* Minister Elena Udrea wants to dismantle the investment company of the Ministry of Development, but will set up another one, controlled by the Ministry of Tourism
* With a budget of just 800,000 lei, the investment company will manage the tourism assets owned by the Romanian state
Eleven days before announcing the dismantling of the National Investment Company, minister Elena Udrea approved the creation of a new investment company that will manage the assets of the Romanian state in the tourism sector.
"The Investment Company for Tourism", was set up on May 14th by changing the name and the business line of the joint stock company "Centrul de Învăţământ pentru Turism SA", the company which handles the training of workers in the tourism sector. On May 25th, it was Minister Elena Udrea who announced that she had decided to dismantle the National Investment Company to eliminate any suspicion concerning the inappropriate use of public money on the construction of sports halls and skating rinks.
The company will manage all the commercial activities of the state in the tourism sector, including sales, acquisitions or mergers, according to official sources from within the company.
The new structure will also invest in the training of tourism employees, thus covering the former line of business of the former Center for Tourism Training, our sources say.
Surprisingly, however, it would seem the new investment company was not created for investments, but rather to sell off the state"s holdings in the tourism sector. In other words, whatever is left to sell after the great privatization in the tourism sector, performed by former minister Dan Matei Agaton.
The fact that according to our sources the new company will have a minuscule budget this year (around 800,000 lei), equal to the one of the former Center of Training for Tourism, seem
