Broker ranking shows market as it is

The statistics highlighting a rise in foreign investment on the Romanian capital market are verified by the brokerage firm ranking, the top positions of which are divided between those conducting transactions for Romanian investors and those trading for foreign clients.

The top brokers on the Bucharest Stock Exchange last month were SSIF Broker (Cluj-Napoca) and Raiffeisen Capital & Investment, which handled more than 250bn ROL in transactions and account for about 11% of the market each. SSIF Broker has been one of the main securities firms to handle trading orders from Romanian investors in the last few years, while Raiffeisen has managed to persuade several foreign investors to buy shares on the BSE since last year. Right behind the two are BRD Securities and ING Securities, two more brokers handling transactions for foreign clients. The top broker on RASDAQ was determined by the tender offer put out by US-based Cargill for Comcereal Alexandria. The Americans bought more than 90% in it for $26 million through Rombell Securities, controlled by businessman Dan Voiculescu. ZF