“The privatization strategy has been approved by the Government. The decision is irreversible, the company will be privatized,” said Finance Minister Florin Georgescu.
The government had pledged to hire a consultant in June and publish the tender prospectus in August, in preparation for the capital hike at the end of September. The consultant has not yet been hired and the Communications Ministry wants to put together a committee for this purpose.
A committee will also be set up to coordinate the privatization, made up of representatives of the Communications Ministry, Finance Ministry, the prime minister’s cabinet and minority shareholder Fondul Proprietatea.
Another committee will be created to prepare and monitor the privatization process, with members including representatives of the Communications Ministry, Posta Romana and Fondul Proprietatea.
The members of these two committees and their technical staff will be paid no more than 2,500 lei (EUR530) before tax per month, from Posta Romana’s budget. The company will also pay for consultancy and legal services, as well as advertising.
Posta Romana is the largest postal operator in Romania, with a territorial network of about 7,100 post offices. The Communications Ministry owns 75% of Posta Romana’s capital, while investment fund Fondul Proprietatea owns 25%.
In 2011, the company’s turnover fell by 8.7% to RON1.26 billion, while losses climbed 50% to RON182.9 million, according to Finance Ministry data. Posta Romana had debts of RON556.9 million at the end of 2011. (EUR1=RON4.6186)