May 22 2013 - zf.ro

The funds attracted into the Romanian economy through EU funding, in agriculture,have reached at the end of April 5 billion euros, 13% higher when compared to the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture data shows.

One-fifth of the money directed by the European Commission in Romania entered the line of development projects for "Village renewal and development and improvement of basic services for the economy and rural population", so called as 322 program. Most of the investments made by this measure aim to develop the rural infrastructure in Romania. In the last three months this program paid 86 million euros. In total, from 2007 until the end of April payments made under this program were 1.1 billion euro.

By the end of the year, the agricultural sector has the mission to attractall 9 billion provided by Brussels in the current financial phase 2007-2013.

September 24th 2013 - zf.ro

China plans to develop the largest farm abroad, in Europe , following an investment of $ 2.6 billion, covering an area of 3 million hectares , writes South China Morning Post.

Chinese company Xinjiang Production launched an investment project in Ukraine for a period of 50 years , which plans to develop the largest farm outside China. An area of 100,000 hectares in the first phase will be arranged in the Dnipropetrovskregion, 700 kilometers east of Romania's borders , mainly for growing grain and raising pigs. The draft will be developed further to an area of 3 million acres.

“At the end of 2009, China's cultures abroad were spread over a total area of 2 million hectares, which would make the current investment in Ukraine, the largest Chinese investment abroad," says Ding Li , a researcher at consulting firm Anbound agriculture , Beijing .

The investment amount was not disclosed, but the Ukrainian publication Kyiv Post has already reported that the amount could rise to $ 2.6 billion.

The contract was signed by the Xinjiang Production, an organization started in the 50s as a military structure, and KSG Agro, the largest Ukrainian agricultural player.

If the project is fully developed,it will represent the largest agricultural foreign investment China made so far. The Asian state also owns significant plantations in Latin America , like that of soybean in Argentina , on 234,000 hectares.

Despite increasing agricultural production, year to year, demand for food in China exceeds supply;the government in Beijing was forced last year to import 14 million tons of grain and flour , 150 % more than the previous year , says Li .

“Because the urbanization in has accelerated, the demand for food has skyrocketed in China " argues researcher .

The area covered by this Chinese investment in Ukraine represents about a third of all Romanian farmland. Romania's agricultural area is 13 million hectares, of which only 8.5 million is operated.

July 26th 2013 - romania-insider.com

The investment fund Globalworth Real Estate Investments, created and controlled by Ioannis Papalekas, an active investor in Romanian real estate, recently raised EUR 53.6 million via the listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

The fund, which targets investments in Romania, South Eastern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, issued 10.7 million of shares at the price of EUR 5 per share, and invested EUR 15 in the initial public offering.

After the stock exchange listing, Papalekas, which used to fully control the fund prior the listing, had a share package of 28 percent, while the new investors in the fund were Union Bancaire Privee with 24.82 percent, FINEXT Fund Management (Futureal 2 Global) with 3.73 percent, Pictet & Cie, Banquiers with 7.74 percent, and Migdal Stock Exchange Services (N.E.) Ltd. with 27.95 percent.

In Romania, Papalekas is currently among the most active real estate investors, having acquired the former City Mall shopping center – a formerly distressed asset which is on its way to become a hospital – and the office towers Cathedral Plaza and Tower Center, both projects blocked because of litigation.

Globalworth is currently in the process of acquiring an identified portfolio of nine assets, eight in Bucharest and one in Timisoara, and an asset manager platform in Romania, according to its website.

The fund’s board of directors is made of Ioannis Papalekas, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Dimitris Raptis, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Miller, Non-Executive Director, Interim Chairman of the Board, and Eli Alroy, David Kanter and John Whittle, all three non-executive directors.

The fund’s investment focus will be on distressed investments, with a primary focus on Romania, acquisition of unfinished or partially-let commercial buildings at prices below replacement cost, restructuring, developments with pre-lettings from high quality tenants, and arbitrage opportunities – acquisition of properties which by securing multinational tenants on long triple-net leases can create an arbitrage between the acquisition yield and the cost of structured financing.

12 October 2016              zf.ro

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised upwards to 5 percent the estimations on the Romanian economy evolution this year, from 4.2 percent as forecast in April, according to the newest "World Economic Outlook," which the IMF released on Tuesday.

According to the IMF projections, Romania will register this year the highest economic growth in Europe, followed by Ireland (4.9 percent). Europe overall will record a 2 percent economic growth and Emerging Europe, a region including Romania, will register a 3.3 percent advance of the GDP.

The IMF warns that the economic growth peak registered this year in Romania will be followed by a slowdown to 3.8 percent, slightly over the 3.6 percent advance forecast in April, however even so Romania will register next year the highest economic growth pace in Europe. For 2018, the IMF forecasts that Romania's economy will register a 3.3 percent growth.

In respect to the developments in consumer prices in Romania this year, the IMF estimations have been revised from minus 0.4 percent in April to minus 1.5 percent, therefore Romania and Bulgaria will be covering the top positions in Europe in respect to negative average annual inflation. For 2017, the IMF forecasts that the consumer price index in Romania will turn positive, registering a 1.7 percent increase, with another 2.5 percent increase expected in 2018.

Moreover, the IMF also revised upwards the forecasts on the current account deficit registered by Romania in 2016, from minus 1.7 percent in April to minus 2 percent. The current account deficit will get steeper in 2017, when it is expected to reach minus 2.8 percent, from minus 2.5 percent as estimated in April, for it to exceed the 3 percent of the GDP threshold in 2018, reaching minus 3.2 percent.

A good piece of news is the decline in the unemployment rate, which according to the IMF would drop from 6.8 percent in 2015 to 6.4 percent in 2016, and then reach 6.2 percent in 2017.

On a global level, the IMF has kept its forecasts on the world economy growth in 2016 and 2017 at 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively, same as estimated in the previous report. AGERPRES (RO — author: Constantin Balaban, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN — editor: Adina Panaitescu)