International rating agency Moody's has downgraded the International Investment Bank's (IIB) long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings by four notches to Ba1 from A3, placing it just under the upper bound of the junk area. At the same time, Moody's has placed IIB's ratings on review for further downgrade. The rating action was triggered by the unexpected joint announcement of four European Union shareholders to plan to withdraw from the bank, published on March 2. In their announcement, the Ministries of Finance of the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria stated their intention to discontinue their shareholder participation in IIB, aiming for an orderly withdrawal. Consequently, Moody's no longer assumes that these shareholders will provide additional non-contractual support to the bank in a situation of financial stress. The four EU member states' likely withdrawal will leave Russia (Ca negative) and Hungary (Baa2 stable) as the major shareholders in IIB and increases ownership concentration, implying that even if Russia and the remaining shareholders remained committed to the institutions, the ability to provide support is significantly lower going forward. Moody's considers ownership concentration a Governance consideration under its ESG framework.
Premier Energy PLC, one of the fastest-growing energy companies in Romania and the SEE region, will carry out an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) between May 8 and May 15, 2024. Romania's Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) approved the IPO prospectus on Tuesday, May 7. The company is looking to sell […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending more than EUR 46 million as part of a EUR 93 million financing package to build and operate Urleasca Wind Farm, a 102 MW onshore wind farm in Romania, the institution announced. Urleasca Wind Farm is expected to generate 277 GWh a year of renewable energy […]
Bucharest and Ilfov County together form the region in Romania with the highest motorization rate, with an average of 640 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, a level close to most regions in France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, according to Eurostat data for 2022 cited by Ziarul Financiar. In the central, western, and northwestern regions of the […]
Nicolae Ciucă, the president of the National Liberal Party and head of the Romanian Senate, is increasingly looking like the party’s pick for the presidency. Ciucă, a former general in the Romanian army and an ally of current president Klaus Iohannis, also from PNL, is featured on dozens of billboards across the country. In parallel, a social media […]
The 28th edition of the European Film Festival opens in Bucharest on Europe’s Day, May 9. The event, which takes place in several cities in the country, will end this year’s run in Chișinău on June 8, the weekend of the EU Parliament elections. The program covers 40 feature films, 34 of them national premieres, […]
The multinational military exercise "Swift Response 24,” which will feature the largest airborne operations in Europe since World War II, has recently begun. The exercise will take place until May 24 in Romania, including in the Cincu range in Brașov County, according to Radio Brașov, as reported by Rador. According to the Ministry of National […]
