Foreign investments up

The increase in the Stock Exchange prices over the last few weeks is due to the massive purchases by non-residents, some brokers say, unlike last year when it was the Romanian investors that pulled the market up. Last month, 42% of the shares transferred on the Stock Exchange were bought by foreign investors. The sudden depreciation of the ROL against the euro meant the non-residents spending euros on the Romanian market could get cheaper shares. The net investments made by non-residents on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in October were slightly higher than the average of the last couple of months. The growth was due to neither public offerings nor tender offers by non-residents, instead all the shares were bought from the market. Non-residents bought $9.7 million’s worth last month, and sold $5.9 million’s worth. ZF