Companies with medium capitalisation on the Bucharest Stock Exchange were among the worst hit by the decline since the beginning of the year, having lost 40% to 60% of their value, while the BET fell 30% and SIFs fell 32% on average.

The biggest losers on the BSE this year are mainly companies whose capitalisation ranges between 50 and 120 million euros, which were quoted at prices ranging between 100 and 300 million euros in mid last year. Most of them lost over half of their market value in the last eight months.

The strong declines could be explained by the exit of some foreign investors from their shareholding structures, due to low liquidity. A negative contribution, however, for some, came from the poor financial results posted.

"The direction of the trend on the Bucharest Stock Exchange is the same, but the extent of declines also had to do with their (the companies') results and financial situation. Each of those stocks that were most affected by decline has its own particular problem," says Iulian Panait, chairman of capital market consulting company KTD Invest.

Real estate developer Impact (IMP) leads the ranking of the worst declines on the Stock Exchange, with a 60% correction, double the BET index's.

Pharmaceutical producers Biofarm Bucharest (BIO) and Zentiva Bucharest (SCD) were the runners up in the top three worst declines on the BSE, with 50% and 48% plunges.

The three companies were among the investors' favourites in the first part of last year, and succeeded in getting several foreign investment funds to buy into them.

Pipeline maker Condmag Brasov (COMI), which also has foreign investment funds among its significant shareholders, was also one of the biggest losers on the stock market, after it took a 45% dive.

The severe declines of these companies can be explained by the significant share of fo