report on retail and construction in romania october 2014

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Leads retail and Construction in romania – october 2014

201409001Bucharest Site Put for Sale for EUR 11 mln

A site in downtown Bucharest, including a seven-story building and the land beneath, of

5,000 sq. m, has been put for sale at a starting price of EUR 10.9 mln, according to the

website of the vendor, Romtelecom.

It is about the ‘Tandem’ building, which is behind the Telephone Palace in Bucharest.

Submission deadline for bids is September 12, with the auction scheduled to take place on

September 15. The full text of the announcement is available here.

Romtelecom has recently put for sale a 1,783 sq. m land area behind the Novotel Hotel in

Bucharest at a price of EUR 3.3 mln excluding VAT, i.e. EUR 1,851 per sq. m, as well as a

spa complex in Vata Bai at a starting price of EUR 1.8 mln.

Launched in 2010, the company website www.realestate.romtelecom.ro includes properties

available for rent or sale, Economica.net reports.

201409002 New Golf Course Project Announced in Romania

A new golf course project has been announced in Romania. The development will be

implemented on the banks of the Mures River, near Teleac village in Alba Iulia County. The

project, covering 47 ha, has been initiated by the town of Ciugud.

According to Ciugud Mayor Gheorghe Damian, it is a beautiful area suitable for both leisure

and sports activities and business opportunities.

The local government plans to sign a contract for construction of the golf course in late

2014/early 2015 and begin work next year. Construction of the golf course is estimated at

EUR 2.0-10 mln, depending on the project, facilities and level of difficulty of the terrain.

Gheorghe Damian also said that the first and so far the largest golf course in Romania, Pianu

de Jos, is also located near Alba Iulia and the new golf project could increase the number of

tourists who practice this sport.

The mayor also said the project is at the PUZ stage and expects approval from the Ministry of

Agriculture, Alba24.ro reports.

201409003 Chinese Company to Build Affordable Housing in Romania


A Chinese company will build a 35-block neighborhood in the Romanian city of Craiova over

the next two years. Apartments in the complex will be sold at a price of EUR 400 per sq. m,

or between EUR 20,000 and 45,000 per unit.

Craiova Mayor Olguta Vasilescu signed on Monday in Beijing a memorandum of

understanding for developing the project with Yang Genc, president of Shandong Ningjian

Construction Group, and a representative of the China Development Bank, the project’s main

financial partner.

According to Olguta Vasilescu, the project involves a EUR 35 mln investment.

Work will begin in October and take a year and a half to complete. Craiova authorities will

provide 7.0 ha of land for the project. The neighborhood will comprise 35 blocks of 10-story

each with a total of 1,800 residential units, well below the 6,000 housing applications

registered with the City of Craiova, Mediafax reports.

201409004 Developer Mulls Large Scale Mixed-use Project in Bucharest

An international real estate developer is preparing a large mixed-use investment project in the

Romanian capital. The real estate investment arm of Austrian Raiffeisen banking group,

Raiffeisen Evolution, contributed a total of EUR 27.7 mln to the capital of five Romanian

subsidiaries in July, Romania Insider reported citing statistics from the Trade Registry’s

Office (ONRC).

The five companies, i.e. Straulesti Evolution One, Straulesti Evolution Two, Straulesti

Evolution Three, Straulesti Evolution Four, and Straulesti Evolution Nine, manage a real

estate development project in the north of Bucharest, on 69-71, Straulesti Street, near Petrom

City.

In 2008, Raiffeisen bought 11 ha of land from Petrom for EUR 90 mln, to build a mixed-use

complex, comprising offices, commercial and residential space and a hotel, but the project has

been delayed due to the crisis.

According to the Raiffeisen Evolution website, the valid zoning plan (PUZ) for the five plots

in Straulesti district owned by the company provides for construction of a total of 247,000 sq.

m of gross built-up area (office, hotel and retail real estate - 215,000 sq. m and housing

32,000 sq. m).The project will be constructed in phases. In mid-2011 planning work began for

an office building opposite the Petrom City, with nearly 50,000 sq. m of lettable area.

In October 2008 Austrian Baumschlager-Eberle won an architectural competition for the

entire development.

201409005 Profi Rents Space at Timisoara Logistics Park


Grocery retailer Profi, currently operating 244 stores and targeting 400 units in the coming

years, has rented 2,500 sq. m of temperature controlled warehouse space at VGP Logistics

Park in Timisoara, the transaction broker, DTZ, announced.

The new warehouse, developed by VGP Group, will support Profi’s expansion in the west of

the country.

With this transaction VGP Park occupancy reached 100 pct.

VGP Park currently has 17,000 sq. m of A-class storage space, developed on 18 ha of land,

near Traian Vuia Airport in Timisoara. The park’s second development phase, which is due

for completion later this year, will consist of an additional 17,000 sq. m area.

VGP is one of the leading logistics and industrial real estate developers in the Czech

Republic. Over the past three years the company has expanded its presence in Germany and

CEE: Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia and Romania.

Profi supermarket chain has doubled its net profit last year, from RON 13.1 mln in 2012 to

RON 26.8 mln, while turnover increased by 26 pct to RON 1.45 bln (EUR 330 mln). The

retailer opened 63 stores in 2013 and aims to maintain the same pace of openings for this

year, ZF.ro reports.

201409006 Secure Property Acquires Romanian Residential Portfolio

Southeast Europe focused property investment firm Secure Property Development &

Investment today announced it has agreed to acquire an income producing residential

portfolio in Bucharest from a group of vendors including a number of European family offices

and institutional investors.

The acquisition will be the company’s third in Romania, after the company’s recent

transactions to purchase Innovations Logistics Park, a fully-let 17,000 sq. m gross leasable

area logistics park in Clinceni, Bucharest, and EOS Business Park, a fully let income

producing office building in the Romanian capital.

The residential portfolio consists of 122 apartments totaling approximately 11,700 sq. m

across four separate complexes located in different residential areas of Bucharest and with a

net asset value of EUR 3.3 mln. 87 units are rented, bringing the occupancy of the portfolio to

71.3 pct. The net operating income of the rented part of the portfolio is currently

approximately EUR 270,000.

Secure has agreed with all vendors that they will contribute the portfolio to the company in

exchange for the issue of 3,934,854 new ordinary shares of the company. As such all vendors

will become shareholders of the company.


Secure CEO Lambros Anagnostopoulos and CFO Constantinos Bitros have small stakes in

the portfolio (less than 5.0 in aggregate) and, as such, are entitled to receive 133,437 and

33,357 new ordinary shares respectively. Application has been made for the new ordinary

shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected there will be a total of 32,723,413

ordinary shares in issue.

The new ordinary shares will be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu with the

existing ordinary shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions

declared in respect of such shares after the date of their issue. 50 pct of the newly issued

shares are subject to a 12 month lock-in agreement, while the remaining 50 pct are subject to

an 18 month lock-in.

201409007 Discount Retailer to Expand into Romania

An international discount retailer of clothing, footwear and household items, with stores in

small to medium-sized towns across Poland, is entering the Romanian market.

Poland’s Pepco, part of South African-based Pepkor investment holding, wants to open an

office in Bucharest, and has already begun a recruitment campaign.

The Pepco brand is present in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with over 550 stores

with an average area of 330 sq. m. Its target is the lower-income middle-class segment of the

population.

In the 2013 financial year, Pepco opened 14 stores in Slovakia and plans to aggressively

expand further into this and other Easter European countries over the next three years,

according to the Pepkor website.

Established in 1965, Pepkor runs Best & Less in Australia, and Pep, Ackermans, John Craig,

Dunns in Africa. In Poland, it has 400 stores, and over 4,000 employees.

201409008 Prodplast to Start Shopping Center Construction in September

Prodplast Imobiliare, controlled by businessman Florin Pogonaru, will start next week

construction of its Veranda shopping center in Bucharest.

The property, to be developed on the former Prodplast industrial site near Obor Market, will

have a 25,000 sq. m area, including a Carrefour hypermarket with a minimum area of 10,000

sq. m and maximum of 15,000 sq. m.

In August, Prodplast Imobiliare shareholders approved the launch of a EUR 10 mln bond

issue, RON 40.6 mln capital increase and access to a EUR 35 mln loan to finance construction

of the shopping mall at 23, Ziduri Mosi Street in Bucharest.


CBRE has been appointed lease agent for the project.

201409009 Real Estate Developer Reorganizes Romanian Portfolio

A real estate developer active in Central and Eastern Europe has signed an agreement to sell a

31,500 sq. m land plot in the Romanian town of Targu Mures to a third party developer for

EUR 3.5 mln.

Plaza Centers, the vendor, said the sale price is consistent with the asset’s last reported book

value.

Ran Shtarkman, president and CEO of Plaza Centers, said: "A number of years ago, we

identified this site as a potential location for development of a shopping and entertainment

center but market conditions in Romania have altered significantly during the intervening

period."

Having emerged from reorganization proceedings in July this year, Plaza Centers is now

considering speeding up the sale of land in Hunedoara and Constanta, as well as a land plot in

Miercurea Ciuc, where the company started and subsequently abandoned construction of a

mall, Economica.net reports.

