Romania: private managers for national businesses

Until now, the authorities appointed the managers of national businesses. Because of disastrous results in most of these companies - in 2010, the 35 biggest State firms made €10 billion in sales but lost 500 million - business secretary Ion Ariton suggested, at the beginning of the year, replacing these managers - often appointed through friendship or interest - by managers coming from the private sector. The aim is to improve internal operations, stop financial losses and find the best way to deal with the private privatization of some of these companies, planned by the government as part of the preventive agreement signed with the IMF and the European Central Bank last spring. Promise to the IMF. The head of the Romanian State approved this proposal, and so did the International Monetary Fund which is "monitoring" Romania as part of the preventive agreement signed last year. It was added to the Romanian State's obligations contained in this agreement. The headhunters who are going to start working in a few weeks have to recruit, at first, 5-10 private managers who already have a lot of experience in the private sector.  These managers are going to take the reins of several State businesses: the Romanian post, Tarom (airline), CFR Merchandise (railway), CFR Electrification (railway maintenance), Hidroelectrica (electricity), Oltenia – the national TV company, and then Electrica Furnizare, Romarm and Oltchim.