No buyers for cheap BVB shares

The shares of Bursa de Valori Bucuresti (BVB), the administrator of the local stock exchange, no longer have buyers, although their price has dropped by some 65 percent since the beginning of 2008.

Until this year, BVB shares were considered one of the best deals on the market, as their unit price rose to RON 180 (€51).

As of May, about 20 sales offers were made for BVB shares, many of which expired without finding a buyer, according to local brokers who launched the offers. Currently, nine offers are active, with prices ranging from RON 60-120 (€17-34) per share.

"There were discussions for the stock we wanted to sell, but nothing specific was decided. The stock market shares are good, although investor interest in these shares does not only depend on the institution itself, but also on external factors," the President and major shareholder of Prime Transaction brokerage company, Ionel Uleia, said. The company launched an offer in May for 75,000 BVB shares at a RON 135 (€38.3) per share price tag. Another brokerage company that tried to sell BVB stock in May, Fortius Finance, also failed. The company planned to sell 53,266 shares for RON 180 (€51) per share. "We did not manage to sell the shares because there are many offers and, when the market drops, investor interest disappears. We are still trying to sell that stock," the company's Deputy General Manager, Anca Dumitrescu, said.

Business Standard