September 17 (SeeNews) - Following are some of the main stories in the online versions of Romanian media on Thursday morning. SeeNews has not verified these reports and cannot vouch for their accuracy.
ZIARUL FINANCIAR
- The plans of state-owned petrochemicals producer Oltchim to take over oil refinery Arpechim from oil and gas group Petrom do not depend on the outcome of the European Union’s investigation whether a debt-to-equity swap and government guarantees for Oltchim violate the state aid regulations of the bloc.
- France’s Groupama will officially launch its operations on the Romanian insurance market on September 28, after merging its local units Asiban and BT Asigurari.
MEDIAFAX
- Only 6.0% of Romanians plan to buy a car over the next six months, compared with 9.0% in 2008, and over half of Romanians would buy used cars under the brands Volkswagen, Logan and Opel, according to a survey by market researcher GfK Romania.
- The Romanian government plans to write off 536.4 million lei ($185 million/126 million euro) in debt of local heating plants accumulated until the end of June, including unpaid dues on foreign loans taken out with a state guarantee, in order to ensure heat supply through the winter.
- Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu will announce at the end of this month whether he will run in Romania’s presidential elections due on November 22.
- France's Compagnie Financiere Michelin could raise the capital of tyre maker Michelin Romania by 510 million lei to 950 million lei via a cash injection.
BUSINESS STANDARD
- Romanian trade unions could stage a protest rally against the government's unified wage bill on October 7, two days after a planned general strike.
(1 euro = 4.2618 Romanian lei)