THE VOTE ON THE HOLDING LIMIT IN THE SIFS GETS POSTPONED AGAIN Gabriela Anghelache, CNVM: Statements being made about the SIF holding limit do not represent manipulation

• However, the Romanian National Securities Commission is ready to begin an investigation, if excessive volatility occurred

There can be no discussion of manipulation of the stock market when it comes to the statements on the raising or the keeping intact of the threshold in the SIFs made by the MPs in the sessions of the Parliament, Gabriela Anghelache, the chairman of the Romanian National Securities Commission said yesterday.

The statement of the head of the CNVM came after the Chamber of Deputies once again postponed the voting of the draft bill by for the second week in a row.

"Manipulation of the stock market means disseminating misleading information, whereas the project to raise the allowed holding limit in the SIFs is included on the daily agenda of the Parliament", said Gabriela Anghelache.

According to her, the Romanian National Securities Commission, has repeatedly warned about the talks which can influence stock prices. "But we can't take any action against the legislative", Mrs. Anghelache said, and she added: "Only if major price swings occur, will the Commission start an investigation".

The project to raise the maximum holding limit in the SIFs from 1% to 5% will be the 15th item on the agenda of the Parliament on the session of Monday, December 5th. The agenda of the plenum also includes the holding of the final vote on 27 other initiatives.

Dan Paul, the chairman of the "Association of Brokers", also feels there can be no question of market manipulation, because the talks about the raising of the holding limit in the SIFs were public: "The decision on whether to invest or not lies with investors. If they feel that the draft bill will pass the vote, than they should invest, if they feel like it won't, then they shouldn't".

On November 21st, lawyer Cristian Duţescu expressed his concern on the baseless statements made concerning the voting of the legislative draft bill, which are influencing the stocks of the SIFs. The same concern was expressed by several investors, who said that they were disappointed because the deputies weren't taking the time to complete this project.

Senator Ovidiu Marian initially proposed the elimination of the holding limit in the SIFs, but the Senate changed the project by including a provision which proposes the raising of the holding limit to 5%.