IT group Asesoft will invest 100 euro million in an office building and two residential projects in the city of
Ploiesti
, according to the group’s owner, Sebastian Ghita.
The projects will be developed by ASCM
, a company taken over by Asesoft following bankruptcy procedure. Some 90 percent of funds needed for the projects will come from Unicredit, ABN AMRO and Citibank loans, and the rest will be financed by Asesoft, according to Ghita.
“We will use a piece of land that belonged to ASCM to build an office complex to which Prahova Media Distribution Group, belonging to Asesoft, will transfer its headquarters. The building will have 6,000 square meters available for rent,” Ghita said.
The group will also use a piece of land it owns in the center of
Ploiesti
to construct several high-class apartment buildings. The third project will be a complex of one-storey homes outside
Ploiesti
for middle-income persons. Construction costs will amount to some €300-400/sqm and the houses will be sold for about 700-800 euro/sqm, said Ghita.
“If we move well and fast, I think the investment will be covered in two years at the most,” he added. If the real estate market keeps growing “we can double our profits from this investment,” added the owner of Asesoft. Ghita said he could sell the projects developed by Asesoft if “a tempting offer” is received. The group plans further investments in real estate in the coming years, including in
Bucharest
. “I think we can face the competition from large investment funds currently developing projects in the capital, because we have sufficient credibility to qualify for bank loans,” Ghita said.
In the long-term, he is also considering an investment in the commercial field, but added that he wants to first see how the projects already started in this sector progress. On the other hand, he said he is not interested in the industrial sector, because developers have small profits in this field.
Sebastian Ghita created the Asesoft software producer in 1997. The group currently has 20 companies operating in various fields, and is owner of the CSU Asesoft Ploiesti basketball team. The group posted €100 million net sales in 2006.
Asesoft’s owner initially bought a 32 percent share of the Tohani S.A. wine producing plant, maker of the famous Dealu Mare wine, with 800 hectares of vineyards. He went on to sell his shares to set up his own company, Podgoriile Tohani with three other individuals. The new company has 265 hectares of vineyards in
Prahova
County
.
Asesoft also intends to further expand outside Romania, initially opening a branch in Serbia, Asesoft International DOO, specialized in IT solutions, and then starting operations in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro.
“I think we can face the competition from large investment funds currently developing projects in the capital, because we have sufficient credibility to qualify for bank loans
Sebastian Ghita
owner, ASESOFT
