The fund’s main investments on the Bucharest stock exchange are in BRD SocGen stock, with a value of EUR35.4 million in late 2014. The fund owned 2.4% in the bank’s capital. Next come OMV Petrom stock, with a value of EUR20.8 million in the account of a 0.37% stake and third come Transgaz stock, worth EUR16.4 million, equivalent with a stake of 2.19%. At Banca Transilvania, the fund owns 1.17% of capital.
The value of investments in Romanian stocks is small considering the fund’s over EUR760 billion assets. However, Romania’s having attracted rising investments in the past year from a major sovereign fund shows recent years’ listings of state-owned companies have drawn the attention of international investors.
The fund did not report holdings of Romanian government paper at the end of last year. The rising exposure to Romania comes as major investment funds are forced by the low interest rates on mature markets such as the US and the euro zone to diversify their placements on smaller markets in the hope of getting higher returns.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)