White Mountain Property

Legal and Fiscal

• The Romanian Government approved an amendment to the Fiscal Procedure Code changing penalties and interest on tax payments. The interest is reduced from 0.1% to 0.05% of the total owed per day. However, for payment delays between 30 and 90 days, an additional penalty of 5% applies. For delays of over 90 days, the penalty is 15% of the main amount.

Business

• Portuguese energy operator Energias de Portugal will invest €328 million in two Aeolian energy projects located in Pestera and Cernavoda, Constanta County. The total production capacity of both projects will be of 228 MW.

• Korean industrial shipbuilder Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industry invested an estimated €188 million in converting one of its repair docks into a construction dock. The project is set to be finished by next month.

• German discount retailer Kaufland will invest an estimated €45 million in opening six new stores, for a total of fifty-six Romanian stores. The new units will be located in Caransebes (Caras-Severin County), Sighisoara (Mures County), Orastie and Deva (Hunedoara County), and Vaslui and Ramnicu-Sarat (Buzau County).

• French retailer Carrefour will invest an estimated €30 million in 2010 in opening 10 new supermarkets in Bucharest and a hypermarket in Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Mehedinti County.

• Italian real estate firm Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione, which owns a 90% share in the Winmarkt retail store network, will invest €21 million in acquiring the remaining 10% from Italian real estate firm Investitori & Partner Immobiliari.

• Romanian postal services company Posta Romana will invest €20 million in acquiring new mailing, printing and enveloping equipment as well as a new computer system.

• Turkish piping manufacturer Superlit Romet will invest €10 million in doubling the production capacity of its factory in Buzau by year’s end.

• Russian steel producer Mechel invested €9.4 million in acquiring the Laminorul Braila steel plant, which is located in Braila, by taking over Austrian firm Donau Commodities, Laminorul's majority shareholder. The purchase increases their total to four steel plants owned in Romania.

• Romanian businessperson George Calburean invested €2 million in the construction of a geothermal tomato greenhouse in Livada, Bihor County.

• Romanian vegetable production and processing company New Biolan will invest over €1.4 million in the construction of a 1.4 ha vegetable greenhouse and vegetable processing unit in Jiana, Mehedinti County.

• Romanian-Japanese franchise store network Daiso will invest an estimated €1-2 million in opening ten new stores in Bucharest by the end of 2010.

• Romanian discount retailer MiniMax invested an estimated €1 million in the construction of a new store in Sebes, Alba County.

• Romanian clothing and footwear distributor Distino Boutique will invest €600,000 in opening the first Moschino boutique in Bucharest.

Real Estate

• Romanian businessperson George Copos will invest an estimated €65 million in the construction of an office building called Ana Tower comprising 28 floors, which is to be located in northern Bucharest.
  

• Romanian hotel company THR Marea Neagra will invest €5.5 million in modernising, restoring and upgrading its seaside hotels in preparation for the summer season.

• Israeli real estate developer Rilon will invest €3.2 million in acquiring a 1,600 m² plot of land, which lies 30 km east of Bucharest, close to the highway to Constanta, from Israeli real estate company Tao Tsuot.

Exchange Rates

The National Bank of Romania (http://www.bnr.ro/) exchange rates as of April 26, 2010:

                                                1 EUR =    4.1285 RON
                                                1 USD =    3.0969 RON