Romanian market news

Romania Market Daily News 28/10/24

ECONOMY

-The government of Romania will approve this week the minimum gross statutory wage to be enforced as of January 1, set at 4,050 lei (about 814 euro), after discussions with employers and trade unions, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Monday, according to Radio Romania Actualitati. The premier also ruled out a VAT increase in 2025, Adevarul reported.

-A delegation of the International Monetary Fund led by Jan Kees Martjin, head of the IMF mission in Romania, will visit the country during November 5-8, to analyze economic developments and update forecasts, Agerpres reported.

-Romania’s budget deficit increased to 96.24 billion RON or 5.44% of GDP in the first nine months of this year, compared to the deficit of 56.46 billion RON, or 3.52% of GDP in the same period in 2023, the Ministry of Public Finance data showed.

FINANCE

-Seven Romanian banks (UniCredit Bank, Alpha Bank, Libra Internet Bank, BRD Groupe Société Générale, Patria Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank and Garanti BBVA) will get guarantees totalling €477.75 million under new European Investment Fund (EIF) guarantee agreements.

-Last month, mandatory private pension funds had assets worth 149.95 billion RON up 28% on an annual basis, according to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) statistics.

-In January-August 2024 banks in Romania granted personal and corporate loans to the tune of almost RON 114 billion up 28% on an annual basis, data gathered under #Dreptullabanking.ro campaign conducted by lenders in the country reveal.

COMPANIES

-As Romania’s budget deficit expected to hit 8% of GDP this year, Romanian companies wary of post-election shock therapy to cut budget deficit, Romania’s largest employer association Concordia told Reuters. Concoria is representing companies from 17 industries that together account for 26% of Romania’s economic output. Presidential and parliamentary elections loom in November and December.

-Lunet Eyewear, Romania’s only local producer of glasses, is considering the opportunity of listing on the AeRO platform of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Ziarul Financiar reported.

ENERGY

In the second quarter of 2024, Romania became EU’s largest natural gas producer, as it produced 2.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, surpassing the Netherlands, according to data published by the European Commission, quoted by Hotnews.ro.

TODAY’S MARKET

EXCHANGE RATES

EUR 4.9735GBP 5.9688
USD 4.5981CHF 5.3070
BGN 2.5429MDL 0.2553

(Source: National Bank of Romania BNR)

BUCHAREST STOCK EXCHANGE (BVB) INDICES

BET -0.58%, BET-TR -0.58%, BET-FI 0.33%, BET-NG -0.62%, BET-EF -0.57%,
BET-XT -0.47%, BET-BK -0.34%, BETAeRO -0.48%, RO-TX -0.58%

CAPITAL MARKET COMMENTARY

Bucharest stocks closed in the red on the first trading day of the week bucking the trend across Europe.
One United Properties, the leading green investor and developer of residential, mixed-use, and office real estate in Romania, was the top market decliner among BVB’s blue-chips on Monday. The company’s shares plunged 2.14%, BVB data showed. One United Properties has sold long leasehold properties, part of its portfolio of commercial projects, worth EUR 52.4 million in the last 18 months.