After three years of delays, energy trader Alpiq Romindustries and aluminum producer Alro SA lose law suits in favor of Hidroelectrica. Alro and Alpiq were requesting damages worth of 146 million EUR for not being registered in the preliminary table of claims after Hidroelectrica entered insolvency.  From October 2011 to December 2012, Hidroelectrica faced extreme dryness and therefore, the low debits of the Danube could not provide the foreseen amount of energy to its creditors. At first, it tried to compensate by buying thermic energy and selling it for an even lower price. But, when the financial resources were exhausted, the company invoked force majeure, which allowed them to diminish the quantity of energy provided to its commercial partners. The Court entitled Hidroelectrica to the reimbursement of the trial expenses, approx. 28.600 EUR. Alro was represented by Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, and Alpiq by law firmSchoenherr. ...more »

In the past five years, UniCredit has owned 18 percent of the leasing market in Romania by financing and other similar services through UniCredit Leasing, Corporation IFN, UniCredit Leasing Fleet Management and Unicredit Insurance Broker. The company is followed in the first tier by Impuls Leasing and Porsche Leasing. According the the Association of Leasing Companies ALB, the financial leasing market is estimated to around 770 million Euro overall in 2015, recording an increase of 16 percent compared to the previous year....more »

Alro, the biggest aluminum producer in Central and Eastern Europe finalized a 137 million dollar revolving loan approval with a bank syndicate consisting of Raiffeisen Bank International, Raiffeisen Bank România, UniCredit Bank, OTP Bank, Eximbank, Garanti Bank, Intesa Bank and Banca Transilvania. The measure was approved by the Alro Slatina shareholders in late 2015 in order to refinance a previous 120 million dollar loan, released by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in 2010. Alro ensures the loan with their immovables, mortgages for security of personal property, for their civil rights for damages caused by insurance policies, personal stocks and shares of Alum and Conef, also owned by Alro....more »

Romania's dependency on energy imports is one of the lowest in the European Union reveals the Eurostat data released on energy consumption. The average energy dependency in the EU is around 53.4 percent, which means that the EU had to import more than half of the energy it consumed. The EU member states least dependent on energy imports were Estonia (8.9 percent), Denmark (12.8 percent) and Romania (17percent). The states that have the highest share of energy imports in 2014 are Malta with 97.7percent, Luxembourg (96.6percent) and Cyprus (93.4percent)....more »

Banca Transilvania has purchased a portfolio consisting of performant loans, granted by the Bank of Cyprus in Romania to some retail customers. The transaction will be finalized at the end of February this year and, as a result, it will increase the retail customers database of Banca Transilvania. Thus, the Bank continues its’ acquisitions on the local market, subsequently to the taking over and integration of Volksbank Romania in 2015....more »

bpv Grigorescu Ştefănică offered advice on one of the most recent transactions in the financial technology (FinTech) sector on the European stage. The transaction involved a funding of EUR 8 million obtained by the German company Mambu, one of the most dynamic providers of banking software. bpv Grigorescu Stefanică represented the investment fund Acton Capital Partners, that together with CommerzVentures, provided an infusion of capital for Mambu in a series B funding round. ...more »

According to the Romanian Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA), the local auto market this year will continue to grow after the impressive twenty percent growth of 2015, but at a slower pace of around ten to twelve percent. The programs such as the “Rabla” scrappage program has to be adapted to current market needs says Ernest Popovici, the president of APIA....more »

The largest residential complex in the north of the capital will continue to expand, along this year. The developer of the complex, turkish owned Opus Development announced that it will further invest about 20 million euros in Cosmopolis, for the build of 500 new housing, infrastructure and a shopping center. ...more »

Office buildings AFI Park 4 and 5 have reached fifty percent (16,000 sqm) pre-leases at the beginning of 2016. The 4th and 5th phase of the office project AFI Park developed near the mall in Cotroceni will be delivered at the beginning of February 2016.  Cameron, one of the tenants in AFI Park 1, will expand and relocate its offices into AFI Park . The other three companies which have signed agreements for spaces in the two buildings come from the IT&C industry. AFI Park consists of 5 Class A office buildings totaling 70,000 sqm of GLA, which are linked to the AFI Palace Cotroceni Shopping Mall (82,000 sqm GLA)....more »

Belgian aerospace company Sonaca signed an 8.5 million Euro loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the expansion of the production facility on Romania. The plant, located in Cluj county, will produce wing components for aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Embraer. The new plant will be completed in two years. Sonaca Aerospace company, is an 80 year old group operating in the areas of development, manufacturing, assembly and testing of aerospace metallic and composite structures and their associated systems, managed to also get state aid funds totaling 5,4 million EUR in mid September 2015, in order to open the new facility in Romania. ...more »