THE AGENCY FOR THE DOMAINS OF THE STATE SELLS OFF SEVERAL PROPERTIES: The state is selling its minority stakes in the agricultural sector

The government is selling the minority stakes it has in the agricultural sector in order to consolidate its budget revenues.

The initiative comes as the state has already announced it wants to include the minority stakes owned by the Ministry of the Economy and the Authority for State Assets Recovery (AVAS) in a new sovereign investment fund.

The Agency for the Domains of the State (ADS), the institution tasked with the privatization of companies in the agricultural sector, own minority stakes in 24 companies, whose total share capital is worth 122 million lei (around 30 million Euros) (ed. note: you can view the list on www.bursa.ro)

The ADS is a majority shareholder in three other companies: The National Company for Land Improvement (SNIF), SC Agroprodom Odorheiul Secuiesc SA and SC Sericarom SA, with the first two being under special administration (for the purpose of privatization), and the third will be reorganized as a research station.

Many of the companies in which the state is a minority shareholder were efficient Agricultural Research Institutes in the past, but the privatization caused them to enter a steady decline.

"Due to the low interest for the acquisition of these stakes, most of them being in companies with a small share capital, dwindling activity and a small number of employees, work is being done on several draft bills intended to simplify the procedure for placing bids and for the acquisition of the minority stakes in these companies", the ADS officials said.

The legislative changes, which concern the starting bid for auctions, and the obligation of the majority shareholder to provide the ADS with the necessary documentation to draw up the sale offers, will be adopted through a law, after the alternative of an Emergency Government Ordinance was rejected, the ADS officials said.

The ADS said that it is putting up for sale its minority stakes in five companies: "Agroindustriala Fortuna", "Agroindustriala Bucium", "Pomicola", "Agro Daneasa", and "Rovit".

All the remaining stakes of the state in agricultural companies were initially supposed to be included in a sovereign investment fund, but the project did not receive the approval of the government last autumn.