In particular, the company is planning to sell a 36,500 sq. m land plot in Miercurea Ciuc at a

price of EUR 2.0 mln, 41,000 sq. m in Hunedoara at a price of EUR 1.2 mln and 26,500 sq. m

in Constanta, at a price of EUR 2.5 mln.

Plaza Centers also holds land for malls in Slatina, Timisoara, Iasi and Slatina.

Plaza Centers’ total assets decreased to EUR 519 mln at the end of June from EUR 586 mln at

the end of 2013, primarily due to a non-cash, predominantly market-related impairment of

EUR 70 mln in the value of trading properties mainly in Romania (EUR 43 mln, EUR 31 mln

of which was realized on the Casa Radio project), India (EUR10 mln) and Greece (EUR 11

mln, Helios Plaza). Total revenue fell to EUR 12.6 mln, compared with EUR 14.3 mln at the

end of June 2013.

"The past six months have been highly significant for Plaza Centers. It was gratifying to be

able to confirm the conclusion of the company’s restructuring process in July, less than eight

months after we made the initial announcement, and we are looking forward now to the

future. (...) We maintain a cautious approach to development, given ongoing economic

uncertainty, but the macro situation is now showing clear signs of improving. With the help of

our newly configured board, we can begin planning for the long term and I believe we are in a

strong position now to drive capital value and income growth for the benefit of our

shareholders, including bringing forward a number of development projects where

appropriate," Ran Shtarkman said.


The company is starting to accelerate development plans for up to five key projects in markets

with notable potential, such as Poland, Serbia and Romania. The next project in the pipeline is

Timisoara Plaza in Timisoara, where construction is expected to start in the next six months.

Plaza Center also said that the seven companies held by its joint venture group with Aura

Investments in Romania were split between the company’s subsidiary Plaza Bas (50.1 pct

held by Plaza), and Aura. Aura received full control (100 pct) over three of the assets and the

company received full control over the remaining assets (including four land assets, valued at

EUR 5.0 mln and two bank facilities, with the main one, worth EUR 9.7 mln). Plaza lost EUR

4.1 mln from this transaction.

The two companies had land in Bucharest, Ploiesti, and Brasov where they wanted to raise a

total of 1,500 homes, and offices, all under the Primavera brand.

Plaza Centers is controlled by Mordechay Zisser, one of the richest businessmen in Israel,

through Elbit Imaging. Mordechay Zisser also owns the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bucharest.

201409010 Hanner Invests EUR 37 mln in Bucharest Housing Development

Lithuanian real estate developer Hanner Group is developing a EUR 37 mln residential

project of 460 apartments in the Romanian capital, near Tineretului (Youth) Park.

‘The Park’ is Hanner’s largest development project in Romania. Hanner has invested in two

other residential projects in Bucharest, Carol Park and City Centre Residence. These two

developments have been completed, but in partnership with other companies.

Construction work on The Park started in 2013 and the first of fours blocks was completed in

the first half of 2014. The first block comprises 69 residential units, of which about 30 pct

have already been contracted. Housing areas are between 48 and 108 sq. m, with prices

starting from EUR 55,000 for a studio, with VAT included; EUR 75,000 for a two-room

apartment; EUR 95,000 for a three-room unit and EUR 120,000 for a four-room apartment.

The company’s current sales target is a minimum of five apartments per month, Hanner CEO

Mindaugas Valuckas said, noting that at a level of 10 apartments a month the company will

reconsider its pricing policy.

The Park will be completed in three stages, of one block per year. The next building will be

delivered in 2015 and the last in 2017. Each of these new buildings will include 130

apartments.

The next phase will also include underground parking that will serve the entire complex.

In 2006 Hanner bought the project land, of 10,000 sq. m, in the southern part of Tineretului

Park through a bank loan, which was paid back in 2009.


Mindaugas Valuckas also said that as the land was purchased in the boom period, it accounts

for 20-30 pct of the project’s total cost, noting that in general Hanner is targeting a land share

of 15 pct.

In Romania the company no longer owns other land, but Hanner officials say they could buy

if necessary.

201409011 Alpha Bank Acquires Bucharest Logistics Park

AGI-RRE Hera, a subsidiary of Greece’s Alpha Bank, has paid RON 62.5 mln (EUR 14.2

mln) to acquire MLP Bucharest Sud, a logistics park in southern Bucharest.

The logistics park, with 12,000 sq. m of built-up space, occupies 56.5 ha in the Bucharest

Popesti-Leordeni area. Its largest tenant is Sarantis Group, one of the largest importers of

cosmetics in Romania.

MLP Bucharest Sud was built in 2010 by Polish Millennium Logistic Parks (MLP) Group.

The company that built the project entered insolvency proceedings last spring, and went

bankrupt in October 2013. Alpha Bank is the largest creditor, with a claim of RON 105 mln,

and a rate of 72.5 pct of the list of creditors.

"The project is well below its true potential, as it is only 10 pct complete," said Remus Borza,

managing partner of Euro Insol, the auction organizer.

201409012 Aviatia Utilitara to Sell Land in Bucharest for EUR 15 mln

Shareholders of Romania’s Aviatia Utilitara (AVUT) company, controlled by businessman

Sorin Avramescu, have approved the sale of a 50,000 sq. m land plot in Bucharest for a

minimum of EUR 15.65 mln.

The land plot is located at Bucharest-Ploiesti Highway, in the north of Bucharest, near

Baneasa Airport.

The exact area that will be sold will be determined in negotiations with potential buyers, but

the price cannot be less than EUR 313 per sq. m, and the money is to be paid up to one year

from the contract signing date, Aviatia Utilitara said in a statement to the Bucharest Stock

Exchange.

Aviatia Utilitara shares, listed on Rasdaq, were suspended from trading on Friday. Founded in

1964 and privatized in 1998, Aviatia Utilitara leases helicopters and airplanes. Last year the

company recorded a 13.48 pct decrease in turnover to RON 4.75 mln and a RON 2.38 mln

profit.


201409013 Bucharest Gives Green Light for Low-Rise Housing Project

The General Council of Bucharest has approved construction of three-story buildings with a

height of up to 16-m on an 11,630 sq. m area at 45-45A, Kiseleff Road.

The project land is now occupied by two houses, built in the interwar period and a miniature

of the gardens of Versailles.

According to the Detailed Urban Plan, the two old houses will be preserved, and new blocks

of flats will be built. About 50 pct of the land surface (5,810 sq. m) will be developed as green

space.

The land is owned by lawyer Lucia Chereches and Residence Kiseleff 45 company, while

Cristina Enache is the project architect, Hotnews.ro reports.

201409014 Calipso Oradea Sells Assets for RON 18 mln

Romanian hotel company Calipso Oradea (CAOR), which is 98 pct owned by SIF Banat-

Crisana (SIF1), has sold at auction 41 assets from its portfolio for RON 18 mln (EUR 4.0

mln) to Bucharest-based SIFI BH Retail, controlled by SIF1 through SIF Imobiliare (SIFI).

SIF Banat-Crisana established SIF Imobiliare last summer as part of a strategy to consolidate

its real estate assets. The new Cyprus-registered company, which is 99.9 pct owned by SIF1,

was listed on the alternative trading system of BSE in December last year.

SIF Imobiliare in turn has set up two companies for rental of commercial premises, i.e. SIFI

BH Retail and SIFI B One.

SIFI BH Retail was the only bidder in the auction organized by Calipso Oradea to sell 41

commercial spaces and the sale price of the assets was the same as the starting price of the

auction, according to a notice published on the exchange website.

The sale of premises was approved by Calipso Oradea shareholders in May this year. It was

also decided to change the company name from Calipso Oradea to SIF Hoteluri.

Calipso owns the five-star DoubleTree by Hilton Oradea Hotel and ended the first half with a

RON 6.1 mln turnover, up by nearly 9.0 pct over the same period last year. The company

reduced its loss by 28 pct to RON 2.5 mln. Revenues from the company’s hotel activities

totaled RON 2.7 mln and contributed 44 pct to the turnover.

The company expects a RON 15.3 mln turnover for 2014, 23 pct up compared to last year,

and gross losses of RON 4.2 mln, lower by 32 pct compared to 2013.


At the end of June, the company had total assets, worth RON 99.2 mln, down from RON

102.7 mln at the end of 2013.

Calipso is listed on the main market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The company’s current

market capitalization is RON 50.3 mln, ZF.ro reports.

201409015 AFI Europe Borrows EUR 32 mln for Romanian Office Project

AFI Europe and BCR Bank, a member of Erste Group, have signed a EUR 32 mln loan

agreement, AFI Europe said in a statement.

The financing includes a EUR 17 mln investment loan for AFI Park 2 office building and a

EUR 15 mln development loan for the AFI Park 3 development in Bucharest.

“Securing this financing will allow AFI Europe to retrieve all equity invested in AFI Park 2

which was financed by internal funds of AFI Europe and to complete AFI Park 3 which is set

to open by the end of this year”, commented David Hay, CEO AFI Europe Romania.

