CAPITAL MARKET MOVING NEWS
ECONOMY
-ING Romania analysts expects the country’s economy to expand by 2.6% in 2025, supported by EU-funded investments, wage increases, and Romania’s anticipated Schengen accession.
-Romania issued EUR 1.3 bln in state aid between 2019-2023, with 62% of the projects being granted to foreign companies, an analysis conducted by EY Romania reveals.
-The European Commission (EC) disbursed payments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Romania, totaling EUR 26.8 billion in loans and grants. Romania received EUR 37.05 million as part of its second payment request, the EU’s executive arm announced on Monday.
-The average price of one hectare of arable land in Romania stood at 41,624 lei/hectare (ha) in 2023. The lowest price was recorded in the North-East Region (35,303 lei/ha) while the highest value was reported in the Bucharest-Ilfov Region (61,360 lei/ha), data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) showed.
-The National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) is calling on the government to give up its plan of doing away with holiday vouchers starting next year, warning such a decision will result in a 30-40% decrease in tourism revenues, a vital sector for the Romanian economy, Economica reported.
-Romania’s recruitment market will most likely stagnate in 2025, Andrei Frunza, CEO at Bestjobs online recruitment platform told local daily Ziarul Financiar. According to him, 2024 has proved to be a complicated year for the entire economy and the recruitment sector has felt the pressures.
FINANCE
-Fitch rating agency revised on Friday (Dec. 20) Nuclearelectrica’s Outlook to Negative from Stable, while affirming Romania’s sole nuclear energy producer’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘.
-UniCredit Bank, part of the UniCredit Group and one of the largest banking institutions in Romania, is listing today, a new corporate bond issue worth LEI 750 million on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).
COMPANIES
-French luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton has opened a new store on the ground floor of the Athénée Palace Intercontinental Hotel on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest.
-Bucharest-listed Real Impact Developer & Contractor has concluded an agreement with Libra Internet Bank for the granting of a EUR7 million credit facility, the real estate developer announced.
TODAY’S MARKET DATA
EXCHANGE RATE OF THE NATIONAL LEU CURRENCY
| EUR 4.9759 | GBP 6.0070 |
| USD 4.7871 | CHF 5.3453 |
| BGN 2.5441 | MDL 0.2601 |
(Source: National Bank of Romania BNR)
BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE (BVB) INDICES
| BET 0.77% BET-TR 0.77% BET-FI -0.15% BET-NG 0.52% BET-EF 0.81% BET-XT 0.64%, BET-BK 0.73% BET AeRO -0.19% ROTX 0.66% |
CAPITAL MARKET COMMENTARY
| Bucharest stocks closed mostly higher on Monday as a shortened trading week began in the run-up to Christmas. The benchmark BET index advanced 0.77% with Romanian state-owned power grid operator Transelectrica surging by 2.85% leading bluechip gainers. |
BET Index Constituents
| Company | Price | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| ANTIBIOTICE S.A. | 2.6000 | 2.36 |
| AQUILA PART PROD COM | 1.1650 | 2.19 |
| BANCA TRANSILVANIA S.A. | 27.0000 | 2.27 |
| BRD – GROUPE SOCIETE GENERALE S.A. | 18.9000 | 0.00 |
| C.N.T.E.E. TRANSELECTRICA | 39.7000 | 2.85 |
| Digi Communications N.V. | 65.6000 | 0.92 |
| FONDUL PROPRIETATEA | 0.3096 | -1.28 |
| MedLife S.A. | 5.8100 | -3.01 |
| OMV PETROM S.A. | 0.7155 | 0.70 |
| ONE UNITED PROPERTIES | 0.4000 | 1.78 |
| Premier Energy PLC | 19.9900 | 1.47 |
| PURCARI WINERIES PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED | 14.6000 | 0.00 |
| S.N. NUCLEARELECTRICA S.A. | 41.2000 | -0.36 |
| S.N.G.N. ROMGAZ S.A. | 5.3700 | -0.37 |
| S.N.T.G.N. TRANSGAZ S.A. | 23.9000 | 1.70 |
| S.P.E.E.H. HIDROELECTRICA S.A. | 122.8000 | 0.49 |
| SOCIETATEA ENERGETICA ELECTRICA S.A. | 12.8000 | 0.79 |
| Sphera Franchise Group | 40.2000 | 2.29 |
| TERAPLAST SA | 0.4490 | 0.00 |
| TTS (TRANSPORT TRADE SERVICES) | 4.8000 | 1.16 |
