Italian insurance group Generali has bought 1,770 hectares of forest in Romania in the north-east of the country for EUR 11 million through its real estate investment arm Genagricola.

Generali thus accumulated 7,000 hectares of forest in Romania after having purchased 5,000 hectares in the north-west part of the country in 2005. The latest transaction was initiated in the summer of last year, the Italian group said.

“We took advantage of this investment opportunity firstly because it allowed us to return to investment in a sector like forestry, where Genagricola was already present in Italy, although with modest plots; and secondly, because, with the experience gained on the territory of Romania by the other companies in the group, we have seen the profitability of such investments on long term,” said Alessandro Marchionne, Genagricola CEO for Profit.ro.

Generali last year had a share of over 6.42% of the total (life and general) insurance market in Romania, ranking the 8th by the volume of written premiums.

editor@romania-insider.com

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