THE CURRENT MANAGEMENT HAS RECEIVED A NEW TERM, IN JUST ONE VOTING ROUND Costel Ceocea remains CEO of SIF Moldova

The elections for a new board of SIF Moldova yesterday went without unspectacularly, as the five board members of SIF2 who were in the running - Costel Ceocea, Horia Ciorcilă, Claudiu Doroş, Cătălin Iancu Jianu and Radu Octavian - succeeded in getting new terms.

Costel Ceocea remains the CEO of SIF Moldova, and Radu Octavian has been appointed as vice-president, Claudiu Doroş was appointed CEO and Cătălin Iancu, deputy CEO.

The current shareholders (who held 46% of SIF2) voted for the new Board of Directors as follows: Costel Ceocea (93.86%), Horia Ciorcilă (67.58%), Claudiu Doroş (78.52%), Cătălin Iancu Jianu (66.59), Radu Octavian (61.53%), Robert Pană (39.6%) and Olimpiu Blăjuţ (40.31%).

The General Shareholder Meeting of SIF Moldova was a quiet one, with no interventions from the shareholders in the room. Prior to the meeting, the Financial Oversight Authority found no shareholders acting in concert, in order to overcome the 5% legally set holding limit, even though some market sources are saying that some investors filed reports containing such allegations.

The General Shareholder Meeting decided to cut the number of board members from seven to five, as well as buy back a maximum of 29 million shares in order to reduce the share capital (2.8% of the share capital). The minimum acquisition price will be the price on the BSE at the time of the acquisition, and the maximum price per share is 1.5 lei.

The shareholders of SIF Moldova have approved the payout of a gross dividend of 0.044 lei. Also, the general shareholder meeting decided to prescribe the dividends pertaining to the 2013 fiscal year set through the extraordinary general shareholder meeting of April 15th, 2014, uncollected by July 14th, 2017 and to record them according to the applicable legislation.

The SIF2 shareholders have approved the operational program proposed in 2017. The administrators' strategy concerns the management of resources/assets in order to increase the NAV in the medium and long term, together with the implementation of a rigorous control of potential risks: "The investment activity takes place in compliance with the prudential and legal exposure limits, and in line with the macroeconomic trends.

In 2017 as well, the investments in private equity will concern the real-estate and agriculture sectors, given the potential for growth in the medium and long term in these sectors. The development projects started in 2016 in the real estate sector will continue. Also reviewed will be the opportunities for expansion/consolidation in the agricultural sector, pursuing the professional management in order to achieve profitability and with a view to sell at a profit.

The exposure on the energy and utilities sector will be maintained, as it is capable of providing constant predictable cash flows.

The financial banking sector, which in 2015 showed a real stabilization by resuming lending, remains a point of interest for SIF Moldova, which has already allocated significant resources into a solid bank, which is in full growth after absorbing another bank and acquired performing assets owned by a distressed bank".

SIF2 states that the exposure to Banca Transilvania (TLV) will be maintained in 2017 as well, "due to the stock's potential for growth, based on the ability to increase its own equity, which can support a competitive PBV compared to the similar banks in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of a superior ROE".

In the elections of 2013, Banca Transilvania forced its own favorites in the management of SIF2 Moldova, after a shady General Shareholder Meeting. At the time, Horia Ciorcilă, the CEO of the bank, and Radu Hanga entered the Board of Directors of SIF2 in the first round, together with Costel Ceocea, Claudiu Doroş and Andrei Hrebenciuc (who has since been replaced due to his legal issues), and the board was supplemented in the second round with Radu Octavian and Cătălin Iancu Jianu.

The results of 2013 came as, on the night before the meeting, the CNVM (the predecessor of the ASF) had limited, from approximately 10% to 5%, the voting rights of the BT Group and Wood&Company, on claims of their acting in concert.