Austrian group OMV, majority shareholder of Petrom, (SNP), could need a capital increase this year to refinance some of the loans taken out to make acquisitions in Turkey (Petrol Ofisi) and Tunisia, and a decision could be made by the OMV management in the coming period, say market sources.

Analysts of investment banks who monitor OMV shares, among whom Austria's Erste and Raiffeisen, have been talking about the possibility of a capital increase since the beginning of the year, but OMV officials have not made any such announcement so far. That is why investors are eagerly awaiting today's conference in which OMV will announce its quarterly financial results, as well as next week's general meeting of shareholders (on May 17th), in the hope of learning more about the Austrians' intentions.

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