Business Review Issue 26/2012 July 16 - 22

3Q: Marcello Bottoli, operating partner at investment fund Advent International, tells BR that he sees financial services, healthcare and retail as some of the most promising sectors in Eastern Europe, and Romania as well »page 3

ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY

JULY 16 - 22 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 26

EU FUNDING AUTHORITIES ARE LOOKING AT NOVEL WAYS TO IMPROVE ROMANIA’S CAPACITY TO ABSORB EU FUNDS AS WELL AS ITS ABILITY TO BETTER SPEND THE EU MONEY AWARDED »PAGE 12

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE FACING COMPLEX DIAGNOSIS Private healthcare providers are expanding their range with targeted services, while struggling to find dedicated staff »page 8

Photo: Mihai Constantineanu

NEWS

MONEY

CITY

PLUS

An eye on Romania

Unlocking the code

Spa for the course

Is somber film Oslo, 31st August the Norwegian Trainspotting? » page 14

The recent political spat has brought concerned reaction from EU officials, who are now closely watching the upcoming referendum

» page 4

A new series of deductible expenses and an increase in the VAT registration threshold are among the changes to the Fiscal Code effective from July

» pages 10

To escape the recession and the heat, stressed executives are in search of relaxation. Step forward the developing local spa scene

» page 13

Find out what’s on in town with BR’s cultural agenda » page 14

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

NEWS in brief AGRICULTURE Romania’s average wheat production down 20 percent this year

Bad weather has led to a decrease in average per hectare local wheat production of 20 percen t in 2012 y - o-y and an increase in producer prices during harvest time of 20- 25 percent, said representatives of the Cereals and Derivate Products Interprofessional Or ganization a t the end of a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, according to Agerpres.

While volumes have gone down, the quality of the har vested wheat is “unprecedented in the last 25 y ears”, according to the organization.

Good weather conditions made 2011 one of the best agricultural years in the past decade for the loca l economy. Romania’s agriculture posted a net output growth of 11.3 percent in 2011 and was one of the main sectors responsible for last year’s 2.5 percent GDP rise, according to the National Statistics Institute.

INVESTMENT ArcelorMittal Galati invests EUR 1.2 mln in hot flow unit

Steel mill ArcelorMittal Galati has completed an investment of EUR 1.2 million in two of its sintering machines, which included the buil ding of a quick lime injection unit. This allows the steel mill to u se c heaper o res w ithout a ffecting the quali ty of the hot metal, sa y officials.

The construction works were completed by a R omanian company in six months and the project design was provided b y spec ialists f rom Gala ti and sister units of the group . The new injection faci lity is no w operational and is expected to reduce costs by using an increased level of concentrates instead of expensive ores.

IT & TELECOM Gartner: global IT spending poised to surpass USD 3.6 trillion this year

Worldwide IT spendin g is on pace to reach USD 3.6 trillion in 2012, a 3 percent increase f rom 2011’s figure of USD 3.5 trillion, according to the latest outlook

by Gartner, Inc.. In contrast to the lackluster gro wth outlook for o verall IT spending, the firm expects en terprise spending on public cloud ser vices to grow from USD 91 billion worldwide in 2011 to USD 109 billion in 2012. By 2016, enterprise public cloud services spending will reach USD 207 billion.

Worldwide IT services spending is

forecast to reach U SD 86 4 billion in 2012, a 2. 3 per cen t increase from 2011.

The global telecom services market continues to be the lar gest IT spen ding market, set to reach U SD 1. 68 trillion this y ear. T elecom ser vices gro wth is expected to come not only f rom net connections, espec ially in emer ging markets, but also in ma ture mark ets from the uptake of multiple connected devices, such as media tablets, gaming and other consumer electronics devices.

MACRO Exports up 6 percent to RON 81 bln at 5 months

Romania’s FOB exports increased by 6 percent in the first five months of this year to RON 81 billion (EUR 18.5 billion) against the same period of last y ear, while CIF imports gained 5.1 percent to RON 96 .5 billion (EUR 22 billion), according to the National Statistics Institute.

The trade deficit widened by 0.6 percent to R ON 15.4 billion (EUR 3.5 billion) through to May. Romania’s intra-community exports stood at RON 57.7 billion (EUR 13.1 billion), while imports amounted to R ON 70 billion (EUR 16 billion), 71.1 percent of all exports and 72.9 percent of imports.

