Foreign investments push BSE up

The BET-C index, mirroring the evolution of all the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, last week exceeded 2,800 points, more than double the value registered late last year. The BET index, monitoring the top ten listed companies, has climbed 98% since the beginning of the year.

This year’s surge is similar to that of two years ago, but, this year, the market was pushed up by foreign investors, who are enjoying significant clout on the BSE, as the deals they logged last month accounted for more than half of the total value of transactions.

In the first 11 months of the year, net foreign investment on the Bourse (the difference between purchases and sales) amounted to 71 million euros, as compared to 21 million euros last year. In November, foreigners bought 28m euros in stock on the Bourse, namely 62% of the total value of transactions. The stock they sold amounted to 20.6 million euros, the value of net foreign investments thus reaching 7.4 million euros.

“The functional market economy statute, the improvement of the country rating and of individual ratings of some companies have this year attracted foreign investors. The legislative changes this year also had an impact because foreigners can now find here the same legislation they have at home,” says Grigore Chis, a trading manager with Broker.

BET index has climbed almost 9% since the beginning of this month, and brokers say that a significant presence of foreign investment funds on the market has also been felt in December.