Telecom. ANNOUNCEMENT of the Romanian Government about DEPARTURE

Telekom. Yesterday, information appeared according to which the telecommunications group would like to leave Romania due to GEO 114/2018, which will upset the company's investment plans, according to the statements made by its representatives. Telekom is co-owned by Deutsche Telekom, the Romanian state, and not only that, and as one of the company's shareholders, the government also made a first official statement through the Minister of Communications and Information Society, Alexandru Petrescu.

Telekom. You can see below the statement made by Alexandru Petrescu, and of course it is a gala with zero, because it says absolutely nothing about the current situation, or what will happen if Deutsche Telekom decides to leave. The Romanian government, through the Ministry of Communications and Information Society, owns 45.99% of Telekom Romania Communications, formerly Romtelecom, and is a minority shareholder, so it will have no say in this situation.

Telecom. ANNOUNCEMENT of the Romanian Government about DEPARTURE

Telekom. Practically, if Deutsche Telekom decides to leave Romania, it will be able to sell its shares to almost anyone, without the Romanian Government being able to intervene too seriously, at least in the case of the mobile telephony division. In the case of the former Romtelecom, it is possible to control to a certain extent what happens with the actions of this division of Telekom, so it will be interesting to see what will happen in the end.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Society, in its capacity as a public institution responsible for the administration of the rights of the Romanian State - as the owner shareholder of 45,99% of the shares of Telekom România Communications SA, acts with maximum responsibility regarding the observance of all the rights of the Romanian State arising from its capacity as significant minority shareholder. At the same time, the ministry that I coordinate aims primarily to protect the interest of Romanian citizens to have the best possible services at the most advantageous prices, but also to ensure the optimal legislative framework for the continuation of investments in the development of Romania's digital infrastructure.

Telekom. Not everyone believes that the German group wants to leave the Romanian market, but rumors do not appear without at least a grain of truth behind them, or without trying to find out the position of certain people, institutions, in this case. It is possible for Telekom to "test the waters" now before thinking very seriously about leaving Romania, unless the decisions have been made, and the alienation of the shares has already been promised to another company in Romania, or another country.

Telekom. Even if the departure from Romania will not happen in 2019, it would not be excluded that in 2020, or maybe even later, it would take place, the telecommunications group having serious problems with customer retention in recent years.