Updated midday and after market close
POLITICS
950 polling stations will be open abroad for this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the Permanent Electoral Authority announced.
ECONOMY
-Foreign direct investment in Romania’s trade exceeded the EUR20 billion mark for the first time in 2023, as companies in the sector continued to invest money into development, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) data showed.
-The total revenues of companies in Romania have increased 6.5 times in the last 15 years, from RON 400 billion in 2008 to over RON 2,600 billion in 2023, the “Entrepreneur Profile 2024” study conducted for ING Bank Romania by Datable and Impact Hub Bucharest, with the support of Startarium reveals.
-New car registrations in Romania grew by 1.4% to 11,552 units in October compared with same month a year ago, Romanian carmakers’ association ACAROM data showed. The gold stock remained steady at 103.6 tonnes.
-Romanian manufacturing sector downturn persists in October. The headline BCR Romania Manufacturing PMI came at 48.1, the fourth consecutive reading below the 50 no-change mark which indicates a contraction.
-Romanians are the most worried residents of CEE about the increase in poverty and possible food crises, accoring to Kantar Romania’s Life Satisfaction in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 2024 report.
FINANCE
-On 31 October 2024, the National Bank of Romania’s foreign exchange reserves stood at EUR 62.8 bn, compared to EUR 65.77 bn on 30 September 2024, BNR data said.
-Fitch Ratings has affirmed Romanian-based nuclear power generation company S.N. Nuclearelectrica S.A.’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ with a Stable Outlook.
COMPANIES
-US-based Axel Johson Inc, on Friday announced it has acquired Romanian water bottling and distribution company La Fantana from Swedish investment company Oresa Ventures and founder Cristian Amza.
-Luxury hotel group Hyatt, which has recently signed the franchise agreement for the 5-star ARO Palace Hotel to be reopened under the Hyatt Regency Aro Palace Brasov brand, is looking at Bucharest for expansion, Takuya Aoyama, Vice President for Development with Hyatt International (EAME) LLC, told Ziarul Financiar in an interview.
ENERGY
-Gross energy consumption was down by 3.5% in 2023, while petroleum products import was up by 29.3%, the National Institute of Statistics data showed. In the first eight months of 2024, coal production down by 18.4% and imports decreased by 15%.
TODAY’S MARKET
EXCHANGE RATES
| EUR 4.9747 | GBP 5.9156 |
| USD 4.5814 | CHF 5.2774 |
| BGN 2.5435 | MDL 0.2564 |
(Source: National Bank of Romania BNR)
BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE (BVB) INDICES
| BET % 0.18, BET-TR 0.18%, BET-FI -0.16%, BET-NG 0.20%, BET-EF 0.21%, BET-XT 0.14%, BET-BK 0.16%, BETAeRO 0.70%, RO-TX 0.21% |
CAPITAL MARKET COMMENTARY
| Bucharest stocks closed mostly higher on Friday in line with rest of Europe, starting November on a positive footing, ahead of the release of U.S. non-farm payroll report later in the day and next week’s U.S. presidential election. |
