Economy of Romania

Govt must repeal ban on share sales

According to finance ministry data, the Romanian state owns 208 companies, of which 67 were loss-making as of September 30, 2020. Their combined net losses amounted to 1.97 billion lei or more than 400 million euros in the first nine months of last year. Some 54 had debts amounting to 3.92 billion lei, or more than 800 million euros.

The local capital market has evolved nicely both in terms of liquidity and of the value of the listed companies, president of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) Radu Hanga told a news conference today dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the listing of Fondul Proprietatea (FP).

Liquidity, measured in terms of the average daily trading value, increased by over 42% at the cumulative level of all types of financial instruments and exceeded RON 62 million (EUR 12.86 million) for the first 11 months of the year, according to a report of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) released on Wednesday.

Developing local investor community so as to have a much higher participation of the Romanian population in the capital market is the top priority for the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), CEO Adrian Tanase affirmed. "It is very important to have a dialogue with companies and familiarize them with the mechanisms of the capital market so that entrepreneurs fully understand its advantages.

The mid-year consolidated net profit of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) Group was 10 percent higher, at 4.24 million lei, with the group's trading segment accounting for 75 percent of the amount, show the financial results released on Thursday.

The legislative initiative that forbids for 2 years the listing of state companies restricts the state's capacity to optimally utilize capital markets to finance costs and investments, shows a release of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

The economies of the 27 EU countries contracted at a record high in the first quarter of 2020 by 3.3%. Only 9 countries show a small growth. Among them is Bulgaria with a 2.4% increase in GDP compared to the same period in 2019, Eurostat reported. 

Compared to December 2019, only the economies of Finland, Bulgaria and Romania have a growth of 0.3 percent. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has downgraded its estimates of Romania's economic developments in 2020 as a result of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the bank's latest Regional Economic Prospects published on Wednesday.

Romania's economy is projected to contract by 6% in 2020 after many years of robust growth, whereas the general government deficit is forecast to increase to around 9.2% of the GDP in 2020, according to the European Economic Forecast - Spring 2020, published by the European Commission (CE) on Wednesday.

Farmec, the largest Romanian producer of cosmetics, has started the production of biocides for personal and medical use, with disinfectants having alcohol as active substance in a proportion of at least 70pct, according to a release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.