(Interview with Valentin Ionescu, the managing director of the BSE)
Reporter: What will the listing of the Fund bring to the domestic market?
Valentin Ionescu: This is the issue that will be incessantly discussed until January 25th, and probably past that date as well. Everyone agrees that the listing of the Fund is a milestone event for the market, and if we use it wisely, we will be able to stimulate a series of processes, which, in the medium and long term, will radically change the landscape of the domestic capital market.
Reporter: Could you be more specific?
Valentin Ionescu: For instance, the listing of the Fund, which is managed by "Franklin Templeton" will improve the corporate governance of the listed companies, even though this will not happen overnight. In this respect, we, of the management of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, would like to resume the courses of the Corporate Governance Institute.
Our hope is to expand corporate governance at least to companies that are included in the "blue-chip" category, and, in the future, to all the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Reporter: More specifically, what do you expect from the listed companies, if they implement the corporate governance principles?
Valentin Ionescu: A greater transparency in reporting, more openness to investors, better communication.
Reporter: Have you seen these things happen with the Proprietatea Fund since it was taken over by "Franklin Templeton"?
Valentin Ionescu: Offering more information within the prospectus than required, and the attention paid to conflicts of interest are just two of the examples of better corporate governance. "Franklin Templeton" is a management company with a global presence, their people know exactly what they want from a company, they know the reporting standards that companies in develope
