The designated intermediaries will establish a privatization timetable for the companies, Bode said.
“The brokers will announce the order in which they are to be privatized or listed in Bucharest,” he told reporters.
Under a EUR3.6 billion loan agreement with the IMF, Romania has pledged to privatize chemical company Oltchim SA (OLT.RO) and copper producer Cupru Min by the end of April and to sell 15% stakes in power grid operator Transelectrica (TEL.RO) and natural gas transporter Transgaz (TGN.RO).
The secondary public offering of 15% in Transelectrica was completed successfully at the end of March, while a sale agreement with Canadian-based Roman Copper Corp. for Cupru Min is due for signing later Friday. Roman Copper Corp. agreed to pay EUR200.7 million for the local copper producer.
Still by end-April, the Romanian authorities are supposed to select brokers to help with the sale of minority stakes of up to 20% in several key energy and transport companies, including Romgaz, Electrica Serv, Tarom, Hidroelectrica, Nuclearelectrica, CFR Marfa and postal company Posta Romana.
An IMF delegation is scheduled to arrive in Bucharest April 24 for a new review of the country’s progress under the loan agreement. It will be the last mission headed by Jeffrey Franks, whose mandate expires in April.