Twelfth Anniversary of the Foreign Investors Council
During the Annual General Assembly which took place on 15 May 2008, the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) elected its new Board of Directors. A further key issue on the agenda was the presentation of the Activity Report for 2007, which provided a good opportunity for foreign investors to review the developments as well as the problems of the Romanian economy.
The FIC built its reputation as one of the most respected and influential lobbying associations in Romania and is considered, from OECD`s perspective, a model for the Central and Eastern Europe region for promoting positive change in the business environment by means of continuous dialog with the Government.
Nevertheless, the FIC will continue to reinforce its position as a professional partner for dialogue with the authorities by promoting the principles of a market economy.
From the FIC`s perspective, unfolding a consultation process to accompany the drafting of laws with an economic impact and ensuring transparency and efficacy of the legal system are decisive for boosting foreign direct investments in Romania, which are also one of the key factors of Romanian economic growth.
The 15 elected members of the new Board of Directors which will hold a mandate for the following year are the following (listed in alphabetical order):
Matteo CODAZZI, Country Manager, Enel Romania;
Dragos DINU, Chief Executive Officer, A&D Pharma;
Mariana GHEORGHE, Chief Executive Officer, Petrom;
Patrick GELIN, President & CEO, BRD Societe Generale;
Patrick LEONARD, Senior Partner, KPMG;
Olivier LLUANSI, Regional Manager, Saint-Gobain Glass;
Jose MEDRAN, General Manager, Procter & Gamble Marketing
Romania;
Richard MOAT, Chief Executive Officer, Orange Romania;
Veronica SAVANCIUC, President & CEO, Lowe & Partners;
Shachar SHAINE, President, United Breweries;
Wilhelm SIMONS, Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers;
Kurt STROHMAYER, General Manager, JW Marriott;
Jean VALVIS, President & General Manager, Dorna Lactate;
Markus WIRTH, Country Manager, Holcim;
and Gilbert WOOD, Managing Director, Hall Dickler.
The Board of Directors will elect its Executive team consisting of a President, two Vice Presidents and a Treasurer, during its next meeting which is scheduled to take place in the first week of June.
The Board of Directors will focus on channeling the FIC member companies` efforts and expertise to formulate recommendations for the improvement of the Romanian business environment, placing a particular emphasis on the challenges and opportunities arising from Romania`s EU membership.
The FIC`s Task Forces will enable the Board of Directors to maintain its direct collaboration with the representatives of the competent Ministries, such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Labor, Family and Equal Opportunities so that the issues identified by the FIC members may be discussed and resolved.
In the second part of the FIC`s General Assembly meeting, the members welcomed special guest speaker Mr. Eugen Dijmarescu, Vice Governor of the Romanian Central Bank. Mr. Dijmarescu made a brief presentation of Romania`s macro-economic and financial status both from the perspective of statistical data and of the analyses conducted by the National Bank, and of the most recent country reports published by the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank and other international financial institutions.
The Q&A session that followed brought into discussion issues which are of interest to the foreign companies doing business in Romania, including estimates of the exchange rate at the end of the year, the role of private pension funds in financing medium and long term investments, the way in which international financial developments will impact Romania, and the poor status of the Romanian infrastructure as a potential barrier to developing and attracting foreign investments.
The new Board of Directors will continue to promote market economy values and principles to improve the investment climate for the benefit of the entire Romanian business community.