPOs, whereas he only went to the BSE in the electoral campaign for the presidential elections.

But the officials of the BSE and the ASF, who it is assumed know a thing or two about the procedure for the dissemination of information that can influence stock prices, have no excuse.

Some of the Romanian investors have wondered whether a mistake was perhaps made in the government's press release, on the specific paragraph that concerned Petrom.

But the representatives of the ASF are confirming the information. They told us: "During the visit (ed. note: of New York) also discussed was the possibility of a potential share increase of the number of shares made available for trading (free float), in the case of some major companies such as Petrom, Romgaz or Electrica, including through a dual listing, amid the developments in the stock market".

On the other hand, the representatives of the BSE have told us: "We have no knowledge of such an intention (ed. note: to get Petrom listed on a foreign stock exchange)".

In 2011, the government failed in its bid to sell approximately 10% of Petrom. The Proprietatea Fund is looking for buyers for its stake in Petrom as well.

In March 2014, FP announced it was reviewing strategic options for a potential reduction of its stake in OMV Petrom (SNP) below 15%, subject to favorable market conditions and the necessary approvals. The representatives of the Proprietatea Fund have stated that they do not have a well defined schedule when it comes to making a decision. The fund currently holds 19% of Petrom.