Danske Capital spends 17m euros on BSE

Finnish investment fund Danske Capital Trans-Balkan Fund has reached an exposure of 16.7 million euros on shares listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, as the Romanian market is its main target. The fund is worth a total of some 56 million euros. “We believe the Romanian market is the most interesting in the region due to its size and economic growth prospects. Romania will be the main growth pole in the region,” Jaakko Salmelin, investment analyst with Danske Capital Finland, told Ziarul Financiar. Danske Capital is an asset management division of Denmark”s largest bank, Danske Bank. The most important stocks the fund launched a year ago has bought so far are those in Petrom, which were worth 3.2 million euros at the end of last month, followed by those in BRD, worth 2.8 million euros. Petrom and BRD are the largest companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The fund also owns Impact shares worth 2.3 million euros (accounting for some 1.3% of the company), Rompetrol Rafinare (Petromidia), worth 1.2 million euros and other smaller stakes. The fund managers say they are still banking on the rise of the Romanian stocks even though they may seen expensive compared with others in the region. ZF