Stock Exchange-listed insurers post severe losses in H1

Local insurers listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) saw drastic declines in the first half of the year. Agras, Asirom, Ardaf and Astra, the only insurance companies listed on the on the Stock Exchange, saw their value fall by 49% on average. Agras Vienna Insurance Group (ASA), listed in the second tier of the BSE has seen a 53% decline in share prices since the beginning of the year. Market capitalisation was cut in half and stood at 11 million euros. Set up in 1992 as a joint stock company, Agras Vienna Insurance Group was leader of the agricultural insurance sector for several years. The company ended the first quarter of 2008 with almost 176,000 euros in losses, generated by claim settlements and by investment-related expenditures. Asirom Vienna Insurance Group (ASRA), listed on the RASDAQ market, saw its shares fall 55%, from 0.79 to 0.35 RON per share.