Official: Over 50pct of Romania's capital market generated by state-owned companies

  The business sectors should have a greater representation within the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), because, today, over 50% of the capital market is generated by state-owned companies, Mihai Precup, senior official with the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and chairman of the Interministerial Council for the Application of State Aid Policy, said on Monday.He participated in the release if the BVB Arena book: 15 companies for the growth of the Romanian economy and their success stories, which will mark the end of the current edition of the BVB Arena program. At the same time, a new edition, BVB Arena 2025, begins, with the first stage, of nominating companies."I am very happy to be at the seventh edition of the book. Today we end the cycle for 2024. I can't wait to see what happens in 2025 Arena - and the name you have chosen is very inspiring. The arena is about performance, about transparency, corporate governance. Recently, I participated in a discussion (...) and the conclusion was that we have investors, we have money, pension funds interested in coming to the capital market. What we lack are opportunities. Today, looking carefully at the seventh edition, I saw how many large and interesting companies we have and potential candidates for the Bucharest Stock Exchange and I want to see more candidates on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, because remember what I am telling you: we need a greater representativeness of the business sectors within the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Today, as you well know, I dare to say that the Romanian government has done its job in a way, because over 50% of the capital market is generated by state-owned companies. This ranking, this book show that there are candidates, we can have companies that compete with the state-owned ones, that attract capital to the Bucharest Stock Exchange," Precup said.He also referred to the Fidelis government bonds, which gave the opportunity to some people to invest in the Romanian capital market, and later to turn to shares or other types of financial investments."We also have the Fidelis government bonds, where the state once again played an extremely important role, because thousands of retail investors participated, who normally might not have come to the capital market for the first time if it were not for this opportunity to invest in Fidelis securities. And so, through these government bond issues, we have given the opportunity to some people to come and invest in the capital market and who at some point will turn to shares, to other types of investment, to companies. I remember, when I accepted the challenge of becoming secretary of state for the first time at the Ministry of Finance, my mother told me what kind of person I wanted to be. And I said, 'Okay, what does that mean?' And I asked her what the difference was. Being a leader means thinking about the next generations, a leader in the central administration thinks about the next elections. In this book I have seen a lot of entrepreneurs who think more about the next elections than about the next financial year and I think it is about these entrepreneurs, and I hope to see you in the arena of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, on the capital market," Precup told the representatives of the companies in attendance.