In April this year, AFI Europe commenced construction of AFI Park 4&5, with a total

rentable area of 32,000 sq. m, and completion planned for October 2015.

AFI Europe also said it plans to start work on the A-class AFI Business Park Bucharest in

2016. The 50,000 sq. m GLA business park will be close to the J.W. Marriott hotel and the

Romanian Parliament in Bucharest’s district 5. The business park will comprise of two low

rise office buildings and an office tower, with green areas, a high tech/campus style

environment in an urban complex with a central plaza & gardens.

In addition, AFI Europe Romania has two retail projects to be developed in the near future,

AFI Palace Arad, a 30,000 sq. m GLA retail park to be developed in the city centre of Arad,

on a land plot of 80,000 sq. m and AFI Palace B.Noi, a 36,000 sq. m GLA shopping mall to

be developed in Bucharest.

201409016 Demolition Permit Issued for Former Factory Buildings in Brasov

Brasov City Hall issued yesterday a demolition permit for buildings on the 9,866 sq. m site of

the former Poiana candy and chocolate factory in the city.

Lidl Romania recently bought the chocolate factory site from Mondelez Romania, formerly

Kraft Foods, with plans to build a hotel and a supermarket in the area, located in the Brasov

historic center.

Lidl Romania paid EUR 2.17 mln (EUR 220 per sq. m) for the 9,800 sq. m area. "We plan to

sell a portion of the land to a company that will build a hotel, but cannot provide more

information on this transaction," representatives of the German retailer said this spring.


The hotel that will be built will have a ground and four upper floors and parking for 160 cars,

BizBrasov.ro reports.

201409017 Unirea Shopping Center H1 Net Profit Halves

Unirea Shopping Center (SCDM), owner of shopping centers with the same name in

Bucharest and Brasov, ended the first half of 2014 with a RON 37.16 mln (EUR 8.3 mln)

turnover, down by 3.0 pct compared with the RON 38.25 mln result in the same period last

year, while net profit halved to RON 1.94 mln (EUR 434,500) from RON 3.75 mln.

Operating income fell 4.0 pct to RON 37.56 mln (EUR 8.4 mln), from RON 39.2 mln last

year, the company said in a report to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, operating expenses increased by 5.0 pct to RON 34.3 mln (EUR 7.7 mln) from

RON 32.67 mln in the same period last year.

Unirea Shopping Center is indirectly controlled by the Adamescu family through The Nova

Group Investments Romania, holding a 74.16 pct stake in the company. The ownership

structure also includes SIF Muntenia (SIF4) with 10 pct of the shares, while 15.8 pct of the

capital is held by other shareholders.

The company has a market capitalization of RON 190.56 mln (EUR 43.1 mln).

201409018 Bucharest Historic Building Changes Owners

A 5,000 sq. m historic building in the city center of the Romanian capital has changed its

owners. According to local media ZiarulRing.ro, Gigi Becali has sold a palace building at 1,

Aleea Alexandru Street, which he bought in 2006 for EUR 7.0 mln.

Several months ago Becali announced plans to sell the property, and get about EUR 9.0 mln

for it.

“Having been under pressure from creditors, Gigi Becali sold the property to Cosmin Olaroiu

for around EUR 5.0 mln,” market players told ZiarulRing.ro, adding that Olaroiu, along with

his partner Gino Iorgulescu, will most like turn the building into a luxury restaurant.

The structure of the transaction and its exact value were not disclosed.

Built in 1920, the palace at 1, Aleea Alexandru Street is a copy of Rodin’s Palace in Paris. In

1932 it was bought by industrialist Max Auschnit. After nationalization in 1948, the palace

was used as the residence of Prime Minister Petru Groza, guest house and later the Argentine

Embassy. The former Auschnit palace has a total area of 5,200 sq. m.


201409019 Flanco Rents 5,000 Sq. m of Space at H.Essers Logistics Center

Romanian IT retailer Flanco has rented a 5,000 sq. m area at H.Essers logistics center in

Bucharest, the company announced.

Flanco currently operates 82 stores in Romania.

Up to now Belgian H.Essers has developed 30,000 sq. m of logistics real estate next to A1

Highway in Bucharest.

As Property Xpress reported, in July this year H.Essers unveiled plans to expand its storage

area in Bucharest Industrial Park to 100,000 sq. m in the coming years. Investment in building

new warehouses near Bucharest is estimated at EUR 50-60 mln, said Jeroen Fabry, Business

Unit Manager Romania & Bulgaria at H.Essers.

H.Essers is a family business established in 1928. The company is active in Europe, where it

provides customized and integrated transport and logistics solutions.

201409020 Kingfisher Romania Stores Generate EUR 51.7 mln in H1 Revenue

British home improvement retailer Kingfisher recorded sales of GBP 42 mln (EUR 51.66

mln) in Romania in the first half of the 2014/2015 fiscal year, from February to July.

Kingfisher operates 15 Romanian Bricostore units, taken over last year from Group Bresson.

At the end of the first quarter, Kingfisher reported sales of GBP 16 mln (EUR 19.4 mln) in

Romania.

The company expects to post a GBP 6.0 mln (EUR 7.38 mln) loss from its Romanian

operations, due to costs to convert the acquired Bricostore stores into Brico Depot units.

The conversion process is scheduled to complete by next spring. The first two new format

stores opened in March, and the group said it would speed up the process for the other 13

stores. "Given encouraging results from these first two stores, the remaining 13 will be

rebranded earlier than originally planned, by Q1 next year. The additional investment impact

of this acceleration on 2014/15 profit will be a net charge of around GBP 6.0 mln," said the

financial report of Kingfisher.

At a group level, Kingfisher sales rose 0.9 pct to GBP 5.77 bln (EUR 7.09 bln). Net profit

remained unchanged at GBP 364 mln (EUR 447.7 mln).

Kingfisher announced in April the launch of a EUR 275 mln takeover bid for France’s Mr

Bricolage, to strengthen its position in its most profitable market. Completion of the

transaction is expected by the end of the 2014/2015 financial year.


201409021 Developer to Relaunch Work on Bucharest Office Building

A real estate developer wants to relaunch construction work on a 35,000 sq. m office building

in the west of the Romanian capital. Turkish Anchor Grup could start work this year on

completing its 35,000 sq. m Metropol Center office building in the Bucharest Timisoara

Boulevard area, whose construction was frozen in 2009.

"We met with the company’s board and decided to resume development of the Metropol

Center office building. Construction could start this autumn and we are now in the process of

selecting a general contractor. In a week time, we can give more details and figures about the

project," Yurdaer Kahraman, CEO Commercial Real Estate Properties at Fiba Holding, the

parent company of Anchor Grup, said at a press conference.

The office building is located near Plaza Romania shopping center, also owned by Anchor

Grup. Until now, the structure of the building was built. The initial deadline for completion

was the second half of 2009.

In 2012, the then head of Anchor Grup, Ali Ergun Ergen, announced resumption of

construction and completion of the building in eight-nine months.

Anchor also owns an office building in the same area, the 27,000 sq. m Anchor Plaza, as well

as shopping centers Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania, in the process of renovation, and

InCity Residence housing complex.

Anchor Grup representatives also said that renovation work on Bucuresti Mall began in May

and is to be completed in 18 months.

The company has invested EUR 60 mln in Bucuresti Mall since its opening 15 years ago. The

mall has an area of 40,500 sq. m and attracted about 170 million visitors in 15 years.

"To be successful a center like ours needs 25,000-30,000 visitors daily and we fit in this

range. The shopping center performs well in terms of traffic. Moreover, we are pleasantly

surprised by the fact that retailers’ revenues have stabilized, and even increased," said

Kahraman.

Cristian Costache, director of Bucuresti Mall, in turn, said that sales per square meter are

around EUR 2,500 per year, and 2014 turnovers are significantly increasing compared to last

year, Mediafax reports.

201409022 Huawei Romania Sets EUR 100 mln Investment Program

Chinese company Huawei, one of the largest global suppliers of equipment and services to

telecom operators, plans to invest EUR 100 mln in opening a global service center in


Bucharest by 2018. The company also plans to hire another 300 people in Romania by the end

of the year.

Huawei entered the European market in 2000, and three years later identified Romania as a

strategic location for expansion in Eastern Europe. In 2012 the company invested EUR 6.0

mln in opening one of its four global service centers in Bucharest, aimed at providing

technical support for customers in Central and Eastern Europe, Nordic countries and Western

Europe.

Huawei Romania currently has 900 employees in Romania. The company’s global service

center (GSC) employs over 400 engineers. "Huawei plans to expand its local footprint by

increasing the number of employees to 1,200 by the end of 2014, of which 70 pct will be

sourced locally. Europe is one of the most important strategic markets for Huawei, a major

destination for long-term investment and a global management center," Huawei Romania

CEO Vlad Doicaru told Capital.ro.

Huawei has a factory in Hungary, where by 2015 it wants to make all its products for the

European market.

The local subsidiary of Huawei recorded last year a EUR 127 mln turnover, an increase of 32

pct compared to 2012. Globally, Huawei reported USD 39.5 bln in revenue last year.

