Romania's Hidroelectrica IPO earliest possible at end-2021- CEO

"We hope that a listing of Hidroelectrica can happen, at best, at the end of this year if things go fast and we have enough time to prepare. I would not like to say that it can happen in spring next year, because this is a very expected listing, which must take place," Badea said during an online press conference.

"We have to explain to Romanians that listing does not mean sale, it does not mean that someone takes away the company, it means openness, transparency and a method by which each of us can become part of Hidroelectrica, by buying shares in the company," Badea added.

In July, Badea announced that Hidroelectrica's panned IPO was on hold, according to a new bill suspending the sale of state-owned shares in companies for two years. The parliament adoptred the bill in June, saying the two-year suspension aimed to protect national interests amidst the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of this year, prime minister Florin Citu said that the government is considering the repeal of the bill.

In May, Hidroelectrica announced that it selected STJ Advisors Group Limited as equity advisor and Dentons Europe SPARL as legal advisor on the planned IPO.

The energy company exited insolvency in April 2017, which paved the way for its listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, expected to be the biggest IPO in Romania’s history. The offering of a stake of 10% to 15% in Hidroelectrica is expected to raise up to 1 billion euro, the court-appointed administrator of the company said at the time.

Hidroelectrica is 80.06% owned by the Romanian state, while investment fund Fondul Proprietatea owns 19.94%. The company has in its portfolio 209 hydro power plants with a total installed capacity of 6,482 MW.

In June, the company got its shareholders' approval for an ambitious 26.04 billion lei (6.5 billion/$5.3 billion euro) investment programme until 2037 featuring plans for new power generation facilities using wind, solar and biomass energy sources, as well as upgrade of existing production facilities. Out of the total sum which is to be invested, 10.8 billion lei are expected to come from the IPO.

(1 euro=4.8744 lei)