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In Romania reform progress has been slow, particularly in energy and transport sectors, said Greg Konieczny, Templeton Emerging Markets Group executive vice president and portfolio manager at Fondul Proprietatea (FP). He argues the need to liberalize gas prices.
“Romania still has a long way to go. Progress has been slow and there is still a need for structural reforms, particular in energy and transport. Promises on full liberalization of gas and electricity prices, made to international financial institutions, must be respected because it would bring more investment and growth in these sectors”, said Konieczny, quoted by Investment Week (UK).
At the same time, the system of corporate governance was “sometimes only half done”, it is said in a statement.
“Efforts to reform state enterprises remain a key issue, preventing acceleration of economic growth. Although a new, modern, corporate governance system was implemented for these companies, sometimes measures were incomplete. There is still political interference in the appointment of managers, and there is a lack of alignment of executives’ interests with those of shareholders of companies because, in most cases, they are still not adequately stimulated and performance criteria are still not well chosen”, added FP manager.
“Large fees for investing in the capital market in Romania, overregulation and unpredictable changes also continues to put pressure on foreign investments because of risks associated with the local market”, said Konieczny.
