American International Group, the world's largest financial services and insurance company, is planning to become the biggest American investor in Romania, with projects in industry, infrastructure, power supply and harbours, AIG vice-president for foreign relations Frank Wisner said at the end of last week.
Sources within the company told Ziarul Financiar that AIG planned to launch a one billion-dollar investment fund for Eastern and Central Europe, with the main target in Romania.
"I believe that the present Government has assumed power in a critical situation and stands no other chance to achieve economic recovery than reform," said Wisner, who met the new President, Ion Iliescu, immediately after his investiture, as well as some members of Nastase team.
Wisner believes that encouraging market forces, privatisation and social justice should be the main goals of Nastase Government.
"In my opinion, a potential failure in the programme of the new Government would carry extremely severe political and social consequences, because Romania has reached a turning point," Wisner stated. AIG is present in Romania with three divisions: life, non-life insurance and an investment fund, and has invested 125 million dollars so far.
AIG activity in Romania started in 1994, with a non-life insurance company, which reached a turnover of some 6.5 million dollars in the first 11 months of this year, posting an average growth rate of 10-15% per year.
AIG Life, set up in December 1998, sold policies worth some 40 billion lei in the first nine months of the year, and forecasts a four-fold increase in receipts for 2001.
The investment division AIG New Europe Fund has invested in MobilRom, Luxten and Astral TV. AIG is also planning to invest in a company to administrate privately-managed public pension funds, when reform is completed in this field.
