Romania's Govt Puts Oltchim Sale In Stand-By

The privatization of Romanian chemical plant Oltchim (OLT.RO) is currently in stand-by, and the sale will be resumed when the market ensures favorable conditions to keep the plant's employees, in the meantime the company being supported by state aids approved by the European Commission.

"We have decided today to put the privatization process in stand-by. We do not have a market able to sustain such a process and we want the privatization to be developed in good conditions, so that we could guarantee the people's jobs in the plant," Romania's Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said Wednesday, at the end of the Government meeting.
 
He added the Government will find other ways to sustain Oltchim, including state aids approved by the European Commission, so that the plant would be able to further function.
 
According to Tariceanu, the country's privatization authority AVAS and the Finance Ministry must regulate certain commercial reports between Oltchim and Romania's dominant oil company Petrom (SNP.RO), which is the plant's main supplier of raw material.
 
Mediafax