The idea of building a petrochemical colossus to encompass Oltchim and the petrochemical divisions of the Petromidia Refinery held by Rompetrol and Arpechim Refinery, held by SNP Petrom, took the Stock Exchange by surprise. It demanded an explanation from the companies involved in the deal and decided to suspend the shares of Petrom and Oltchim from trading.
The representatives of the two companies say the Stock Exchange should not have done this. "We feel it is unusual to ground such a decision on this article (i.e. "Industry Ministry determined to create petrochemical colossus" run on Ziarul Financiar's front page)," Oltchim's economic manager Vasile Mandica said in a note he sent to the Stock Exchange.
Ziarul Financiar yesterday reported on the plans of the Industry Ministry, which had actually gone public with them, to create a petrochemical "mastodon" by joining a division of a company pending privatisation (SNP Petrom), a company already privatised and a state-run company in debt up over its head (Oltchim).
Stere Farmache, Stock Exchange director does not share the opinion of Oltchim's manager.
"The moment the printed or broadcast press publishes information likely to impact on the investment decision and which is not directly provided by the issuer, such information is considered rumour, and the Stock Exchange suspends the shares from trading until the issuer of the shares states its position," Farmache said.
The regulations in force allow the Stock Exchange to suspend any company from trading in case of speculation-inducing information. The shares may remain suspended until the companies in question come up with the necessary explanations.
Both Stere Farmache and the brokers on the Stock Exchange deplore the fact that intentions that should normally be notified to shareholders through the Stock Exchange first are so inconsiderately announced to the public.
"This is an atypical situation for a capital market planning to grow up. Greece, for instance, has its share of state-run companies, but they comply with the notification rules. In spite of all our efforts, things are not the same here," Stere Farmache told Ziarul Financiar.
The Stock Exchange director, however, agrees with the managers of the companies suspended, to a certain extent. He says that he sees himself in the position of not being able to demand additional explanations from these companies, because these are the State's designs, not theirs.
"I have asked the National Securities Commission (CNVM), also a state-run institution, to improve communication with the other institutions of the State, such as the Industry Ministry or the Privatisation Authority (APAPS) about the confidential information control," Farmache specified.
