Fondul Proprietatea has voiced its disapproval of the lack of transparency from the Ministry of Transport, as majority shareholder who proposed the revocation and appointment of members to the Board of Directors of Portul Constanta, without providing any information or supporting documents to the minority shareholder. Shareholders will express their vote on this proposal during the GSM scheduled on 17 December 2018.
FP says that the Ministry of Transport has not disclosed the proposed list of candidates, any details on their experience and qualifications for the position, nor on the selection process leading to their nomination, as required by legislation in force.
Johan Meyer, CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments Management Limited Bucharest Branch and Portfolio Manager of Fondul Proprietatea, has made the following statement:
“Fondul Proprietatea wishes to express its extreme disapproval of the lack of transparency from the Ministry of Transport, as majority shareholder who proposed the revocation and appointment of members to the Board of Directors of APM, without providing any information or supporting documents to the minority shareholder. The Ministry of Transport has not disclosed the proposed list of candidates, any details on their experience and qualifications for the position, nor on the selection process leading to their nomination, as required by legislation in force.
Fondul Proprietatea has constantly been advocating for the selection and appointment of independent non-executive board members with a strong track record of professionalism and integrity who can act in the best interest of the company free from any potential conflicts of interests. In this respect Fondul Proprietatea is highlighting the responsibility shareholders have to carefully analyse and avoid appointment of candidates who may be considered to be in a conflict of interest situation, considering a variety of factors such as their current or past employment, affiliations or other material aspects of their activity and personal circumstances.
We urge the Ministry of Transport to renounce its intention to appoint in an untransparent manner new members to the Board of Portul Constanta, which infringes corporate governance principles. We will closely watch the activity of the Board and we reserve the right to protect the interests of the company by all legal means at our disposal.”