Monday, July 18. The Bucharest inhabitants found in CEC, Bancpost and Banca Transilvania branches on Stefan cel Mare Boulevard or Calea Dorobanti are more interested in their loan installments and the exchange rate than in the Petrom (SNP.RO) offering, the most important public offering in Romania’s history.
They merely raise an eyebrow and say they have no money when asked whether they are interested to buy shares in Petrom, Romania’s largest and most profitable company.
In 2004, over 500,000 people in Poland came up with $1 billion to subscribe in the offering of the largest bank of the country, PKO. The lines at PKO’s branches back in the day made history. How come the largest Romanian company is not stirring any interest at all?
“Nobody came to inquire about Petrom’s offering or to subscribe to it today (Monday July 18). We had someone who subscribed twice last week, at a price of 0.28 lei and RON3,” answered one of the employees of the Banca Transilvania branch, who would not be named.
The staff at the CEC Bank branch did not care to provide information, while an employee of the Bancpost branch said no one had come to subscribe at that branch since the offering started on July 11.
“On July 13, 14 and even 15 pensions were paid, you know, and nobody was interested to subscribe. The customers who set foot in our branch were about 70 years old and they are not interested in shares,” she added.
People passing by the bank branches and interviewed by ZF did not know that much about Petrom’s offering.
“Yes, I’ve heard of it, but I’m always short of cash, I’ve got large installments on loans to pay and I have no money left to save,” said Marius P, 38, who works as an economist for a bank. “If I had EUR5,000, I would use it all for the offering, I would make a portfolio investment. One thinks of a portfolio only if one has money.”
Silvia Dascalu, 47, who works as a nurse, did not know about Petrom’s offering, but after being explained what it was, she admitted it was a good idea for the government to sell stock to the people and not privatize companies behind closed doors. “I have no money to subscribe in the offering,” she said.
A young man about 20 years of age was getting his car filled up at a Petrom gas station.
“I buy about RON650’s worth of gas a month. I don’t know if I would be willing to spend this money on Petrom shares, because I don’t know what Petrom’s offering means,” he said.
The answers received confirm statements from Petrom’s offering brokers who say Romanians are not interested in buying shares. They say they set out to attract the about three or four thousand investors currently active on the stock market.
Romanians can subscribe up 15% of Petrom’s offering allocated to small investors through the about 460 branches of the above-mentioned banks.
“Such an offering is deemed successful when a professor, a doctor, a lawyer, or anyone else who has never heard of the stock market comes to buy shares,” says Mihai Chisu, IFB Finwest broker.
However, those regularly investing on the stock market do not seem interested to participate in the offering either, amid concerns about developments on foreign markets.
One of the reasons Romanians are not rushing to buy shares in Petrom’s offering is the price. The government announced it would sell them at a maximum price of RON0.46, and many believe they have to subscribe at this price, while the price on the Bucharest Stock Exchange is RON0.38. Brokers say retail investors will not subscribe unless they are convinced they can buy cheaper than on the stock market.
(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)