Doina Ciomag, Deputy CEO of the Foreign Investors Council, was a guest of the Austria-Romania Roundtable Business Conference&Awards 2010
With more than EUR 9 billion invested in Romania and more than 5,600 companies operating on the local market, Austrian investors reiterated their confidence in the opportunities offered by this market at the Austria-Romania Roundtable Business Conference&Awards 2010. Doina Ciomag, Deputy CEO of the Foreign Investors Council, was one of the guests invited at this event.
Dan Ostahie gets CNVM approval to remove Cometex from the trading arena
Businessman Dan Ostahie received the approval from the Romanian National Securities Commission to delist the real estate arm of Altex group, Cometex from Rasdaq market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The operations will be assisted by the brokerage division of BCR, that also assisted the company in the takeover offer. Cometex has a common capital of RON 932,832, divided into 373,133 shares with a face value of RON 2.5. (Romanian Source)
UniCredit Tiriac Bank launched Pachetul de Pensii (Pension Package)
UniCredit Tiriac Bank launched Pachetul de Pensii (Pension Package) which grants a 3% interest a year for the sums in the account. Also, the bank does not charge fees for the using of the card so cash withdrawal operations from the UniCredit ATMs are free just like the payments by card. (Romanian Source)
Banca Transilvania co-financed projects with non-refundable funds worth EUR 150 million in H1
Banca Transilvania co-financed projects with non-refundable funds worth EUR 150 million in H1 reaching a total of EUR 300 million in loans issued for European programs. Other 500 clients were assisted by the bank regarding the access to non-refundable financing. Clients receive an answer from the bank in ten days since they submit the application. (Romanian Source)
Raiffeisen Banca pentru Locuinte launched the RON-denominated Credit Locativ with an interest of 4.5% a year
Raiffeisen Banca pentru Locuinte launched a new product this month - the RON-denominated Credit Locativ - with an interest of 4.5% a year. The bank's clients have to save only 40% of the sum and will get a 25% state premium for their one-year savings within the limit of EUR 250 a year. The interest rate is 1.5%. The rest of 60% represents a loan with a flat rate of 4.5% for lei. (Romanian Source)
Romanian banks avoid financing European human resources projects
Romanian banks are avoiding financing European human resources projects, because they don;t bring any added value, representatives of companies that applied for European funds in this field said. " None of the Romanian banks we have been to agreed to support our project. We went to UniCredit, BRD, CEC, BCR, OTP and Millennium '', said Ramon Trillo, director of one of the largest human resources company in Romania. (Romanian Source)
The private sector could get another EUR 500 million from the European Social Fund
The Management Authority of the POSDRU will ask the European Commission to redistribute the funds which were not used by the public administration. The public authorities could lose EUR 500 million because less than 0.3% of the projects filed with the Human Resources Development Program (POSDRU) managed to access the European funds put at their disposal. (Romanian Source)
British Melrose Resources announced yesterday it would focus activities on new prospects in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, also wanting to exit the American market. The Edinburgh-based company informed shareholders it won the right to explore a 2000 square km perimeter in Romania's territorial waters. The perimeter also includes an area with oil, but which was not extracted. Melrose plans to spend 40 million pounds in the first three years and will have a stake of 80% in a joint venture with Petromar Resources. The National Agency of Mineral resources announced on Monday it attributed two oil exploitation licenses in the Black Sea's continental shelf, which was regained after the decision in Hague. (Romanian Source)
Adrian Vasilescu, NBR: The fifth installment of the loan disbursed to Romania by the IMF will go to NBR reserves
" The fifth installment of the loan disbursed to Romania by the IMF will go to NBR reserves '', said the adviser to NBR governor, Adrian Vasilescu. He added that this " will boost foreign investors' confidence in the Romanian economy, that it will not go into sovereign default ''. Another positive effect will be that the money from the IMF will increase the reserves of the central bank, that usually covers the external debt. The disbursement of the tranche will also strengthen the position of the National Bank of Romania in the currency market, said Vasilescu. The board of IMF approved the disbursement of the EUR 913 million tranche to Romania, as part of the EUR 13.2 billion aid deal signed in May 2009. (Romanian Source)
Analysts estimate an economic decline which might reach 3% in 2010
