Moldova has changed the principle of evaluating the state shareholdings put up for privatization.
This is provided for by amendments approved by the government to its decree on the procedure for setting the initial sale price of public property shares subject to privatization. The amendments adopted by the government establish the obligation to determine the initial selling price of publicly owned shares if the state's share in the authorized capital of a company exceeds 33.3%, based on an examination conducted by an independent appraiser in accordance with international standards, and if the state's share is less than 33.3% %, then the initial sale price of shares should be determined by a commission established by the government or competent authorities with powers in the field of privatization, in the manner prescribed by law. Other amendments approved by the Cabinet of Ministers establish that the validity period of the market price set in the appraisal report cannot exceed 6 months from the date of its preparation. At the same time, it is proposed to supplement the current normative act with provisions concerning the establishment of the initial sale price of shares owned by the state in limited liability companies. The resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers will enter into force from the date of publication in Monitorul Oficial (the Official Journal of Moldova). The document was approved on the basis of the earlier recommendations of the Accounts Chamber, taking into account the resumption of the process of putting state assets up for sale. Earlier, the Accounts Chamber, in its Report on the Audit of Compliance of the State Shares Purchase and Sale Process in Tutun-CTC JSC, noted that the state shareholding in this enterprise was privatized without a mandatory assessment by the central public administration body at the market value of net assets, including securities and real estate property, which led to a decrease in the size of equity capital and, accordingly, the value of shares subject to privatization, by 111.6 million lei. It was emphasized that the regulatory framework on the procedure for establishing the initial sale price of a block of state shares subject to privatization by means of an auction on the Stock Exchange of Moldova through commercial tenders or other established methods is outdated and imperfect, and it does not directly provide for a mechanism for setting the initial sale price of government securities in the case of sequential application of various procedures. Thus, the Court of Accounts recommended improving the regulatory framework for setting the initial selling price of state shares subject to privatization at an auction with circulation on the Stock Exchange of Moldova, through a commercial tender and other established methods. // 04.03.2021 - InfoMarket.
