After almost four years of investigations, the European Commission has approved the conversion of the debt of "Oltchim" towards the AVAS (ed. note: Authority for State Assets Recovery).

Franklin Templeton, which nobody knows if is still the manager of the Proprietatea Fund (FP) or not, has moved on to radical actions, of selling the shares which the Proprietatea Fund owns in thirteen companies in the energy sector.

The success of the offering through which the Romanian state will sell 15% of "Transelectrica" on the Stock Market depends on the granting of a discount of 10-15%, Lucian Anghel, the president of the Bucharest Stock Exchange thinks.

Equity market players are clamoring for a discount of 10% to 20% on the offer for the sale of 15% of the shares of "Trans­electrica", and the seller, the Romanian state, needs to decide very soon whether it will give in to that pressure.

The representatives of the two domestic exchanges, of Bucharest and Sibiu, told us that they will comply with the European directives, after Gabriela Anghelache, the president of the National Securities Commission (CNVM), told us, in an...

The exploitation of the natural gas deposit in the Black Sea, announced two weeks ago by "OMV Petrom" and "ExxonMobil", may begin in 2015-2017, president Traian Băsescu said yesterday.

Valentin Ionescu, the former managing director of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), considers that, in the case of the secondary offering of "Transelectrica", a discount of 15% compared to the market price is welcome.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates (EAU) announced their bid for the World Expo 2020 fair at the Dubai International Airport.

Investments in Romania's economy last year amounted to 64.529 billion lei, up 9.2% over the previous year, according to a press release of the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The actions to fight contraband seem to have entered a certain "relaxation" stage, Gabriel Berca, the minister of Administration and Internal Affairs said:

This year, "Philip Morris" Romania will invest 1 million Euros in the modernization of the plant it owns in Otopeni, with the investment consisting in the installation of a new, more energy efficient cooling unit, said Andrei Vasilescu,...

The capital market watchdog yesterday levied fines, after reviewing the trades involving structured products issued by "Erste Bank", for which the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) was a liquidity provider.

Reporter: Last year, in a different interview, you told us that a Committee comprising representatives of several ministries would be created, to coordinate the activities in the tobacco sector.

Disregarding the lawyers' claims that that it has no right to manage the Proprietatea Fund, "Franklin Templeton" is minding its own business, summoning a General Shareholder Meeting, on April 4th, for discussing the proposals it has...

The black market for cigarettes fell 2% in January compared to November last year, from 15% to 13%, according to the latest data provided by "Novel Research".

Last year, the employees of the border police impounded for the purpose of confiscation - by themselves or in cooperation with several other institutions - a number of approximately 9.26 million packs of cigarettes, worth about 50.5 million lei.

Interview with Tom Holst, the head of Chevron for Romania

More than half of the volume of energy sold by "Hidroelectrica" last year was based on direct contracts with private providers, the representatives of the company told us, in an interview.

After a month of hard winter, like we've never had in the last 50 years, spring shows its first signs.

Oil prices fell yesterday after rising for 8 days straight, on the London and New York Exchanges, halting last week's significant rise.

Swiss company Günthart AG, specializing in the production of chocolate, is assessing the Romanian market, with a view of opening a plant in Romania as well.

Since the beginning of the year, the price of gas in Romania has increased 4.2%, and the price of Diesel fuel has risen 3%, says Andreea Paul Vass, State Adviser to the Prime Minister.

The hike in the price of fuel which happened last week, just five weeks after the price increases of January, will affect our wallets, just like the other price hikes of utilities.

Reporter: What steps do you think the government should take to prevent more failures of the privatization offerings conducted through the stock exchange? Do you think there is time to take such measures?

"Cosmote" Romania saw a 27% increase on the business segment last year, compared to 2010, including large customers such as BCR or Transgaz, the company's officials announced yesterday.

Few people seem to have noticed that the attitude of the NBR's governor towards to the Bucharest Stock Exchange has fluctuated wildly, in the 21 years since Prime Minister Petre Roman issued the Government decision to create the Romanian...

Mugur Isărescu, the governor of the Central Bank, thinks that in the future, the Bucharest Stock Exchange could represent a viable alternative for the financing of the Romanian economy: "Maybe someday I will bring my winery to the Stock...

Reporter: Your Excellency, the state of the relations between Iran and the Western Countries is changing from one day to the next. How do you view things at this moment?

Complicated regulations, an unfair taxation system and the rise of the underground gambling market are obstacles to the development of the gambling industry in Romania, considers Mrs. Michelle Lee Cummins, General Manager of Casinos Austria...

Reporter: Mr. Bulai, can it be said that there is a correlation between the economic crisis and gambling?

"OMV Petrom" and "ExxonMobil Exploration and Production România" yesterday announced the discovery, in the Black Sea, of a deposit of natural gas, estimated at 42-84 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of three to six times our...

Reporter: Your Excellency, the state of the relations between Iran and the Western Countries is changing from one day to the next. How do you view things at this moment?

Reporter: Dear Mrs. Jarzemska, how would you describe the Romanian market, compared to other markets that your company operates on?

Prince Paul will request the opening of the succession, following the ruling issued by the Romanian court last week, by which Carol Mircea Grigore, father to Prince Paul, was acknowledged as first legitimate son and rightful heir of Carol the...

Some of the commercial banks responded to the harsh message of the Governor of the Central bank Mugur Isărescu, concerning the high interest rates on deposits and acted accordingly, cutting their rates paid on deposits by as much as 0.50...

On Friday, the price of crude rose to a9-month high on the energy exchange in New York, amid the first signs of improvement of the American economy and of the optimism concerning the second bailout package for Greece.

I had gone blind.

Aluminum maker Alro Slatina (ALR), controlled by Russian group Vimetco, supports the idea of desecretizing the energy procurement contract concluded with Hidroelectrica, but this will place it at a disadvantage compared to its competitors, Marian...

"The beginning of the end" for the "Proprietatea Fund", like many call it, was started by the request of the American fund "Elliott Associates", the largest shareholder of the Proprietatea Fund, to increase the...

"Prodplast" Bucharest has seen a net profit of 2.935 million lei, in 2011, up 42.55% compared to 2010, according to preliminary information sent on Wednesday to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Rompetrol Well Services had a net profit of 15.517 million lei, last year, up 6.47% over the end of 2010, according to preliminary information sent on Wednesday to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Turnover of "Transgaz" Mediaş (TGN) rose 2.7 %, last year, to 1.348 billion lei, according to the annual report sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Profit of Dafora SA Sibiu fell 2.15 times in 2011, compared to 2010, to 3.86 million lei, according to preliminary data published on the website of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Oil Terminal posted a net profit of 360,404 lei last year, 6.2 times smaller than at the end of 2010.

The plant of "Oltchim" Râmnicu Vâlcea (OLT) reported losses of 270 million lei in 2011, up 20.9% over 2010, as turnover increased 17.1%, to 1.53 billion lei, according to the preliminary report sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Oil prices rose yesterday, on the London and New York Exchanges, after a press agency of Iran announced that the country cancelled its oil deliveries to six EU member states, and the US Department of Energy said that American oil inventories fell.

The deal through which the government will try to sell on the stock market a block of 15% of "Transelectrica" (symbol: TEL) is scheduled to begin in mid March, and will have a subscription period of 10 working days, the representatives of...