As things stand now, there are no signs that the market will bounce bank this year, because local banks also have problems. Maybe next year,” Adamescu told Business Standard. The businessman is no longer looking for plots of land even if prices are plunging in most towns around the country. In Bucharest alone, the price of land, which surged in the past four years, is estimated to drop by up to 60 percent. Regarding plans for the future on the real estate segment, Adamescu will continue to focus on the retail and office segments in central areas of Romania’s main cities, even if competition is fierce. Unirea Shopping Center ended last year’s first quarter with RON 45 million (€10.44 mln) in net sales, according to the latest financial reports on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB). In the city of Brasov, the Adamescu family has invested some €35 mln in the Unirea Shopping Center it opened there last March. In November 2008, Dan Adamescu became shareholder of InterContinental hotel, after acquiring a 14 percent share package for €3 million. In 2006, the businessman purchased the five-star Rex hotel in the Mamaia resort from the Paunescu brothers, for some €10 mln. The family has expanded its business to the insurance sector, with a 73 percent stake in the Astra-Uniqa insurer, whose market value is €23.5 mln. Dan Adamescu was ranked 11th by the “Adevarul 500 billionaires,” with an estimated fortune of €600-650 mln. (A.U.)
