Fondul Proprietatea (FP) negotiated with some investors to sell 20% stake in owns in Hidroelectrica, but GEO 114/2018 blocked the talks, said Johan Meyer, Franklin Templeton Investments CEO and manager of Fondul Proprietatea.

“There was Ordinance 114. When you have so much unpredictability and volatility, asking an investor to bring one billion dollars to Romania needs a tremendous confidence, not changes overnight. I have not yet met investors who come up with so much if they are not sure they can make money,” Meyer said, according to Agerpres.

At the same time, asked if there were discussions before the GEO 114 with interested investors, he replied: “This is the effect of OUG 114, instability and unpredictability. As for Hidroelectrica, we made good progress in discussions with some stakeholders, unfortunately, something happened.”

The Romanian state owns 80% of the shares of the company through the Ministry of Energy and the remaining 20% belongs to Fondul Proprietatea.

By Government Emergency Ordinance 114/2018, the authorities capped the electricity price for household consumers over the next three years and forced Hidroelectrica to deliver up to 65% of the production at a regulated price.