Prime Minister Ion Chicu said the state-owned enterprise Metalferos does not bring revenues and the state should not deal with the collection of scrap metal. After a meeting with the President and Parliament Speaker on Monday, Premier Chicu noted that Metalferos in 2018 earned revenues of 1.4 billion lei and the made profit totaled about 20 million lei, IPN reports.

According to the official, when dividing the profit of 20 million lei to the turnover, we see that profitability was unessential. But the enterprise was a monopolist on the market and dictated purchase prices, facing no competition. “I do not want to anticipate what will happen to the state-owned enterprise Metalferos later if in 2018, when it was a monopolist, its profit represented only 2%,” stated Ion Chicu.

He noted that the privatization of the enterprise is a necessary step. If Metalferos during the next few years sustains losses, these will be covered with the taxes paid by citizens. “This is the methodology. If a state asset sustains losses, these losses should be covered with budget funds,” he added.

Last week, the Government announced plans to privatize the joint stock company Metalferos in the immediate period. At the start of December, seven persons were arrested following about 50 searches carried out at the metal waste company Metalferos and associated companies. These are suspected of appropriating over 215 million lei from Metalferos.