Romania Feed

The year 2020 should have been better than 2019 for Cristian Erbasu’s businesses but the pandemic forced companies in the construction, agriculture and hotel sector to rethink their plans.

Sales of non-food retailers returned to the level before the crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), growing on average 4%, considering that consumption habits have changed in 2020 and sales have a different structure compared with the situation in 2019, per the report “ExCEEding Borders. Retail during the pandemic across the CEE-17 region,” released by Colliers International.

Cash & carry chain Selgros, which owns 23 stores in Romania, has recently opened a logistics platform of 10,000 square meters in Chiajna locality (on Bucharest ring road), whereby it will improve the efficiency of its supply chain.

Coffee shop chain Ted’s Coffee, owned by Romanian entrepreneur Vasi Andreica, continues its investments and announces the opening of two new units, in Bucharest’s Tineretului neighborhood and within the Ana Tower building, near Romexpo, in Bucharest as well.

Building materials retailer MAM Bricolaj, held by the Gavan family, has acquired 50% of the shares of company Geomam Pal Group, for a total amount of RON825,000.

Romania's finance ministry on Thursday raised 1.255 billion lei (EUR257.7 million), above its RON700 million target, selling bonds maturing in November 2024 at an average yield of 2.63%, central bank data showed.

Hidroelectrica, Romania's biggest hydropower producer, will lower electricity prices for its existing household consumers from RON0.255/kWh to RON0.245/kWh in the first half of 2021.

MedLife Group, the leader of the private medical services market in Romania, announced Thursday it has signed the acquisition of 75% in pharmaceutical wholesaler Pharmachem Distributie SRL.

New car registrations in the European Union fell 25.5% in the first 11 months of 2002, to 8.9 million units, and by 12% on the year in November, ACAROM data showed Thursday.

ROCA Investments has acquired 20% of dairy company Artesana, owned by Alina and Daniel Donici, to support the company's development and a EUR4.6 million investment in a second factory in Tecuci.

Fashion retailer C&A, one of the largest in the world, is working with only eight partner factories in Romania, compared with 20 in 2019 and about 40 four years ago.

Local modern retail stores, about 3,500 in various formats, are valued at a little less than EUR10 billion (46 billion lei) in 2020, 21% higher than in 2019.

Investment fund Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO) announced Wednesday on the stock market the closing of the public tender offer for the purchase of shares or global depositary receipts (GDR).

Shareholders of MedLife (M.RO), the leader of the private medical services market in Romania, on Tuesday approved an increase of the company’s share capital by RON27.7 million, up to RON33.2 million, by issuing a number of 110.7 million new shares, with a nominal value of RON0.25 per share, per a stock market report.

RCS&RDS, part of Digi Communications, has signed a senior facility agreement for two loans amounting to EUR150 million with a banking syndicate consisting of Citigroup Europe- Dublin Romanian Branch, ING Bank-Bucharest Branch and Unicredit Bank, to refinance previous loans and for investments.

Romania's leading electronics retailer Altex announced the opening of a new store in Bucharest following an investment of EUR1 million.

Banks in Romania granted 3.9 billion lei in new leu loans to companies in October, an increase of RON1.3 billion or 50.5% on the year-ago month. Corporate lending reached the highest level of the year in October as well as the highest monthly level in 14 years.

German discount grocery retailer Lidl has opened 33 stores, either built from scratch or relocated this year, nearing 300 stores in Romania. It will continue expansion in 2021, as well.

Computer and electronics retailer Altex, the leader of this market in Romania, has invested EUR27 million in business development this year, choosing to continue expansion despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seven pension funds operating on the Romanian mandatory segment, known as Pillar II, had total assets of RON73.1 billion at the end of November 2020, reaching a record level and increasing by nearly 18% since the beginning of 2020, data from Romania’s financial watchdog ASF showed Tuesday.