201409023 21-Room Hotel to Open in Central Bucharest

Romanian businessman Dragos Petrescu will invest about EUR 3.0 mln in opening a three-

star boutique-hotel in the center of Bucharest and remodeling existing Hanu’ Berarilor

restaurants.

The entrepreneur, holding a group of four companies (16 establishments), with a cumulative

turnover of RON 80 mln (EUR 18 mln) last year, also wants to open new restaurants.

“By the end of the year, we want to open one-two bars, a Buongiorno restaurant and a Hanu’

Berarilor unit in the Bucharest Herastrau area. We will also invest in remodeling the two

existing Hanu’ Berarilor restaurants and continue investing in our hotel project over the Hanu’

Berarilor Oprea House Soare place,” Dragos Petrescu said.

The businessman has recently opened a Buongiorno la Lido restaurant at C.A. Rosetti Street

in the city center of Bucharest, and plans to invest EUR 300,000 in converting the Hanu’

Berarilor restaurant at Pache Protopopescu Street into a vintage pub.

"We will invest EUR 2.5 mln in our Hanu’ Berarilor Oprea House Soare unit over three years.

The building will be extended with a terrace and a ballroom, and a 21-room boutique-hotel

will be completed over the existing premises,” Dragos Petrescu told Ziarul Financiar, noting


that he has also received approval from the Ministry of Culture to expand the restaurant to a

total of 1,100 seats.

201409024 Real Estate Firm to Raise EUR 140 mln for New Acquisitions, Developments

A real estate development company plans to raise EUR 140 mln to finance acquisitions of

income producing properties and development projects in Poland and capital cities in central-

and southeastern Europe.

Globe Trade Center (GTC), one of the leading commercial real estate companies active in

CEE, said it plans to sell up to 140 million new shares to existing stakeholders to finance

acquisitions of yielding properties and organic growth from selected development projects.

“The CEE and SEE markets are now offering attractive investment opportunities arising from

the high yield spread in a low interest rate environment allowing for accretive growth. Rents

in many capital cities in the region are at their historical lows. The combination of these

factors creates investment opportunities for GTC,” the statement said.

“GTC has completed its restructuring phase and achieved good and stable operating results.

Now, GTC is in good shape to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities that

we have identified to stimulate company growth. The potential acquisitions, to be partially

financed with the new capital, will enhance GTC’s investment portfolio, effectively creating

shareholder value,” GTC CEO Thomas Kurzmann said.

GTC also said it has selected a number of potential acquisition targets in the office and retail

sectors. These acquisitions and selected project developments, most importantly two shopping

malls in Warsaw, should allow GTC to boost its real estate portfolio and increase cash flow

from operations.

“We see acquisition opportunities that can be translated into highly accretive growth at GTC.

In order to take advantage of these opportunities GTC needs to raise equity. We believe the

execution of our growth strategy will change GTC’s profile into a cash generating company in

the mid-term,” added Alexander Hesse, Chairman of GTC’s Supervisory Board.

The shareholders’ meeting that will decide on the planned shares issue is scheduled for

October 13, 2014. The developer’s biggest single shareholder is private equity firm Lone Star

Funds, with a 29.9 pct stake, according to Bloomberg. As well, leading Polish pension funds:

Aviva, ING and PZU, hold stakes of above 5.0 pct of GTC’s share capital.

Established in 1994, GTC Group operates in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia,

Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Since its establishment, the group has developed

43 office buildings and 12 shopping malls with a total net area of more than one million sq m.

GTC currently manages 28 commercial real estate projects with a total commercial space of

over 589,000 sq. m.


201409025 Sales of Baneasa Shopping City Stores Rise 5.0 pct in 7M’2014

Sales of stores in Baneasa Shopping City shopping mall in northern Bucharest rose by 5.0 pct

in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year, while the number

of visitors to the project controlled by businessmen Gabriel Popoviciu and Radu Dimofte rose

by 7.8 pct, George Argentopoulos, CEO of Baneasa Developments, told ZF.ro.

Argentopoulos noted that not all product categories registered growth: shops selling expensive

jewelry reported weaker sales, while retailers with exclusive garments for women did not

record increases.

"I have not seen an increase in the average bill. I would say that 2014 is a stable year, not very

active," said Argentopoulos.

Retailers at Baneasa Shopping City, which opened in spring 2008, generated sales of more

than EUR 200 mln last year. The entire shopping area, which also includes IKEA, Carrefour,

Metro, Mobexpert and Bricostore stores generates an annual turnover estimated at around half

a billion euro.

201409026 Bucharest One Underground Structure Nears Completion

Work on the underground structure of Bucharest One office tower, which will become the

second tallest building in the Romanian capital, is nearing completion.

The building is being developed near Pipera Overpass in the north of Bucharest by

Globalworth Real Estate investment fund, founded and led by businessman Ioannis Papalekas.

Construction work started this spring and the building’s three underground parking levels are

largely complete, so the general contractor, Bog’Art, will soon move to construction of the

project’s structure, with a height of about 130 meters and 23 above-ground floors.

The property will have a gross leasable area of nearly 54,000 sq. m, or 2,000 sq. m per floor.

Pre-lease agreements have been signed with mobile operator Vodafone, IT company Huawei

and Mega Image. The project is currently 44 pct pre-let. Globalworth estimates the project’s

total cost at EUR 100 mln, while rental income at EUR 12 mln per year. The building will

have 500 underground parking spaces and surface parking for 200 cars.

Two more office buildings are being developed in the area by Skanska, while Portland Trust

plans to start work on two buildings within Oregon Park project, opposite the Road Police

headquarters in Pipera, by the end of the year, Ziarul Financiar reports.

201409027 Turkish investors aim to put over USD 600 mln in Romania in next two years


Turkish companies have invested over EUR 5 billion in Romania in the last two decades and

are planning to increase their exposure in the years to come.

Turkey is the main trading partner for Romania, after the EU, and bilateral trade between the

two countries reaches USD 7 billion annually, according to Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who

attended the Romania-Turkey Economic Forum organized yesterday in Bucharest.

“Taking into consideration the constant growth in the number of investments starting 2000,

the businesspeople present at the forum forecast investments into Romanian companies and

projects worth over USD 600 million in the next two years,” said the Association of Turkish

Businesspeople (TIAD) in a statement.

201409028 Romania needs to invest nearly EUR 4bln to reach IT&C targets by 2020

Romania should invest EUR 3.9 billion for attaining its IT&C targets by 2020, which include

growing the coverage of its broadband, the use of e-governing services, online sales and the

number of employees in the IT&C, as part of the National Strategy Digital Agenda for

Romania, published by the Ministry for Information Society, according to Mediafax

newswire.

“A correct implementation of the strategic vision for the IT&C in Romania which should

fulfill the specified targets for Romania will require a total investment which exceeds EUR

3.9 billion. The direct and indirect impact on the economy, calculated in conformity with

good practices in other European countries that have made similar investments, can be

translated into a GDP growth of 13 percent, the increase in the number of jobs by 11 percent

and a 12 percent decline in management costs during 2014-2020,” shows the document.

The development of the broadband network will attract EUR 3.1 billion, which is the bulk of

the investments.

The National Strategy Digital Agenda for Romania directly targets the IT&C sector and will

directly and indirectly contribute to the development of the economy, making Romania more

competitive.

The strategy aims to grow broadband coverage from 90 percent in 2013 to full coverage in

2020, as well as achieve a fourfold growth in the number of SMEs who sell online to 20

percent in 2020. Also, the population that never used the internet should shrink from 48

percent in 2012 to 30 percent in 2020, while the percentage of citizens who are using e-

government services should grow from 5 percent in 2012 to 30 percent in six years’ time.

The number of people who shop online is also expected to go up from 8 percent in 2013 to 30

percent in 2020.

In 2020, there will be 250,000 employees in the IT&C sector, up from 128,000 as in 2011.


“If in previous years, the IT&C sector saw a slower development and job occupancy, this is

due to the 7 percent annual average growth rate in workforce occupancy in the IT&C sector

before the economic crisis, and projects it as a target for future investment for 2014- 2020.

The Romanian government has already made major contributions in the sense of improving

the employment rate in the IT&C, such as for instance, the state aid scheme for creating a

minimum number of new jobs,” mentions the project, quoted by Mediafax.

The costs for building a Next Generation network that should support superior broadband

speeds in accordance to the National Strategy Digital Agenda for Romania are estimated to

reach between EUR 1.3 billion and EUR 3.5 billion, function of the selected technology.

“These costs will be only partially covered by private investments so financing estimated to

range between EUR 0.7 billion and EUR 1.7 billion is still necessary,” according to the

document.

201409029 First Romanian Post franchise opens in Bucharest

The first franchise of the Romanian Post was opened by Domino Plaza, the national postal

services operator announced in a press release. The estimated investment made by Domino

Servicii Diverse into the franchise was approximately RON 40,000 (EUR 9,000).

The franchise is located in Bucharest, in Tei neighborhood, in Bucharest district 2, on 61

Maica Domnului St.

