The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and fund manager Franklin Templeton, which manages Romania’s investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, organized a corporate governance conference in Bucharest, on Tuesday, October 29.

The fund managers try to promote good practices among Romanian state-owned companies, such as responsibility, impartiality, independence and top management integrity.

Franklin Templeton reminded of the Emergency Ordinance which regulates how corporate governance rules are put into practice at state companies. “We hope to see more IPOs for state companies in the coming future, which should significantly support Romania’s economy and the state budget,” said Greg Konieczny, manager of Fondul Proprietatea.

Strong corporate governance rules will strengthen the trust of both foreign and local investors, said Gian Piero Cigna, senior counsel for corporate governance with EBRD. The financial institution has helped gas producer Romgaz and electricity distributor Electrica to draw up corporate governance action plans in the run up to their respective IPOs, in the last year.

Representatives of state companies such as Petrom, Nuclearelectrica, Romgaz, CE Oltenia, Romanian Post of Hidroelectrica attended the event.

editor@romania-insider.com