“This is a good program to motivate and retain the top specialists, who are very competent and hold key positions, but also to attract valuable employees from the market,” said UTI Group President Tiberiu Urdareanu.

According to Urdareanu, other companies are offering some 5-6 percent of capital. Almost 6 percent of UTI personnel own deposit certificates, with the process beginning in 2007, when 10-15 employees received shares.

“We would like to see this program lead to the involvement and active participation of employees in the reaching of the group’s general objectives,” says Urdareanu.

Dividends will be paid annually and will be linked to UTI Holdings profit. Employees may not sell their shares prior to 2011. At present, 25 percent of UTI Group shares are owned by AIG Investment Fund, which is expected to exit in 2010.

“Becoming shareholders in Romania, as a benefit for employees, is a practice which is on the rise, especially in the IT and financial- banking segments,” said Dana Patrichi, Managing Partner of Alexander Hughes Romania executive search company. Offering company shares to employees could also lead them to be more interested in the company’s long term evolution, said Adrian Stanciu, Managing Partner at Human Synergetics, an advisory company specialized in organizational culture.