FP spices up portfolio with Austrian banks

=Fondul Proprietatea, one of the most valuable companies in the economy, with 3.82bn-euro assets, made its first investments in its five years in business buying shares worth 265m lei (63m euros) from the Austrian bourse.

The shares include banking stock, most likely belonging to Erste Bank (EBS), the majority shareholder in BCR, the biggest domestic bank.

Last month, FP carried out total investments worth around 305m lei, with purchases on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, worth almost 40m lei, probably targeting BRD shares.

In late February, FP had around 430m lei (2.7% of assets) invested in banking stock, with the fund's assets being, however, 85% dominated by energy companies.

Back when it was set up in 2005, Fondul Proprietatea received from the Romanian state a package of more than 80 stakes in the biggest companies in the economy and the Fund's portfolio has since largely remained unchanged.

When it took over the manager position, Britain's Franklin Templeton pledged to boost the Fund's value by diversifying and listing the companies of a portfolio dominated by energy and entirely made up of Romanian assets.