Telecommunications, constructions, ice cream, croissants, banks. And now insurance. Romania seems to have become Greece’s favourite investment partner. Are the commercial routes of the ancient times being revived?
After the top two insurance companies in Greece, Ethniki through Garanta and Interamerican, started working their way on the Romanian insurance market, another two are coming to complete the four of a kind: Alpha Insurance, part of the financial group having witnessed an accelerated development on the Romanian market over the past few years, and Agrotiki.
Alpha Bank Group, the fourth leading Greek investor in Romania, will proceed with the investment started six years ago in Romania by entering the insurance market by the end of the year, that is October to be precise.
“According to Alpha Bank Group’s policy to provide a complete service range, we decided to expand our offer on the insurance market in Romania, as well. Therefore, our affiliate company Alpha Insurance will become operational in Romania by the end of the year. We are hoping our offer will be an innovative one, offering multiple benefits to the clients on this market,” Eleftherios Ioannou, Alpha Bank Romania chairman, told Ziarul Financiar. Company representatives did not care to volunteer the amount of money to be invested.
Agrotiki Hellenic, the third leading insurer in Greece, has been expecting the norms on Law 32/2000 for six months now, which have been blocked by the delay in setting up the Insurance Supervision Commission, in order to enter Romania by its own investment.
According to the representatives of Agrotiki, held by the Agricultural Bank of Greece, they are supposed to invest 1.3 million dollars along with the World Bank in the new company to be established. The World Bank will hold 10 percent in the new company to be called AGB Siguranta
The insurance market in Romania amounted to 310 million dollars last year, that is double the amount registered five years ago, but is still lagging behind other countries in Eastern Europe, where the receipts per capita are four or five times higher.
Greece is the third largest investor in Romania, with 2.4 billion dollars in investments in telecommunications (OTE), foodstuffs (Chipita, Louli, Star Foods), finance or constructions (Diekat).