Hardy investors prepared to go the extra mile can pick up a truly amazing bargain in a little-known Romanian investment company called Fondul Proprietatea.

Romania is a highly interesting emerging market on the doorstep of Europe, a member of the European Union but not the eurozone. Fondul, which means Property Fund in Romanian, has its main home on the Bucharest Stock Exchange but has a secondary listing in London.

Offering exposure to the small but increasingly dynamic Romanian economy, Fondul’s London-listed shares are very cheap, trading at a steep 25pc discount to their underlying asset value. What excites the band of investors following the stock is its track record for chucking out cash as it benefits both from the country’s privatisation programme and seeks to improve shareholders’ returns.

Established in 2005 as a scheme to compensate people who had property seized under Communist rule, Fondul offers a 5pc-6pc yield from a portfolio of public and private Romanian banks, energy companies, transport stocks and utilities.

It pays an annual dividend at a minimum of 5 Romanian cents a share. The currency, the Romanian leu (RON), is currently worth around 20p. Frequently, Fondul doubles shareholder payouts with special dividends to mop up unused investment income. This has lifted the yield to nearly 11pc this year.

In addition it is very active in buying back its shares, both in the open market and through formal “tender” offers to shareholders. The latter buy the shares at a price closer to their true net asset value (NAV), giving investors an uplift. Combined with the dividends, these could boost Fondul’s overall yield to as much as 19pc this year, according to its fund manager Franklin Templeton.