The unit, which offers all the products and services of the Romanian Post with the exception

of pension delivery, will employ 3 people, and has program with the public Monday to

Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and Sunday between 9 am and 5.30 pm.

“With this partnership, the Romanian Post as franchisor, will optimize its portfolio of

products and services, but also the operational costs, reported to their added value,” said

Alexandru Petrescu, general manager of the Romanian Post.

The contract signed by the Romanian Post stipulates that the franchise was equipped by the

beneficiary with all the necessary equipment, including the security system.

The franchisee will report its revenues to the Romanian Post, of which it will keep a sum

made up of the fixed commissions applied per each service or product it delivers.

Supplementary to this final sum, the Romanian Post will also cash in a 2 percent royalty.

foto partener franciza “We are considering expanding this partnership to other cities in the

country, where, the same as in Bucharest, we will work with the tariffs of the Romanian Post

and no commission for the client,” said Anca Cîmpeanu, director of the Domino Plaza

compound.


The estimated annual revenues of the Partener Domino franchise are approximately RON 1

million (EUR 226,200). The estimated profit that the Romanian Post will obtain is RON

78,000 (EUR 17,640). The annual estimated revenues of Domino Servicii Diverse are over

RON 150,000 (EUR 34,000).

The Romanian Post intends to implement the franchise system into its entire network, as part

of the 2013-2016 management plan.

The national postal operator has countrywide coverage via a network of over 5,600 postal

offices. The institution ended 2013 with losses of RON 27.6 million.

201409030 Chinese company interested in building Pitesti-Craiova motorway

China Communications Construction, one of the main developers of transport infrastructure in

China, is waiting for an invitation from the Romanian government to start the procedure of

competitive dialogue for the construction of the Pitesti-Craiova motorway, according to Hu

Bin, development director of the construction company, quoted by news portal

www.hotnews.ro.

Hu Bin said that the company will raise the financing for the project both from mainland

China and international financial institutions.

“In Romania, if you want to accelerate the transport infrastructure, it is better to use the direct

relation, from one government to the other one, as it will be faster – otherwise we have to wait

I don’t know how many years,” said the director.

Hotnews pointed out that the public tender for the concession of the Pitesti-Craiova motorway

was started 18 months ago but remained stuck. National road management agency CNADNR

had announced in May 2013 that four consortiums from Romania, Europe and Asia were

interested in the project but nothing happened after that. China Communications Construction

was part of an interested consortium.

The Chinese company has also participated in the preselecting procedure for the tender of the

Comarnic-Brasov motorway. A consortium comprising French Vinci, Austrian Strabag and

Greek Aktor are supposed to develop this project but the construction works have not started

yet. The road project was slated to start in April 2014 and be finished in 2017.

According to media reports, the consortium is seeking financing for the motorway estimated

to cost EUR 1.8 billion.

201409031 Candu Energy inks deal with Chinese group for two nuclear reactors in

Romania


Canada’s Candu Energy, a supplier of nuclear energy equipment, has announced the signing

of an agreement with China Nuclear Power Engineering Company (CNPEC), for the

construction of two nuclear reactors in Cernavoda.

Romania has been trying for years to find backers for the project, which requires an

investment of around EUR 6.2 billion.

Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned nuclear energy operator, has signed in late 2013 a letter of

intent with China General Nuclear Power Group (CNPEC’s parent company) for this

investment, as part of a raft of energy investment agreements signed with Chinese companies.

The letter of intent was recently extended by the end of this year.

“Today’s agreement deepens our strong ties with both the Romanian and Chinese nuclear

industries, as Candu reactors have operated in both countries for more than a decade,” said

Preston Swafford, president and CEO of Candu Energy, in a statement.

Romania has two operating Candu 6 nuclear reactors in Cernavoda that cover roughly 20

percent of the country’s electricity supply.

The government has wooed Chinese investors for the nuclear project, after a Western-based

consortium of utilities tasked with building the reactors fully disintegrated at the end of 2013.

The firms said they decided to exit the project because nothing was happening on Romania’s

side, which was a shareholder in the project through Nuclearelectrica.

Shares in Nuclearelectrica rose 1.56 percent to RON 8.48 by Friday lunch trading on the

Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

201409032 French firms relocating from Far East consider Romania

Philippe Garcia, director of the economic mission at Ubifrance Romania, says that a growing

number of French companies seeking to relocate their businesses from countries such as

China back into Europe see Romania as a top destination.

He adds that French investors looking to tap the local market see high potential in a wide

array of sectors including automotive, infrastructure and agribusiness. Garcia points out that

trade between France and Romania exceeded EUR 7 billion last year and is set to grow

further this year, already expanding by 9 percent in the first half of 2014.

What was the feedback from French companies following the regional economic forum

organized by Ubifrance in February?

The feedback from the Business Forum is very positive. First of all, almost 80 French

businesspeople coming from France had the opportunity to discover an unexpected Romania,


completely distinct from the counterfeit image that usually pervades their mind: Bucharest

showed itself to be a premium huge regional business hub! Furthermore, many of them had

the opportunity to start doing business with partners from Romania and 12 other countries

from South-Eastern Europe.

201409033 Transelectrica signs EUR 29.4 mln contract for station upgrade

Power grid operator Transelectrica and service provider for the energy industry Romelectro

signed a contract for EUR 29.38 million, VAT not included, for upgrading the transforming

power station Bradu.

Transelectrica estimates that the upgrade will be completed by 2018.

“Electrical Station 400/220/110/20 kV Bradu is an important hub in the National Energy

System which assures connections and transfer of power between areas with an excess of

electrical energy (Muntenia and Oltenia) and areas in Transilvania which have a deficit of

power”, according to an announcement from the two companies.

Transelectrica said in May its net profit rose 48.8 percent to RON 136.5 million (EUR 30.3

million) in the first quarter, from RON 91.7 million the previous year.

Revenues went up 21 percent to RON 698.8 million (EUR 155.2 million).

201409034 Carrefour Joins ParkLake Plaza Shopping Project in Bucharest

French retailer Carrefour has purchased 12,000 sq. m of space at ParkLake Plaza shopping

center, thus becoming co-investor in the project, which is being developed by Sonae Sierra

and Caelum Development in the Bucharest Titan area. The transaction value was not

disclosed, but according to estimates, it could be worth EUR 15 mln.

Construction work on ParkLake Plaza started in January. "This contract is part of a series of

negotiations with several key tenants. Construction is progressing well; we have completed

the groundwork and will now begin work on the structure. We are on schedule for the opening

in 2016," said David Sharkey, CEO of Caelum Development.

ParkLake Plaza, representing a EUR 180 mln investment, will have a rentable area of 70,000

sq. m, with about 200 stores and 2,600 underground parking spaces. Up to now 65 pct of the

area has been pre-let.

For Carrefour, this is the third new hypermarket it will open in Bucharest, where it already

runs nine stores. The retailer has also signed contracts with NEPI for Mega Mall, which is due

to open in 2015, and Prodplast Imobiliare for Veranda Shopping Center, scheduled to open in

2016.


201409035 Artemis Holding to Develop Five Projects in Romania

Artemis Real Estate, part of Swiss Artemis Holding, plans to develop five projects in the

industrial and residential segments on an area of more than 128 ha in Timis County, western

Romania. The five projects are Sanandrei Industrial Park, Swiss Park Giarmata, Swiss Village

Giarmata, Timisoara Airport Industrial Park and Dudestii Noi Industrial Park.

"We chose the western part of the country because of its development potential. Areas in

which our projects are located provide easy access to major European transportation hubs,"

said Dr. Michael Soormann, president and CEO of Artemis Asset Management Group.

Artemis’ most advanced project is Sanandrei Industrial Park in the north of Timisoara, where

all infrastructure is complete, while the largest is Swiss Park Giarmata, an industrial and

residential park covering 103 ha just outside Timisoara - Arad Highway. Development and

equipment with all necessary utilities for Swiss Park Giarmata are scheduled to commence

next spring.

Timisoara Airport Industrial Park project occupies 8.0 ha near Traian Vuia International

Airport.

201409036 Leroy Merlin Gets Nod to Acquire BauMax Romania

French DIY retailer Leroy Merlin has received the green light from Romania’s Competition

Council to acquire the local business of BauMax, operating 15 hypermarkets in the country,

Wall-Street.ro reports.

After the transaction, the French retailer will have 17 stores in the country, with sales of EUR

135 mln for 2013.

France’s Leroy Merlin, which opened the first Romanian store five years ago, purchased

BauMax’s all stores in the country in July this year. The transaction value was not disclosed.

Earlier this month Austrian retailer BauMax announced the sale of its operations in Bulgaria.

According to local media Capital, the retailer’s eight stores in the country generated sales of

BGN 106.36 mln (EUR 54.4 mln) in 2013.

201409037 Raiffeisen Evolution in Talks to Sell Romanian Shopping Mall

Austria’s Raiffeisen Evolution is negotiating to sell Promenada shopping center, an

investment of EUR 130 mln, opened less than a year ago in the Bucharest Floreasca area, real

estate market sources told Mediafax.

