May 18 (SeeNews) - Romanian lender Banca Romaneasca said on Wednesday it is providing a 3 million euro financing ($3.15 million) to tourism agency Christian Tour.
The financing will ensure the necessary liquidity for the tour operator's current activity, Banca Romaneasca said in a press release.
The funds were lent with a state guarantee issued by state-owned EximBank under the Covid-19 state aid scheme dedicated to large companies, which covers 70% of the funding.
"After a very challenging year in 2020 for tourism, we are confident that through optimisations and improvements we have made over the course of the pandemic we will be able to boost our profitability, in order to invest in new projects more confidently, particularly in terms of digitising the end user’s experience," Christian Tour administration board president Cristian Pandel said.
Founded in 1997, Christian Tour has established 34 cross-country points of operation, as well as partnerships with over 1,200 Romanian tourism agencies.
The company recorded a net profit of 1.8 million lei ($382,500/ 363,800 euro) in 2020, as well as sales worth 134 million lei. In 2021, Christian Tour’s sales increased to 310 million lei, and the company expects its profit to rise to 7.9 million lei.
EximBank acquired Banca Romaneasca in 2020 from National Bank of Greece (NBG). The two lenders will merge by absorption at the end of this year.
EximBank is a financial institution founded in 1992, exclusively dedicated to corporate entities. EximBank also functions as a state agent on the insurance and bond market, through which the Romanian state deploys public funds.
(1 euro = 4.9472 Romanian lei)