Foreign companies have stepped up acquisitions of farming landand forests during the crisis, having spent more than 500 millioneuros so far. They currently own 3 to 5% of Romania's farming land,with Danish investors alone holding 130,000 hectares, that is 1.4%of the total, as one hectare of farming land is three to ten timescheaper than in the West, while a hectare of forest is five timescheaper.
The acquisitions were conducted in a very discreet manner, with fewbuyers having announced exactly what they own or the amount ofmoney they paid. The total area held by non-residents is not knownby any public institution, however, given that foreigners arerequired to register local companies to make suchinvestments.
The most active buyers lately have been those buying forests, whichown more than 100,000 hectares throughout the country. Investmentsare excess of 300 million euros, at an average hectare price of3,000 to 5,000 euros, according to ZF calculations. As for farmingland, non-residents own hundreds of thousands of hectares, forwhich they paid hundreds of millions of euros.
More and more investor names have come up on the list of thosebuying farming land or forests in Romania lately, which begs thequestion about why foreigners are interested in Romania.
"The land quality is very good and the price is attractive, as itis much lower than in the West," said Vlad C\rjan, a partner ofGilescu & Partenerii CHSH law firm. The firm has brokered dealsinvolving more than 10,000 hectares of forests and over 30,000hectares of farming land over the last few years.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
