Romania: Greeks Seek Fortune on Local Market

Whether they are hooked on Cosmote mobile phone offers, eat Dorna yoghurts, or entrust their savings to Alpha Bank, Romanian consumers are lately increasingly partnering up with Greek companies, making Greece one of the country’s top investors, according to BusinesRomania.ro reports.Greek companies have broken through in various fields of the economy, with main focuses on the banking sector, telecommunications, construction and the food industry.

Greek companies such as telecommunication providers Romtelecom, Cosmote and Germanos, milk producer Dorna, the importer of car maker Toyota, bottler Coca Cola, sports equipment distributor Elmec, and financial institutions Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank are but a few of the those who are annually pumping millions of euros into Romania’s economy.

Greece holds ninth position among foreign investor countries, with a total of 3,404 registered companies and invested capital amounting to EUR 509.3 million, according to the most recent data from the Romanian National Trade Register Office (from June). Greek investment represents 3.78 percent of the total foreign investment in Romania.

However, these statistics do not reflect the entire magnitude of Greek capital invested in Romania, press officer at the Greek Embassy Eleni Michaloyanni told Business Review.

The figures depict only the initially invested capital at the time of establishment, and not the real invested capital which is taken into account in the current account balance issued by the National Bank of Romania.

“According to our estimates, derived from information provided by the Greek-interest companies based in Romania, Greek-interest capital invested in Romania exceeds EUR 3 billion, classifying Greece as one of the top three foreign investors in Romania,” said Michaloyanni, citing data from the embassy’s commercial bureau.

Romania is the top destination for Greek investment capital in the Balkan area, she said. In 2005, the trade flow between the two countries reached almost EUR 850 million. Greek exports to Romania increased by 5.22 percent to EUR 374.33 million whereas Romanian exports to Greece saw a decrease of 6.87 percent from last year, reaching only EUR 474.73 million.

Greece absorbed 2.13 percent of the total Romanian exports, putting it 12th, while accounting for 1.15 percent of the total Romanian imports, putting it in 21st place among the most important suppliers of goods to Romania, according to Lambis Kounalakis, economic counsellor to the embassy.

However, there is still a vast range of products and fields that could further develop bilateral trade between Romania and Greece, according to Kounalakis.