The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it is lending 387 million euro ($424.3 million) to NE Property B.V. (NEPC), a subsidiary of Dutch-registered shopping centre developer NEPI Rockcastle, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost energy efficiency in the commercial buildings sector of Romania and Bulgaria. The senior unsecured financing package is structured as a green loan with sustainability-linked elements, which is the first loan of this kind for NEPI Rockcastle (NEPIRC), IFC - the World Bank's investment arm - said in a press release in late December. IFC is providing a 225 million senior loan from its own account, which is complemented by a syndicated senior loan of 115 million euro under IFC's B Loan programme and a senior loan of around 47 million euro under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program. The financing will help NEPIRC, which is a major owner and operator of shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe, to fund the decarbonisation of commercial buildings and advance a pipeline of energy efficient development projects. Underdeveloped infrastructure and a lack of modern energy-saving amenities make the buildings sector a major contributor to high greenhouse emissions in Bulgaria and Romania. In Bulgaria and Romania, buildings account for about 45% and 35% of national energy consumption, respectively. The supply of new, more green retail building stock has been slowed in both countries by the uncertain economic climate, rising interest rates and higher construction costs, IFC said. "IFC's loan enables NEPIRC to advance its development pipeline of modern, commercial retail assets that are expected to be more energy efficient than local benchmarks," Ary Naim, IFC's regional manager for Central and South Europe, said. Euronext-listed NEPIRC owns over 2 million square metres of retail real estate in Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania. The company runs more than 50 shopping centres and employs over 600 staff. Bulgaria and Romania make up 44% of the value of the company's property portfolio, according to its website. Most recently, NEPIRC opened a shopping centre in the southwestern Romanian city of Craiova. In Romania, it owns shopping centres also in Bucharest, Braila, Constanta, Ploiesti, Sibiu, Timisoara and other cities. In Bulgaria, the group owns the Serdika and Paradise Center shopping malls in Sofia.
Two Romanians were arrested during Sunday night, May 11, after robbing empty houses in the evacuated mountain village of Brienz located in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The village had been evacuated since November due to rock falls. The locality was, however, monitored by the authorities to prevent break-ins. The would-be thieves apparently tried to […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, has revised its estimates regarding the evolution of the Romanian economy in 2025 downward to 1.6%. The bank expects Romania’s GDP to grow 0.2% less than the 1.8% estimate made in February, and to increase by 2.4% in 2026. Romania's GDP growth slowed to 0.8% in […]
During a meeting on Monday, May 12, the Cluj-Napoca Local Council approved a draft resolution that imposes smoking restrictions in several public spaces in the city, including public transport stations, parks, and sports facilities. The resolution was adopted with 22 votes in favor and 3 abstentions, and will come into effect 90 days from the […]
An internal survey by Romanian Business Leaders, which does not have national representativeness but was answered by 417 entrepreneurs, shows that 62% of entrepreneurs expect to have to make layoffs, while a third expect the number of employees to remain the same. The expected layoffs are directly connected to the possibility of Romania choosing a […]
Romanian Istvan Kovacs will be the main referee for the UEFA Champions League final between Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan, which will be played on May 31 in Munich. The match will be Kovacs’ third European final in the last 4 years. The 40-year-old referee has previously officiated the UEFA Europa Conference League final in […]
Over 70 museums across Romania will open their doors after hours for the 21st edition of Night of Museums, one of the country's most anticipated cultural events. Held on the night of May 17, the event offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore exhibitions, installations, and creative activities in an unconventional, late-night setting. From major […]
