The FINANCIAL — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Greek Embassy in Romania held a roundtable event in Bucharest on 10 December 2014 to discuss investment and business opportunities for Greek companies in Romania. The event hosted by the EBRD’s Bucharest office brought together 25 Greek private investors, including banks, according to EBRD.
“Greece and Romania enjoy historical economic ties and to this day Greek companies continue to play an important role in boosting economic development in Romania and the wider region. The EBRD is a long-term partner of Greek banks and corporates in the region and we are ready to step up our cooperation and joint investment,” James Hyslop, EBRD Director for Romania, said.
“Romania is increasing efforts to improve its business climate and attractiveness to foreign investors. The country has a growing domestic market, a well-educated workforce and strong growth potential. We are confident that Greek investors and exporters will be able to benefit from these strong fundamentals,” he added.
Grigorios Vassiloconstandakis, the Greek Ambassador in Bucharest, stressed the active role of Greek investment in companies in Romania and pointed out that the meeting held by the embassy and the EBRD provided an opportunity for these companies to team up with the EBRD in large investment projects.
A report by the Greek Embassy in Bucharest last month showed that companies active in Romania that have a Greek participation of at least 20 per cent in their equity capital totalled around 1,250 by the end of 2013. Greek investment in these firms surpassed €1.68 billion in 2013, ranking Greece sixth among foreign direct investors in Romania, after Holland, Austria, Germany, France and Cyprus.
Supporting foreign investment is one of the priorities for the EBRD in Romania, the country’s leading institutional investor. To date, the Bank has invested nearly €7 billion across 366 projects in the country. It has also mobilised over €14 billion for these ventures from other sources of financing, according to EBRD.
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