"Raiffeisen Evolution has received offers from several investors, both incumbents and

newcomers, and has a short list of the best five offers," the sources said.


Investors include developer GTC, holding City Gate office complex in Bucharest and Galleria

shopping centers in Arad, Piatra Neamt and Buzau, and Greek businessman Ioannis

Papalekas, one of the most active buyers of real estate projects in recent years.

The price at which the Austrian company would be willing to sell the project is EUR 150 mln,

according to sources in the real estate market. The buyer will have to take over a EUR 95 mln

loan, provided by Raiffeisen Bank for the shopping center development.

Raiffeisen Evolution representatives declined to comment.

Raiffeisen Evolution opened in mid-October last year its Promenada Mall, the last phase of

the EUR 300 mln Floreasca City project, also comprising two office buildings, including the

Sky Tower. Both office buildings were sold to Raiffeisen Group.

"We are developers that develop a project, and want to rent and then sell it to have money for

other projects. As far as the Promenada Mall is concerned, we will keep the property for a

certain period and then we’ll see. We have received offers, but there are no plans to sell the

project in the coming months," Markus Neurauter, managing director of Raiffeisen Evolution,

said at the opening.

The center is located at the intersection of Calea Floreasca, Pipera Road and Barbu Vacarescu

Boulevard, an area dominated mainly by office buildings constructed in the last five years.

Promenada Mall has a leasable area of 35,000 sq. m, occupied at a 95 pct rate at the opening

date, divided into 140 stores and 1,300 underground parking spaces. The mall has two

underground parking levels and four floors accommodating commercial premises.

In July, Raiffeisen Evolution contributed a total of EUR 27.7 mln to the capital of five

Romanian subsidiaries, owners of the Straulesti Evolution mixed-use development project in

Bucharest.

Raiffeisen Evolution is a real estate development company headquartered in Vienna and

working in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe.

Raiffeisen Evolution’s portfolio includes residential and office buildings, hotels, shopping

centers, retail specialist centers and multifunctional projects.

Raiffeisen Holding Viena, Strabag and Uniqua each hold 20 pct of Raiffeisen Evolution,

while Raiffeisen Central Bank (RZB) controls the remaining 40 pct.

201409038 Astaldi Spa and UTI Group Win EUR 22 mln Contract


Astaldi Spa and UTI Group will carry out a project to redevelop the Flamaropol ice rink in

Bucharest, which will become one of the most modern rinks in the European Union, UTI

group representatives annonced.

The two companies have won a tender with a EUR 22 mln bid. The contract was awarded by

public tender organized by the Bucharest City Hall in early September 2014. The project,

whose estimated value is about RON 100 mln (about EUR 22 mln) will be implemented over

36 months (24 months for the design and construction and 12 months for technical and

maintenance services).

The contract involves demolition of existing buildings, design and implementation of a new

multifunctional complex for ice sports competitions and other cultural and leisure activities.

The complex will have a total area of 22,600 sq. m and capacity of 3,100 seats (including 61

for people with disabilities) and more than 120 parking spaces.

201409039 Romanian Developer Sees Slight Revenue Increase, Open to Sell Stake to

Investment Fund

A Romanian real estate developer said its rental revenue has increased by 2.0 pct since the

beginning of the year, and expects that the percentage will remain the same throughout the

entire year.

“Revenues have grown up so far by 2.0 pct due to extensions. The percentage will probably

remain the same throughout the entire year. The occupancy rate of Novo Park and West Park

business parks is about 99 pct and 96 pct respectively,” Liviu Tudor, president of Genesis

Development, one of the largest owners of Bucharest office space (over 150,000 sq. m), said

in an interview for Manager.ro.

As Property Xprss reported, Liviu Tudor received rental revenue of EUR 33 mln last year

from his Novo Park and West Park business parks, and 1,000 rental apartments in West Gate

Studios. The figure represents a 5.0 pct increase compared to 2012, due to the opening of a

new office building within West Gate Business Park.

Liviu Tudor also said that four major German companies have recently entered the local

market. “Deutsche Bank and Allianz have already rented office space, while those from

Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Telekom are now coming to the local market, which is a great

signal for Romania and I hope that this is just the beginning,” Liviu Tudor said.

Liviu Tudor also said that the average term of lease contracts signed for Bucharest office

space is five years. The businessman also said that Genesis Developments’ debt burden is

around EUR 200 mln and average period is 10-15 years. Loans were taken in 2003-2008 and

the company has been working entirely with Alpha Bank since late 2008.


Asked about alternative sources of funding, Liviu Tudor said that attracting a large investment

fund is a good solution and he is always open to such discussions. “It would be an option that

always fits, depending on market conditions. Romania’s credit ratings are very important.

Now all three major rating agencies have increased the country’s rating and probably it will

start to become interesting as an investment destination. I think this will happen; the rating is

a compass for large investment funds. These funds look at the rating of the country, its

stability, the situation in the region and then make specific offers related to business entry in

local sites,” Liviu Tudor commented.

201409040 Immofinanz Q1 Revenue Declines in Romania

Austria’s Immofinanz Group saw a drop in revenue from its 16 Romanian properties to EUR

11.6 mln in the first quarter of the 2014/2015 fiscal year (May 1-July 31) compared with the

EUR 12.6 mln amount received from renting 17 properties in the same period last year, due to

the loss of tenants of office buildings in Bucharest.

In Romania Immofinanz holds office buildings (14.5 pct of the company’s portfolio of office

buildings), five retail properties (9.1 pct of the entire retail portfolio) and three logistics

centers (3.2 pct of the entire portfolio of logistics assets).

The group’s properties in Romania represent 10.9 pct of the total portfolio.

Immofinanz’s Romanian office portfolio, with a GLA of over 206,400 sq. m, generated

revenues of EUR 4.9 mln in Q1 compared with EUR 5.6 mln in the same period last year, and

had an occupancy rate of 76.7 pct compared with 90.4 pct in the same period last year.

The group’s four shopping centers, with a GLA of 146,000 sq. m, generated EUR 5.0 mln in

revenue in Q1, and had a 92.1 pct occupancy rate compared with 93.4 pct last year.

Revenues from letting the group’s three logistics parks in Romania, with a 52,340 sq. m area,

totaled about EUR 900,000. The occupancy rate of the three parks at the end of July was 93

pct, up from 67 pct in late July 2013.

In total, the group has 83 projects in Romania, worth EUR 964 mln, i.e. 16 completed

investments (EUR 658.4 mln), 12 development projects (EUR 264 mln) and 55 projects under

review (EUR 41 mln), compared with 88 in the same period last year, down from EUR 1.003

bln at the end of July 2013.

The group’s development portfolio includes 11 residential projects run by its residential

division Adama.

Immofinanz’s completed projects total 404,503 sq. m, with an occupancy rate of 84.3 pct.


"The main focus of Immofinanz Group’s portfolio is on Russia with 25.2 pct, followed by

Austria with 19.0 pct and Romania with 13.9 pct. (...) We expect an increase in the value of

the company during the 2014/15 financial year as a result of portfolio optimization, increased

occupancy, cost reduction, as well as by increased development activities in Germany,

Poland, Russia and Romania," Immofinanz said in a report.

Immofinanz thus maintains plans to bring the concept of STOP.SHOP shopping centers in

Romania developed in other countries in Central Europe as well as to expand investments in

the logistics sector.

201409041 Three Centrally Located Properties up for Sale in Bucharest

Three properties in the city center of the Romanian capital have been put for sale, according

to an announcement on the website of the vendor, Telekom Romania, formerly Romtelecom.

The asking price for the three assets, including the Telephone Palace building on Calea

Victoriei, is EUR 21.6 mln. All three properties are located in the same area.

Interested entities are invited to submit bids by October 20, 2014.

Built in 1933, the art deco-style Telephone Palace building has a usable area of 12,000 sq. m.

The other two properties in the package are the Tandem building, located just behind the

Telephone Palace and the Matei Milo parking lot, which serves the two buildings.

201409042 McDonald’s Romania to Expand Café, Restaurant Chains

Fast food chain McDonald’s wants to double the number of its McCafe coffee shops in

Romania by the end of next year, to 20 units, with four launches scheduled to take place this

year, in Bucharest (two), Ploiesti and Targu Mures. The company is also looking for land to

expand its restaurant chain.

"We want to create a relevant cafe chain in Bucharest. Our target is to reach 20 cafes in

Romania by next year’s end," Daniel Boaje, GM of McDonald’s Romania told Mediafax.

Regarding plans for opening new restaurants in Romania, Boaje said that the company is

currently seeking land, and investments will take place when they find locations.

"We have not opened any new restaurant this year, while last year we opened two. Instead, we

completed modernization of four restaurants, and the process continues. We are now in search

for land for new restaurants in Bucharest and in large cities, but it is difficult to find what we

need, i.e. lots of 2,500-3,000 sq. m in good locations," Boaje added.


McDonald’s entered the Romanian market in 1995 with a restaurant on Unirii Square and

currently has 67 restaurants in Romania. Its last year’s turnover totaled EUR 94.8 mln (RON

415 mln), up almost 6.0 pct compared to 2012.

