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Finance Minister expects IMF visit on July 24: We have met criteria demanded in agreement
The Romanian authorities have informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the European Commission (EC) that the Government has met the general consolidated budget deficit criteria, based on the data quoted on June 30, and the delegation of the international creditors will come to Bucharest on July 24 for evaluations, Public Finance Minister Florin Georgescu said on Wednesday.
'The mission of the international financial institutions will come to Bucharest to assess the stage of meeting our commitments at the end of the first semester. The mission will come on July 24. We have already informed the abovementioned international creditors that, based on the data quoted on June 30, the criterion concerning the general consolidated budget deficit assumed through the documents negotiated and signed with these institutions has been met,' Florin Georgescu said at the Government.
He appreciated that a good revenue collection to the state budget was perceived, which, correlated with the latest information concerning the number of construction authorizations and the retail trade, give the governmental officials hopes that the economy was moving in expected the parameters and that Romania would meet the economic growth target assumed in 2012.
Georgescu admitted though there were also some delays in achieving the objectives assumed in the agreement with the IMF.
'We are on time with the obligations assumed not only by the end of semester one, but also in July. Therefore, until the Fund mission comes, we shall be able to present the mission experts that all that we committed to is achieved or close to being achieved with small delays of a week or two, owed to some objective factors,' the Vice Premier said.
In his opinion, the European Commission and the Internationals Monetary Fund (IMF) will be pleased with the reorganisation of the Hidroelectrica national water power corporation, which is currently undergoing insolvency.
'The European Commission and the IMF will be pleased with the conduct of the insolvency, after seeing the actions, and will be sure that a restructured and more efficient corporation will be more attractive to private management and the buyers of a 15-percent of 20-percent stake to be sold to private investors,' Georgescu told journalists at a news briefing.
He also voiced appreciation for how the reorganisation of the corporation started. 'In the case of Hidroelectrica, a deeper, more efficient method was used, and this is why we and the specialists having suggested the action for the restructuring of the corporation are saying as this leads to improved revenues, optimised spending and increased profitability. The company had a return on investment rate of 1 percent, compared with 11, the average in the energy industry,' said Georgescu.
About the corporation's direct contract for prices below the market prices that damaged the corporation, Georgescu said the receiver may act with all his powers.