The available cash represent almost 20% of their cumulated market value.
Until finding projects worth investing in, listed companies behave like pension funds and invest their money into low-risk and low-yield financial assets such as bank deposits or state bonds.
Romania’s natural gas producer Romgaz (SNG.RO), one of the wealthiest companies listed on the local bourse, has RON1.3 billion in deposits and bonds and notified investors that its investment income dropped 22% due to lower interest rates.
A year ago, Romanian power supply and distribution company Electrica (EL.RO) gathered almost RON2 billion through an initial public offering on the Bucharest and London stock exchanges, promising to invest in networks and expand through acquisitions. The funds have not been invested yet, as the company failed in both buying Enel’s Romanian assets and Fondul Proprietatea’s minority stakes in Electrica subsidiaries.