Infrastructure Minister Spirtzis tries to derail Rosco sale
The government is again trying to hamper the privatization process of Rosco, the company responsible for the maintenance of Trainose rail carriages, managing to put it off by at least a couple of weeks.
A few days ahead of the deadline for the submission of non-binding offers, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis chose to change the governing board of the company. The September 29 Government Gazette includes a joint ministerial decision to that effect, signed also by Alternate Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis.
In his haste to act before the deadline, the infrastructure minister “forgot” that, according to the enterprise’s charter, changes in its board are imposed by the shareholder and not the political administration. While the Rosco shares belonged to the Finance Ministry, board changes were indeed made with the signing of joint ministerial decisions. However, the transfer of the shares to state privatization fund TAIPED has shifted this right to the fund’s managers.
Market experts speak of a new tug-of-war between Spirtzis and the president of TAIPED, Stergios Pitsiorlas, with the ministerial decision forcing the fund to announce the postponement of the deadline from October 3 to 17.
