One in four
local-government-controlled service providers are operating at a
loss, Spending Review Commissioner Carlo Cottarelli said Tuesday
citing 2012 annual reports.
That means 1,424 out of a total of 5,264 publicly-funded
companies Cottarelli has reviewed so far, turned out to be
loss-making.
Another 143 such companies were found to have depleted
their capital or to be in the red outright, and an additional
1,075 firms could not be assessed because their annual reports
were not available, the economy ministry added.
Of the firms in the red, the worst performers were
Venice-based CMV SpA, which is tasked with promoting real estate
construction (-20.3 million euros), Fiera di Roma trade fair
organizer (-15.7 million euros) and Lazio Cotral public
transport operator (-14.9 million euros).
Cottarelli is trying to boost efficiency and cut waste at
every level of Italy's bloated public administration system.
Since his appointment last fall, he has come up with 32
possible places to cut public spending, earning him the
nickname of Mr. Scissorhands.
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