(story to be published in tomorrow's issue, March 10)
The State Ownership Fund (SOF) this year hopes to derive revenues worth 4,000 billion lei from the privatisation of the 2,225 companies it still holds in its portfolio, to which are added another 2,000 billion lei from sale-purchase contracts concluded in 1999. According to a report drawn up by the Budget-Finances department within SOF, which was discussed during the meeting of the Fund's Management Board, total revenues forecast for year 2000 stand at 7,085 billion lei. SOF officials told Ziarul Financiar that the 4,000 billion lei would represent the sums derived from the sale in a proportion of 55 percent of commercial companies of its portfolio. "These sums might be larger or smaller, depending on the success of the privatisation programme developed through PSAL. There is however the possibility that we should succeed in privatising companies such as Sidex or Alro Slatina, a situation where the data of the problem would be completely different," the above-quoted sources maintain. Beside the 2,000 billion lei to be obtained by SOF this year from sale-purchase contracts concluded in 1999, the rest of over 1,000 billion lei represent current revenues of SOF from liquidations of companies, interests and dividends. Finance minister Decebal Traian Remes stated however last week, during the presentation of the budget draft on this year, that the total value of revenues projected to be derived from privatisation overshoots 9,000 billion lei. He said that the respective sums are to be used to pay interests associated with the domestic public debt. "Estimations by the Finance minister also include the sums that are supposed to be obtained from the share capital increase of Petrom and Tarom," say sources within SOF. According to the same report, expenditures on personnel SOF projected for this year come to 470 billion lei. Material and services expenditures, including expenditures on advertising for the privatisation of commercial companies were estimated at 120 billion lei, while capital expenditures are expected to amount to 30 billion lei.
