TRADING IN OLTCHIM STOCK WAS NOT HALTED, EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MANDATORY TO DO SO A decision which had been expected for four years, unequally disseminated among investors

The Bucharest Stock Exchange and "Oltchim" did not make sure that the stock market investors would be fairly informed about the most important news in the market which concerned "Oltchim", over the last few years - obtaining the approval of the European Commission on the conversion of the company's debt towards the AVAS into shares.

Even though the stock of Oltchim (OLT) experienced spectacular moves yesterday - a rise of more than 10% in the morning, a fall back to +5%, rising again to +8%, followed by another fall to-1% and so on, - apparently the press was the only one who felt that approving the conversion was a significant topic and that it should have been disseminated equally to all investors.

"Oltchim" sent a communiqué to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, at 14:03, by which it announced that the information which appeared in the press that the Commission had decided in favor of the conversion of the plant's debt towards the state into stock, had not been officially confirmed by the authorities concerned.

But at that hour, the information had been officially confirmed by the head of the Office For The State's Interests and Industrial Privatization (OPSPI), Florin Laurenţiu Vlădan, and the president of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiriţoiu, according to Mediafax, and unofficially by several sources close to the matter.

One hour later, the BURSA newspaper also received the confirmation of the European Commission.

Even though that information had been making the rounds since Wednesday (ed. note: when the EC made the decision), the BSE did not concern itself with providing information to investors in a fair manner.

The Stock Exchange currently has a weakness, because since November 2011, it has yet to appoint a definitive general manager, but that situation can not be used as an excuse: it does have an interim general manager, Alin Barbu.

If Barbu thought that he could not take the responsibility of halting trading in Oltchim, or that the situation exceeded his mandate, then, until everything had become clear, he could have consulted with the Board of Directors.

In turn, the Board of Directors could have reacted on its own and ask Alin Barbu to decide according to the transparency requirements.

It wasn't just once that news published in the BURSA newspaper by listed companies, led to the immediate halting of trading in the past (and each time, it was later proven that the decision to halt trading had been the right one; we mention here the case of the OLT itself, for which trading was suspended in January, when the "BURSA" newspaper announced that "Electrica" cut off the electricity of the plant, an absolutely accurate piece of news, which broke while everyone who was responsible kept silent).

Now, however, the Bucharest Stock Exchange preferred to keep silent. Moreover, even after the piece of news proved to be accurate, the representatives of the Bucharest Stock Exchange refused to comment on the subject.

The decision of the European Commission had been awaited for four years, and heavy pressure was exerted in support of it as well as against it - on one hand the majority shareholder, the Romanian state, wanted that conversion, whereas on the other hand, the minority shareholders of PCC SE considered it an illegal state aid.

The privatization process of "Oltchim" depends on this decision.

In other words, this is more serious than just the plant having its power cut off.

It is a piece of news which alters the fate of Oltchim.

The information was brutally speculated by those investors who had it, using the ignorance of the rest.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange acted like a sidewalk market.

Could there have been an interest in having the Exchange act like it did?

The question is legitimate, because the right decision in this situation was elementary.