Romania Puts Chemical Plant Oltchim's Sale on Hold due to Poor Market Conditions

“We put Oltchim's privatization process on stand-by,” the press office quoted Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu as saying in a statement released late on Wednesday.

“We want this process to be carried out in good conditions to ensure keeping the jobs,” Tariceanu said.

In August local media quoted the head of Romania's privatisation agency AVAS as saying that Oltchim might be put up for sale in the autumn.

Oltchim has reported a net loss of 27.7 million lei ($9.0 million/7.2 million euro) through September, compared to a net profit of 3.37 million lei a year earlier.

The company said last week it would lower by 20% its capacity utilisation to 40% this month to avoid accumulating losses.

Oltchim shares were last traded 14.89% down at 0.16 lei by 1113 GMT on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Oltchim (www.oltchim.ro) was founded in Ramnicu Valcea, southwestern Romania, in 1966. It operates one of the largest chemical plants in Romania, employing 4,492 people.

(1 euro = 3.8572 Romanian lei)