MARKET MOVING NEWS
ECONOMY
-Retail sales volume in Romania (excluding the trade of motor vehicles and motorcycles) rose by 4.9% in unadjusted terms and by 3.4% when adjusted for seasonality and the number of working days in March 2025 compared to March 2024, according to data from the country’s statistical office, INS, released on Thursday, May 8.
-Romania’s industrial and logistics market had a strong start to the year, with a total leased area of nearly 260,000 square meters in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
FINANCE
-Romania’s Ministry of Finance raised RON 526 million from banks on Thursday, May 8, by selling discount treasury bills (T-bills) maturing in December 2025, at an average annual yield of 8.21%.
-Between May 9 and May 16, the Ministry of Finance will conduct a new public offering for Fidelis government bonds dedicated to retail investors. This marks the fourth offering on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) in 2025 and the 24th since the Fidelis program resumed in July 2020. Through the previous 23 offerings, the Ministry has attracted nearly RON 48.8 billion (EUR 9.9 billion) from individual investors.
-Romania’s three-month ROBOR index, the interbank interest rate used as a reference for calculating variable interest rates on leu-denominated loans taken before May 2019, as well as for corporate loans, surged to 7.25% on Thursday, May 8, up from 6.47% on May 7, according to central bank data.
-XTB, a leading investment platform, posted operating income of EUR 138.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, a 7.8% increase year-over-year, and attracted 194,300 new clients, a 49% jump from the same period in 2024.
-Groupama, the leader in Romania’s insurance market, reported a record net profit of RON 285 million in 2024, a 31% increase from 2023 and 17 times higher than its profit in 2020.
COMPANIES
OMV Petrom (SNP), the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, announced on Thursday, May 8, that it has opened the largest electric vehicle (EV) charging hub in Romania. The new hub is located on the Sibiu-Orastie segment of the A1 Highway, near Miercurea Sibiului.
TODAY’S MARKET DATA
EXCHANGE RATE OF THE NATIONAL LEU CURRENCY
| EUR 5.1222 | GBP 6.0212 |
| USD 4.5369 | CHF 5.4930 |
| BGN 2.6189 | MDL 0.2637 |
(Source: National Bank of Romania BNR)
BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE (BVB) INDICES
| BET -1.79% BET-TR -1.79% BET-FI -0.73% BET-NG -1.68% BET-EF -1.86% BET-XT -1.59%, BET-BK -1.23% BET AeRO -0.27% ROTX -1.84% |
CAPITAL MARKET COMMENTARY
| Romanian stocks closed in the red bucking the trend across Europe where markets traded in the green as the Bank of England lowered its interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Bucharest’s benchmark BET index lost 1.79% with Banca Transilvania leading blue-chip decliners as its shares shrunk by 2.76%. |
BET Index Constituents
| Company | Price | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| ANTIBIOTICE S.A. | 1.7720 | -0.89 |
| AQUILA PART PROD COM | 1.3180 | 0.00 |
| BANCA TRANSILVANIA S.A. | 26.1000 | -2.76 |
| BRD – GROUPE SOCIETE GENERALE S.A. | 17.9000 | -0.56 |
| C.N.T.E.E. TRANSELECTRICA | 42.0500 | -1.75 |
| Digi Communications N.V. | 64.3000 | 0.31 |
| FONDUL PROPRIETATEA | 0.3450 | -2.27 |
| MedLife S.A. | 5.8700 | -2.33 |
| OMV PETROM S.A. | 0.6930 | -2.39 |
| ONE UNITED PROPERTIES | 17.2000 | -1.71 |
| Premier Energy PLC | 17.4000 | -1.14 |
| PURCARI WINERIES PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED | 13.6200 | 0.15 |
| S.N. NUCLEARELECTRICA S.A. | 38.5500 | -1.15 |
| S.N.G.N. ROMGAZ S.A. | 5.7600 | -0.69 |
| S.N.T.G.N. TRANSGAZ S.A. | 25.7000 | -1.15 |
| S.P.E.E.H. HIDROELECTRICA S.A. | 115.0000 | -1.29 |
| SOCIETATEA ENERGETICA ELECTRICA S.A. | 11.5200 | -6.80 |
| Sphera Franchise Group | 40.5000 | 0.00 |
| TERAPLAST SA | 0.3420 | -0.87 |
| TTS (TRANSPORT TRADE SERVICES) | 3.7900 | 0.53 |
