“We have completely extinguished any payment obligations in September 2010. Right now we are discussing a buyback, at market price, of the state-owned stake in Rompetrol,” Grigoriev said.
The Constanta court decided late-June that Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO), part of the Rompetrol group, no longer owes any money to the state, from the $603 million debt converted into bonds in 2003.
Last year, bonds not bought by the company before September 2010 were converted into stock, which brought the government back into the company’s shareholding structure, with a 44.69% stake.
In October 2003, the government issued an ordinance turning Rompetrol’s budget debt into seven-year bonds worth $603 billion, including interest and penalties.
The bonds were to be bought back by September 2010, but Rompetrol Rafinare only bought back bonds for $71 million, and paid interest worth $24 million.
KazMunayGas, the owner of the Rompetrol group, decided last year to convert the remaining bonds into stock, and the decision was challenged in court by the government.
At the same time, late-June 2010, Rompetrol Rafinare shareholders approved a share capital hike of 450 million lei (EUR105.42 million). The funds were meant to repay the debt to the state. During the operation, shares were subscribed for RON329.49 million. (EUR1=RON4.256)