Analysts estimate an economic decline which might reach 3% in 2010. NBR Governor Mugur Isarescu said two days ago that the inflation rate would hike at 8% by the end of the year. BRD Chief Economist Florian Libocor, however, is more optimistic and says the 5% VAT increase won't have an impact on all prices and that the inflation rate at the end of the year will be limited at 5%-6%. ING Chief Economist Alexandru Chidesciuc expects a 3% economic contraction this year and a 2.2% decline next year. The UniCredit Tiriac Bank analysts forecast a 2.5% economic decline this year amid the VAT increase and the salary cuts in the public sector. BCR Chief Economist Lucian Anghel estimates a RON 4.15 - RON 4.2/Euro exchange rate towards the end of the year if Romania respects the agreement with the IMF and the European Commission. Radu Ghetea, the President of CEC Bank, said the Ministry of Finance promised to make public the new regulations on the taxation of bank deposits this week. (Romanian Source)
Romania will become in three years the main actor in the wind industry in South-East Europe
Romania will become in three years, the main actor in the wind industry in South-East Europe, together with Greece and Turkey, according to Ionel David, Public Affairs Consultant with the Romanian Association for Wind Power. He estimated that, in two years, the wind turbines in the country will add up to an installed power of 600 MW, and in the next three years, over 2000 MW. Ionel David stated that this year will become operational the wind farms that belong to the companies CEZ, Electrica de Portugal and Enel and added that " in the following years, on the Romanian market will come companies such as Verbund - the largest operator of wind power in Austria, Martifer - no. 2 in Portugal, Iberdola - that will enter on the market beginning with 2013, and Ep Global Energy. Petrom has at the present, a wind farm of 45 MW, and CEZ one of 320 MW, at Fantanele, in Constanta county ''. (Romanian Source)
The aggregated number of projects seeking European funding reached 17,951 at the end of last month
The aggregated number of projects seeking European funding reached 17,951 at the end of last month, while the overall amount sought by the entrepreneurs is now EUR 40 billion, according to Bogdan Dragoi, a secretary of state with the Ministry of Finance. Dragoi said that 4,979 projects, worth EUR 9.6 billion, have been approved so far. (Romanian Source)
Moldova attracts investors despite its low economic development
Moldova begins to attract more and more foreign investors, and it has some advantages compared to Romania, even if the level of economic development is low. Coca-Cola HBC Romania&Moldova decided in September 2009 to close the Iasi based factory and relocate it over the border to Moldova. " Approximately 70% of production from the factory was exported to Moldova, we considered that it is more efficient to open a factory there '', stated Calin Dragan at that time. (Romanian Source)
The Portuguese from EDP and Italians from Enel invest over EUR 200 million in wind projects
The energy group Energias de Portugal (EDP) and the Italians from Enel will complete in a few months the works at the first wind farms they construct on the domestic market, the investments of the two groups come in the context in which the Czech from CEZ close towards completion with a wind farm of EUR 600 million in the Dobrogea parish Fantanele. The Portuguese own at global level wind projects with a capacity of over 6,200 WM, which is almost nine reactors of the nuclear power plant at Cernavoda. The Italians from Enel begin testing for a wind farm with 15 wind turbines in a Tulcea parish. In 2010, at least 471.5 MW will be installed, 30 times more compared to the capacity of 2009. (Romanian Source)
Angst is planning to invest between EUR 1 and 1.3 million this year in the opening of new stores
Angst is planning to invest between EUR 1 and 1.3 million this year in the opening of new stores, according to statements made by Sorin Minea, the majority shareholder. Angst has recently opened two new stores in Bucharest. (Romanian Source)
The new ANI Law is contested by the very people who voted for it
Even though the new ANI Law passed with a huge majority, despite the warnings issued by the horrified European Commission, political leaders started contesting the law the very next day after the vote. The central leaders of the PD-L have asked all the dignitaries belonging to the party to file new fortune and interests statements, using the new rules. (Romanian Source)
Norica Nicolai, Vice-President of the National Liberal Party (PNL), stated yesterday that a possible coalition formed by the National Liberals and Social Democrats is " an option worth considering '' after the motion of censure scheduled for this fall. Nicolai is hopeful that the Government will be unable to beat the next motion of censure. (Romanian Source)
