Foreign investors decide brokers'' top

The deals closed by foreign investors on the capital market decided the winners in the 2005 top of brokers, both on the Stock Exchange and on RASDAQ.

The leading position in the top of brokers was claimed by ING Securities, with 335.4 million euros, associated with a market share of 7.8%. The second position was gained by the brokers of Raiffeisen Capital & Investment, with a share of 6.8%, having handled deals worth 296 million euros.

On RASDAQ, the top position is held by the brokers of BRD Securities, with more than 44 million euros, which allowed the company to get a share of almost 10% of the total value of deals. BRD brokers are also among the top brokers on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, ranking fourth, having closed deals worth more than 227 million euros on behalf of their clients.

All these companies mainly work with institutional investors.

Last year saw new record highs with respect to foreign capital inflows on the market, materialised both as acquisitions of several-percentage stakes in some of the most liquid stocks on the market, and in the form of deals by which some majority stakes in some of the listed companies were taken over.

Of the brokers working mainly with Romanian investors, BT Securities ranked first, having managed to fill the third position on the BSE, with operations worth above 243 million euros.

The top of brokers on the Bucharest Stock Exchange has thus come to be increasingly dominated by brokerages belonging to banks, with SSIF Broker of Cluj-Napoca being the only independent company that managed to reach top five, with 214 million euros and a market share of close to 5%. The company does not have a majority shareholder and is listed on the BSE.

On RASDAQ, another independent company, HTI Valori Mobiliare, dominated the market the entire year, due to the deals closed for a foreign investor, Robert Ferran, who gradually sold the participation he had in drugmaker Biofarm Bucharest. HTI brokers in 2005 handled deals worth 41 million euros, ranking second on RASDAQ.

Foreign investors” brokers also held the highest positions in the December top of brokers. BRD Securities and Raiffeisen Capital & Investment filled the top two positions on the BSE, while Swiss Capital and BRD Securities brokers came first on RASDAQ. Among brokers focusing more on the ?”retail” side, BT Securities consolidated its third position on the Stock Exchange.

Yet, foreigners bought less on the Bourse in December than they did in November. Thus, their acquisitions stood at 47.4 million euros, while sales amounted to 43.8 million euros. On the other hand, Romanian investors” December acquisitions almost equalled the purchases they made in November.