"We are always on the rise, and for this year expect an increase in business higher than last

year. Growth comes from adapting products to market demand, innovations, etc," said Boje.

McDonald’s competes with retailers such as KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut in the Romanian

fast-food market.

201409043 Two Hotel Projects Planned in Brasov, Romania

Two hotel development projects are expected to receive the green light at this week’s meeting

of the Brasov City Council.

In particular, Dacia Plant, which bought the former dining room of the Rulmentul plant in

2012, intends to arrange a three-story hotel in its place, as well as to redevelop two factory

buildings into conference and exhibition areas.

At the end of this week Brasov City Council is expected to approve the Detailed Urban Plan

(DUP) for the Rulmentul site. The maximum height of the new construction in the area under

the General Urban Plan is up to 20 m.

The City Council is also expected to approve the zoning plan (PUZ) for the old chocolate

factory at Alexandru Ioan Cuza Street in Brasov. The old factory has recently been sold by

Mondel Romania (formerly Kraft Romania) to Lidl Romania, where the retailer plans to build

a four-story hotel with a supermarket and parking for 160 cars, BizBrasov.ro reports.

201409044 Globalworth Real Estate Earmarks EUR 57 mln for New Investments,

Optimistic about Romania

Globalworth Real Estate, a company controlled by Greek businessman Ioannis Papalekas, has

available cash of EUR 56.5 mln for new property investments in Romania, according to the

company’s financial report for the first half of 2014.

"With the funds raised from the recent second equity capital raising the company is well

placed to acquire a number of very attractive, pre-identified investment opportunities in high

quality assets in the short term and to progress with our development projects. We are also

optimistic about the future prospects of the Romanian economy and real estate market, which

we believe will continue to grow," said Globalworth CEO Ioannis Papalekas.

Globalworth is in advanced talks with a large European financial institution to finance, with

EUR 30 mln the company’s Tower Center International property in the Victoria Square area,

which is currently free of mortgages.


Globalworth also announced that it has won a tender to sign a new 10 year lease agreement

with a major multinational for 25,000 sq. m of GLA at its new Globalworth Campus project

in Pipera. The lease agreement is expected to be concluded this month.

The Globalworth Campus project involves development of one of the largest business parks in

Romania, with 105,000 sq. m of gross lettable area across three towers and approximately

1,500 parking spaces. Currently, the largest business park in Romania is Immofinanz Group’s

Iride Business Park, near Pipera metro station, with a leasable area of 92,855 sq. m. The

complex will be developed on a 30,000 sq. m land plot purchased by Globalworth for EUR

14.3 mln. Up to now, the company has invested EUR 17.8 mln in the project, and plans to

spend a further EUR 80.3 mln by the end of May.

Globalworth’s portfolio was valued at EUR 521.3 mln at the end of June. The portfolio

includes office buildings BOB, BOC, Tower Center International, and City Offices,

residential estate UpGround Towers, logistics park Timisoara Airport Park, as well as

development projects Bucharest One, Globalworth Campus, Herastrau One and Floreasca

One. The company had a EUR 174.2 mln debt burden at the end of the reporting period.

In the first half of this year, Globalworth collected EUR 9.0 mln in rental revenue from its

properties, i.e. Tower Center International, which was included in the report on February 18,

UpGround Towers residential complex - on March 20 and BOB, BOC office buildings - on

March 21.

Globalworth also signed several lease extension deals in the reporting period. “The Ministry

of European Funds extended its lease for Tower Center International by an additional 3,505

sq. m area,” the company said in its report.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of European Funds already occupied an area of about

3,900 sq. m at the building, for a period of two years, with an option to extend the contract

worth EUR 2.3 mln, excluding VAT, according to Mediafax.

Huawei also expanded its area at Tower Center International with 602 sq. m to over 3,000 sq.

m, and as a result the building was 97.9 pct let at the end of June.

Since the beginning of the year, the company has managed to attract tenants for nearly 35,000

sq. m of office space (10 pct) for its completed and under construction buildings in Bucharest.

Among the other contracts were those with HP (1,237 sq. m) and Dolce Sport (2,000 sq. m)

for the BOC building.

201409045 Update: Policolor to Sell Bucharest Site to Real Estate Developer


Policolor, one of the largest manufacturers of paints and varnishes in Romania, has started

formalities for the sale of its industrial platform, located at 51, Theodor Pallady Boulevard in

Bucharest.

The company previously acquired a 2.5 ha industrial site in the west of the capital, where it

will relocate production facilities and administrative activities.

"Policolor has agreed to sell the land at 51, Theodor Pallady Boulevard to a real estate

developer. The actual sale will run for three years, during which the Policolor plant will

continue to operate in its present location. Funds resulting from this transaction will be

directed to develop a new platform project that Policolor intends to start. The project includes

construction of a new factory for production of paints, and the company already expects

opinions to start work," Policolor-Orgachim CEO Marius Vacaroiu said, without elaborating

on the name of the buyer.

The 13.9 ha land area at Theodor Pallady Boulevard will be released in three stages. The first

area will be released by the end of this year, followed by a second batch to be released in

2015. The third batch will be released in 2017, at which time production and administrative

activities of the company will already be relocated to the new platform in the west of

Bucharest.

According to local media Ziarul Financiar, the land will be purchased by Robertino

Georgescu and Dan Dragulin. Over the past five years, the two investors have built and sold

around 1,500 dwellings in Popesti Leordeni, in the south of Bucharest. According to the

publication, the transaction value is EUR 15 mln.

"We bought the land area of almost 14 ha, and own another 1.4 ha lot in the area, with plans

to develop our largest project, Metropolitan City, which will be built in four phases. The

150,000 sq. m compound will include approximately 6,000 suites. Completion is estimated

for 2017 and total investment will exceed EUR 100 mln," Dan Dragulin said.

Investors are considering developing 30-story blocks with mixed functions - offices, housing

and retail on the site, as urban plans for the area allow construction of buildings with a

maximum height of 90 meters.

Policolor, in turn, has allocated over EUR 6.0 mln for construction of new paint and varnish

factories.

Policolor’s business grew 5.0 pct in the first half of the year after updating and launching new

product lines.

201409046 Europa Royale Hotel Generates EUR 1.3 mln in Revenue in 8M’2014


Europa Royale Hotel in the Bucharest Unirii Square area, developed by Lithuanian Europa

Group, completed the first eight months of this year with a EUR 1.3 mln turnover. The

average occupancy of he hotel was 76 pct for that period.

"By the end of the year we plan to reach an occupancy rate of 79 pct, a 10 pct increase

compared to 2013, and EUR 2.0 mln revenue from accommodation. Already in September we

have an occupancy rate of 92 pct," said Giedre Abromaviciene, director of Europa Royale

Hotel.

The hotel generated EUR 1.8 mln in revenue last year, according to data from the Ministry of

Finance.

The 92-room hotel was built on the basis of a historic building. The facility opened in June

2012, following a EUR 12 mln investment.

"The debut of the year was weak, with an occupancy rate of 45 pct in January, but rose in the

spring and in June, as we predicted, reached 91.4 pct. In July and August we had an

occupancy rate of 75-80 pct," Giedre Abromaviciene told Ziarul Financiar.

201409047 PointPark to Acquire Romania’s Largest Logistics Park

Czech company PointPark Properties (P3), controlled by TPG and Ivanhoe Cambridge, is in

advanced talks to take over the largest logistics development near Bucharest, Europolis

Logistics Park, with a leasable area of 214,000 sq. m, sources in the real estate market told

Ziarul Financiar.

Located at the entrance to Bucharest-Pitesti Highway, close to Kika and Hornbach stores,

Europolis Logistics Park is part of the portfolio of Austrian CA Immo Group. The property

was valued at approximately EUR 120 mln at the end of June 2014.

"Negotiations to sell the project to PointPark are advancing and the transaction could be

signed by the end of the year," one of the sources said.

CA Immo became owner of this project following the acquisition of Austrian Europolis

group, which in turn, had been involved in the logistics park development since 2004. The

project was initiated by Italian Cefin Group.

Representatives of CA Immo and PointPark declined to comment.

Europolis Logistic Park is currently the largest project of its kind in Bucharest with tenants

from the FMCG sector such as Carrefour, Altex, Profi, Emag and Macromex and distribution

and logistics companies such as Interbrand, FM Logistic, OTZ, E. van Wijk and Tibbett

Logistics.


Moreover, a possible acquisition would be interesting in terms of development potential, as

CA Immo has an adjacent land plot, where new warehouses with an area of about 165,000 sq.

m could be built.

According to CA Immo, the project is currently 96-97 pct let.

Industrial, logistics, and warehouse properties with an area of about 1.0 mln sq. m are

currently located around Bucharest, with more than 70 pct of these areas being concentrated

along Bucharest-Pitesti Highway. Rents are around EUR 3.5 to 4.0 per sq. m monthly, and

other major projects of over 100,000 sq. m each are held by groups like Portland Trust,

Prologis and Valad.

If the sale goes through, this will be the second transaction conducted by CA Immo this year

in the Romanian market after the Austrian group sold an 8,200 sq. m land plot at Barbu

Vacarescu Street in Bucharest to local businessman Ionut Dumitrescu.

