"Vienna Investment Trust" led by Adrian Simionescu joins Europe"s largest environmental exchange

• The broker is now controlling 25% of the intermediary

At a time when domestic brokerages are fighting over who gets a bigger share of the Sibiu and Bucharest exchanges, brokerage firm "Vienna Investment Trust" is targeting new markets. Recently, the company became a full member of the environmental exchange "BlueNext", the most liquid European market for greenhouse gas emissions allowances and credits.

Adrian Simionescu, general manager of "Vienna Investment Trust" claims that the move is part of the company"s plan to expand into the European market: "A few months ago we were saying that we intend to become members of a European exchange. And I can now confirm that we have achieved this goal. We"re talking about a new environmental exchange, BlueNext,- which has a market share of over 95% of the volume of trades concerning Greenhouse Gas Emissions Certificates, of which we are now a full member.

We have recently become the only financial services company in Romania involved in trading Greenhouse Gas Emissions Certificates and we hope to play a major part in using the tools of the equity markets for evaluating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions".

BlueNext was created in December 2007 to allow the trading of EUA certificates (European Union Allowances). Holding a EUA certificate allows a company to emit a ton of carbon dioxide.

Adrian Simionescu has come to own as much as 25% of the brokerage firm, following a transaction that he has been working on for several months. The deal is part of an "option plan" implemented in 2007, when Credit Europe Bank sold the majority stake in the brokerage firm - at the time called "Finans Securities" - to Austrian company Vienna International Holding. The law required that the company use its own resources to acquire the stake in the brokerage firm.

The head of "Vienna Investment" said: "Even though it took a little longer than I initially expected, I have successfully completed this transaction. I now own 25% of "Vienna Investment Trust", a company which I think has a huge potential. This is why I"ve had no second thoughts about investing in it". Mr. Simionescu declined to specify the price for which he acquired the stake in the brokerage firm, saying only that he had been preparing this acquisition for a long time.

The chairman of "Vienna Investment" Trust has "ambitious" goals for the future, but he is currently watching the evolution of the markets and the opportunities which are arising: "For now, we are focusing on share capital increased and IPOs, which have been stagnating because of the crisis. The market has already begun to rise, and companies need to seize this opportunity to recover".

"Vienna Investment Trust" last month brokered 0.36% of the trades taking place on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with a monthly trading volume of 3.35 million lei.