MP Sebastian Burduja: “We need a legislative framework for new technologies“

“I congratulate The Diplomat team for organizing this Financial Forum and I am honored to be in the presence of leaders of the Romanian business environment, in the presence of people who managed to keep the Romanian economy on wheels during the pandemic.

Thank you for the partnership we had in the project to stimulate the capital market. It is a project that recently passed the Chamber of Deputies in the Romanian Parliament and went to promulgation. Some voices in the public space say that this is one of the most important projects through which we support the Romanian capital market.

This means a much better tax regime, less bureaucracy, better collection and practically win-win-win. It is a win for the average Romanian, who has at hand a saving tool with a good yield; it is a win for the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, including for SMEs because they can have access to a more accessible financing and it is a win for the Romanian state that will succeed in consolidating the state budget and developing the economy,“ Sebastian Burduja, Vice-Chairperson, Committee for Budget, Finance and Banks , Chamber of Deputies said during Financial Forum 2022 organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“I left the United States with the ideal of discussing stock market developments in the family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If more than half of Americans can invest in the capital market there, I think it can be much better in Romania as well, especially if we look at the examples in the region such as Poland or other countries that have managed to exploit these instruments for developing a capitalist economy.

We are in a favorable context despite regional difficulties. We have the money from PNRR. More important are the reforms, and here I want to mention the listing of a 15% stake in Hidroelectrica through Fondul Proprietatea. Also, the support scheme through which the Romanian companies are helped to be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. These are two instruments provided in the PNRR which stimulate the supply on the capital market. Our legislative project stimulates the demand and I am convinced that this complementarity will also mean a very good economic performance. I want to thank all those who contributed to this project, because it is an example of a partnership between the private sector and the public sector. There have been very long discussions and there is a story about the evolution of this project in its various stages. There were discussions with the Ministry of Finance, with ASF, with ARB, with BVB, with the brokers’ association, with all those who contributed to the success of this initiative.

This initiative will apply from January 1, 2023 and I am convinced that we will see results very soon. But we must not stop here, we must look to the future. We need to have a legislative framework for the exploitation of new technologies, such as blockchain, tokenization of investments in various fields such as real estate for example. We have brilliant minds in Romania and we have to put them to work in order to be at the forefront of the countries that benefit from these new technologies.“