In Romania CA Immo holds a real estate portfolio valued at over EUR 400 mln and annual

rental revenues of over EUR 30 mln from business centers Europe House, Opera Center,

Bucharest Business Park and Riverplace Semanatoarea, buildings with an area of over

100,000 sq. m, making CA Immo one of the largest owners of Bucharest office space.

PointPark Properties is a company founded in Prague in 2001, which has recently been taken

over by TPG and Ivanhoe Cambridge.

201409048 Bucharest Hotel Owner Borrows EUR 9.0 mln

A real estate company has signed an additional EUR 9.0 mln loan agreement with Raiffeisen

Bank International (RBI), and following the drawdown of the facility, the principal amount of

the loan is now EUR 64 mln.

Proceeds of the second facility, secured by pledges over the Radisson Blu Bucharest Hotel

and Apart-Hotel, Bucuresti Turism SA shares, etc, will be used by Elbit Imaging to repay

shareholders loans, Elbit Imaging said in a report. The tranche B facility will be repaid, in one

payment, at the maturity date of the loan on June 30, 2016.

In October 2011, Israeli Elbit Imaging, which holds a 77-pct stake in Bucuresti Turism, owner

of the five-star Radisson Blu Bucharest Hotel and Apart-Hotel, took a EUR 62.5 mln loan

from Raiffeisen Bank International at Euribor + 4.6 pct, with an option to borrow an

additional amount.

On April 3, 2012, Elbit Imaging concluded an agreement with RBI fixing the interest rate at

Euribor + 1.40 pct from January 1, 2013, until the end of the loan. As at December 31, 2013,

the outstanding amount of the loan was EUR 56 mln.


According to Elbit Imaging, the average occupancy of the hotel for 2013 was 71 pct, and

revenue per available room - EUR 61.

The five star Radisson Blu Bucharest Hotel and Apart-Hotel has 424 rooms and 294

apartments. The complex of both hotels includes several restaurants, a spa and health center,

casino, shopping area and supermarket services.

201409049 Iulius Group Starts Work on New Office Building

Iulius Group, controlled by businessman Iulian Dascalu, owner of Romania’s Iulius Mall

chain of shopping centers and Palas Iasi mixed-use scheme, has started work on a new office

building with a leasable area of 15,000 sq. m, in Iasi. Completion is scheduled for the end of

next year.

The project is located behind the Palas Iasi scheme. The building will have seven above-

ground floors and two underground levels with 115 parking spaces and increase the group’s

office portfolio to 60,000 sq. m.

"The investment will help create about 2,000 jobs. (...) The new building will be part of

United Business Center, a component of the Palas Iasi scheme," Iulius Group representatives

said.

United Business Center now includes four office buildings, with a total leasable area of

28,000 sq. m and tenants such as EBS, Raiffeisen, and Volksbank.

According to real estate market sources, America’s Amazon Group will move into a 10,000

sq. m space at the new building.

Iulius Group also owns two office buildings in Cluj-Napoca, with tenants including Endava

and Genpact.

With a portfolio of five shopping malls with a rentable area of over 230,000 sq. m, Iulian

Dascalu is the largest local shopping center developer; his entire property portfolio is valued

at almost EUR 700 mln. For the current year, the group’s rental revenue is expected to reach

EUR 66 mln, Ziarul Financiar reports.

201409050 Deutsche Bahn Rents Space for Romanian Service Center

German rail and logistics group Deutsche Bahn will open a service center in Bucharest, where

it will employ several hundred people in the first phase, Ziarul Financiar reports.

The company has rented 2,000 sq. m of space at the first building of the Hermes Business

Campus office complex in Pipera.


"We have leased an entire floor, of 2,048 sq. m, to Deutsche Bahn, after which the first

building of the Hermes Business Campus project reached 100 pct occupancy. As a result, last

week we started work on the second building, whose completion is scheduled for the first

quarter of 2016," said Sven Lemmes, country manager at Atenor Group, the project

developer.

Lemmes also said that the deal with Deutsche Bahn is bigger and will run in stages, without

giving further details.

"The second building of the three-stage Hermes Business Campus will have a leasable area of

approximately 24,000 sq. m and involve an investment of around EUR 30 mln," Sven

Lemmes said earlier this year.

This spring Belgian Atenor Group completed its first office building within Hermes Business

Campus, following a EUR 25 mln investment. Tenants in the first building include companies

like Getin (RIB bank owners), SNC Lavalin, Luxoft Xerox, Elephant Group and the Dutch

Embassy.

Hermes Business Campus occupies the former electronics factory site at Dimitrie Pompeiu

Boulevard in Bucharest. In November 2010, Atenor Group pledged to spend around EUR 150

mln to develop a 78,000 sq. m office complex on the site.

Headquartered in Berlin, Deutsche Bahn is a vertically integrated rail and logistics group that

owns and operates the German national rail transportation network. DB is one of the largest

rail and logistics companies worldwide, generating revenues of EUR 39.8 bln (LTM June

2013). The company combines rail track infrastructure and passenger and freight

transportation services under its holding umbrella.

201409051 Industrial Investment Project under Preparation in Romania

A large-scale industrial real estate project will be implemented in Romania by an international

developer specializing in warehousing projects.

Belgian developer Warehouses De Pauw (WDP) has leased an 8.5 ha area for 49 years at the

Braila Free Zone, outside the city, in the Varsatura direction, where it will build an auto parts

factory for Japanese Yazaki Corporation, Obiectivbr.ro reports.

The future factory will create about 3,000-3,500 new jobs. Total investment is estimated at

EUR 40 mln.

About a year ago the Japanese company began to look for locations for a new factory mainly

in Galati and Braila counties and recently chose the location in Braila. In addition to the future

investment in the Danube city of Braila, the Japanese company has an ongoing investment

project in Prahova County, more specifically in the Urlati area.


"Yazaki’s new plant in Urlati is under construction on an area of over 12,000 sq. m. In two

weeks, the company will open the first phase of the plant, which will employ about 120-150,

and by April next year the facility will have 1,000 employees," Urlati Mayor Marian

Machitescu said last week.

Yazaki is one of the leading automotive suppliers worldwide.

Yazaki has over 150 affiliates in 38 countries and approximately 200,000 employees. The

company’s key customers in Europe are Ford, Toyota, Renault-Nissan, Volkswagen and

BMW. Last year Yazaki’s four Romanian entities, in Ploiesti, Arad, Caracal and Timisoara,

had more than 4,700 employees.

201409052 French fashion brand Vicomte A. launches online shop in Romania

A year after opening its first store in Romania, French fashion brand Vicomte A. has also

launched its first online shop for the country.

“After opening the store in Promenada mall in Bucharest in October last year, I was

pleasantly surprised to notice that I get calls from people who knew Vicomte A. Paris brand

from abroad. I received calls from people in Cluj or Iasi, telling me what clothes they would

like and asking me to send them by courier,” said the Romanian shop general manager Ana

Maria Luiza Hudea, cited by local Capital.

Vicomte A. is a French fashion house founded in 2005 by Arthur de Soultrait. The brand

addresses to men, women and children. The Vicomte-a.eu platform offers all needed

information about the products, from fabrics to sizes and colors.

201409053 Turkish group ETI to build new factory in Romania with money from EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is currently analysing an

EUR 23 million long-term loan for ETI European Food Industries, the Romanian subsidiary

of Turkish group Eti Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret, to finance the construction of a new pastry

factory near Craiova.

The total cost of the project is EUR 39 million. The Turkish group also received a state aid of

about EUR 6 million for the new factory, which will create 300 new jobs.

EBRD’s board will discuss this loan on November 11, the financial institution has announced.

201409054 Austrian businessman takes over Romanian electro-IT retailer Domo

Austrian investor Eugen Petrov has recently taken over as sole shareholder the Romanian

electronics retailer Domo, following a management buyout process, according to an official


announcement made on Thursday, October 3, 2014. The value of the deal was not made

public.

Petrov has been president of the administrative board for Domo since 2012. Domo was

previously owned by Domtech, an investment fund registered in Switzerland.

“My main objective as a shareholder is to take Domo to positive financial results,” said

Petrov. He added that he trusts the management team led by South-Korean Kim Koellner.

Domo is one of the largest electro-IT retailers in Romania and operates a network of 91 stores

and an online shop www.domo.ro. The company had sales of EUR 130 million and losses of

EUR 9.4 million, in 2013. It had more than 1,000 employees.

201409055 Belgian bpost, the only bidder for the Romanian Post

Belgian postal services operator bpost was the only company that submitted a non-bidding

offer for acquiring the 51% stake in the Romanian Post.

“The Belgian operator’s decision represents the premise for a successful privatization, a

process managed by the government in accordance with its own strategy. […] We are

delighted to have a bidder that meets all the qualities wanted from a majority shareholder of

the national postal services operator”, reads a press release of the Romanian Post.

bpost’s decision will trigger the conversion of the Romanian Post’s debts into shares, a pre-

condition for submitting the non-binding offer.