CEC Bank to grant loans for the thermal rehabilitation of households as of August 2
The Government has received a sole lending confirmation with the state guarantee of the home thermal rehabilitation, from CEC Bank, the loans being available as of August 2, said the prime minister Emil Boc. According to CEC Bank, the loan for thermal rehabilitation is available both for landlords association, and single family property owners, natural persons. The Government decided earlier this month to allow homeowners included in the thermal rehabilitation program to finance the works through a state-guaranteed loan and reduced interest, following the Prima Casa model. (Romanian source)
Arval launched an online map for clients who need to find the closest service unit or gas station approved by the leasing company
Arval launched an online map for clients who need to find the closest service unit or gas station approved by the leasing company. The map is available on the company's website and is part of a wider range of services with which Arval is trying to overhaul the relationship with its clients, according to CEO Arnault Leglaye. (Romanian source)
Banca Romaneasca, Piraeus Bank, Bancpost and Banca Transilvania have to retrieve EUR 33 million debt from insolvent Impact
The insolvency of real estate developer Impact Developer Contractor, for a RON 1.36 million debt to Romconstruct construction company based in Ploiesti is a risk of wrecking the company's relation with the lenders, as four banks had a total exposure of EUR 33 million on Impact at the end of last year: Banca Romaneasca, Piraeus Bank, Bancpost and Banca Transilvania. (Romanian source)
BCR to grant special interests for new 3- and 6-months deposits
In a campaign carried between 21.07.2010 and 31.08.2010, BCR will offer special yields for RON-denominated deposits set up for three and six months. For three-month term deposits the interest is flat at 7.5% per year, and the minimum amount for opening a deposit is RON 1,000. For new six-month term deposits, the bank offers a flat interest of 3% per annum and for USD-denominated deposits, the interest is 2.5% per annum. (Romanian source)
100 wind power projects have contracts with Transelectrica
More than 100 wind power projects, developed by some 80 companies, had at the beginning of June grid link-up contracts with Transelectrica or the operators of the power grid in the areas where the wind farms were to be located. The 104 projects have a combined output of 2,771 MW, the equivalent of almost four additional nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda power plant, and commissioning them requires an extra EUR 4 million. Signing the link-up contract is a major step in the process of getting a wind project approved, followed by the environment-protection permit and the license to generate power. The leading companies which invest in wind power are: CEZ (Fantanele and Cogealac projects), Energias de Portugal (Pestera and Cernavoda project), Enel (Valea Nucarilor project), Electrica Muntenia Nord, E ON Moldova. (Romanian source)
The loans issued by Provident went up 40% from the same perio
Provident Financial Romania IFN issued consumer loans of more than EUR 42 million in H1, up 40% from the level seen during the same period in 2009, amid an increase in the number of clients. The company's revenues reached EUR 0 million in H1, up from EUR 17.5 million in H1, 2009. Provident Financial Romania had more than 187,000 clients at the end of June, up from 120,000 clients in June 2009. (Romanian source)
The Government will relaunch the privatizations of companies in the portfolio of the Ministry of Economy for which the sale attempts have failed, because they have large state debts and are almost bankrupt. Considering that the massive personnel lay offs will lead to many court cases and the previous attempts to privatize ended in failure, a good solution would be the sale of stakes in these companies bundled with the more attractive stakes of companies in which the Ministry of Economy is also a shareholder: Transgaz, Transelectrica, Romgaz, the new energy corporations, are only a few of the companies that, once put up for privatization, are certain to attract investors. (Romanian source)
Foreign banks have reduced their exposure to Romania by EUR 4.5 billion in March 2009-March 2010 period
In the March 09-March 10 period, foreign banks have reduced their exposure to Romania by EUR 4.5 billion to EUR 4.5 billion, according to provisional data from the International Bank of Settlements. The largest capital flight has been observed on banks from Switzerland. Austrian banks, with the biggest market share in Romania have reduced their exposure by almost EUR 1 billion to EUR 29.4 billion. National Bank of Romania officials warned that the banks' exposure calculation methodology is different at the Settlements Bank from the one agreed with the International Monetary Fund. (Romanian source)
Catalin Pauna, World Bank: Romanian authorities will have to focus on fiscal adjustments
Romanian authorities will have to focus on fiscal adjustments, as the markets must be convinced that the Government sticks to its budget gap corrective plan and to the austerity plan, said Catalin Pauna, senior economist of World Bank in Bucharest. He said that the lack of fiscal adjustments in the past is one of the reasons why Romania will probably be among the last countries to emerge from recession. The inflation rate will not exceed 2.5-3% on short term in Romania, said Pauna. (Romanian source)
Transdanube Industries will being building a steel mill in Oltenita next year
Transdanube Industries, a company controlled by offshore company Cobrom Investments Limited, which was registered in Cyprus by the Gupta family, will begin building a steel mill in Oltenia next year. Thommaso Serano, CEO of Transdanube Industries, stated that the investment was launched using the Gupta family's money and that negotiations are being conducted with various banks in order to secure further financing. The local steel industry is dominated by ArcelorMittal, Tenaris, TMK and Mechel. (Romanian source)
Construction materials and interior decorations retailer Dedeman Bacau will open next week, in Timisoara, the 20th store of its chain, following an EUR 17 million investment project. The company is aiming for a 15% increase in turnover this year from EUR 252 million last year. (Romanian source)
Unified wages bill for the state sector to be put up for debate around August 12-13
The unified wages bill for the state sector will be put up for debate around August 12-13 and will be passed by the Government and sent to the Parliament in early September, according to Mihai Seitan, the Minister of Labor. (Romanian source)
A poll released by IPP on Thursday showed that only 12% of Romanians would vote for the PD-L today. President Traian Basescu has also lost much of his popularity, as 65% of those polled would agree to his sacking. (Romanian source)
(ROMANIA LIBERA 1 diana lazar andreea nicolae) --- Read article here
(ROMANIA LIBERA 5 diana lazar andreea nicolae) --- Read article here
Emil Boc says pensions budget gap forced him to slash wages and tax copyrights
Minister of Labor, Mihai Seitan, had announced at the end of May that copyrights would be taxed. Prime Minister Emil Boc has recently explained that the widening of the tax base was made necessary by the widening gap between taxes collected to the pensions budget and expenditures. (Romanian source)
