Two weeks ago the delegate budget minister Liviu Voinea presented as a first for ZF the results of the first evaluation of the state’s tangible fixed assets, which amounted to RON580 million. To this added the assets of RON261.5 billion of companies where the state is a shareholder.
In the meantime the Government has finalized the evaluation of all the state’s assets, both non-financial and financial.
According to the report on the 2013 budget, the total value of the state’s assets was RON806 billion (EUR185 billion) at the end of September, RON599 billion of which are non-financial assets and RON207 billion financial assets.
But the data is subject to interpretation, considering that the figures most likely reflect the book value of the state’s assets, according to the balance sheets of public institutions and of state-run companies, not an up-to-date value.
This is best seen in the evaluation of stakes held by the state. According to the report, at the end of 2011 the value of the Romanian state’s stakes in state-run companies and public corporations was RON34.2 billion (EUR7.84 billion). But these companies had total assets of RON261.5 billion (EUR60 billion) and equity capital of RON 96.2 billion (EUR22 billion). So the EUR7.84 billion evaluation most likely refers to the state’s contribution to these companies’ share capital, not to their actual value.
In total there are over 2,000 state-run companies, around 1,000 of which are relevant in terms of turnover, according to minister Liviu Voinea. The Finance Ministry directly monitors the 241 leading majority state-held companies in order to keep their spending in check.
These companies had revenues of RON63.3 billion (EUR14.9 billion) in 2011 and a cumulated net result (by subtracting cumulated losses from cumulated profits) of RON1.83 billion (EUR430 million) and assets of RON158 billion (EUR37 billion).
One must also consider that these companies received subsidies or state transfers of RON2.57 billion (included in the revenues) and paid dividends to the state of RON1.42 billion, i.e. the overall result is a negative one.
The main conclusion of this report is that the assets are used inefficiently and generate very low revenues to the state budget. In 2011 the state paid (in subsidies) more than it collected (in dividends) from the companies where it is a majority shareholder. So, despite having significant wealth, the state does not make much money from it, with the Government having to hike taxes and borrow in order to cover its expenses.
This is the result of over 20 years of inefficient management, when the state’s assets were not managed or allocated based on performance criteria, but on political ones.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)