Machinery and transport equipment and other manufac tured g oods made up 41. 3 percen t and 34 percen t of all exports, ad ding to chemic al produc ts, raw materials, mineral fuels, food products, tobacco and beverages with around 6 percent each.

Inflation rate up to 2.04 percent in June

The annual inflation rate incr eased to 2.04 percent in June from 1.79 percent in the prev ious mon th, accor ding to the National Statistics Institute. Prices decreased by 0.04 percent due to falls in food and non-food produc ts of 0 .13 percent and 0 .10 percen t. M eanwhile, services gained 0.27 percent.

The a verage price inc rease in the last 1 2 m onths ( July 2 011- June 2 012) against the prev ious 12 mon ths was 3 percent, based on the price consumer index (CPI).

The National Bank of Romania targets an inflation rate of 3.2 percent by year end. The Association of Financial-Banking Analysts in R omania estimates inflation will reach 3.7 percent by the end of 2011.

ONLINE Card payment market set to grow by 30 percent this year

The mark et of online c ard pa yments will reach 5 million transac tions this

year, approximately 30 percen t u p on the prev ious year, according to representatives of Netopia mobilPa y. L ast year, there were 3.8 million card transactions.

Purchases on the internet are set to exceed EUR 250 million in value in 2012 while the a verage transac tion w ill amount to EUR 50. Last year, the market amounted to appro ximately EUR 200 million.

NEW S 3

3Q Marcello Bottoli Advent International

Digital market continues upward trend, predicted to reach EUR 65 mln

The total value of the Romanian digital market, which includes media in vestments in digital and mobile mark eting as well as fees paid to online communication agencies, is estimated to expand 21 percent to EUR 65 million, according to the second edition of the Digital FactBook by HyperActive. “The key words and trends that will mark 2012 are: video, mobile, social media and e- commerce,” said Alex Visa, managing partner at HyperActive.

Last year, the total value of the local digital market rose 30 percent on 2010, to EUR 52-55 million. M edia spending, which covered local suppliers of online media, the search mark et (includin g Google), and in ternational media suppliers (Yahoo.com, Facebook), reached EUR 34 million. Fees paid to local digital agencies, w hich i nclude s ervices i n strategy, cr eation, design, produc tion, social media and analytics, grew to EUR 12-13 million, while investments in mobile marketing were put a t EUR 7 million.

PROPERTY Real estate investments fell to seven-year low in H1 2012, says CBRE

Romania registered one of the lowest levels of real estate investment volume in the first half of this year since H1 2005, accor ding to CBRE R omania’s Property Investment Report for the period. Only two transactions were signed in H1, totalin g EUR 55 million. They were the sale of the 35, 000-sqm Nokia factory in Cluj to white goods producer De’Longhi and the purchase of the City Business Cen tre scheme in Timisoara

by NEPI. According to CBRE, investors continue to target the local market, but lack of financing and problems in the eurozone c ountries h ave m ade t hem risk averse.

The highest in vestment lev els in Central and Eastern Europe were registered in Russia and Poland. In the first half- year R ussia recor ded the lar gest investment v olume, a t o ver EUR 900 million.

Marcello Bottoli, Operating Partner, Advent International How is C EE perform ing compared to the BRICs? In my view Eastern Europe is another emerging region. It is more dev eloped than som e oth er re gions around th e world, but it’s still part of the emerging markets configuration. The returns in Eastern Europe are perfectly comparable to those that can be obtain ed in Latin America and Asia, with th e added advantage that cult urally, re gulatory wise there is more affinity between CEE and Western Europe than India and China.

What sectors are you targeting in Eastern Europe?

In general we target five sectors that are consistent across the world: general industrial, financial services, telecom and entertainment, h ealthcare and consumer and retail. The financial services, healthcare and retail se ctors are probably three of the most promising in Eastern Europe as well as in Romania. In Romania, we are present in almost all the sectors.

What type of compan y interests you?

What’s important for us really depends on sectors. In retail and consumer, what is important for us is that there is a brand that has consumer value at least in one country, in this case Romania, that there is a strong management team or entrepreneurs that are willing to partner with us and explore the possibility to grow.

Typically, we like situations where there is growth by expanding internationally. We are among those funds that are present on th e ground, so wh en it comes to international expansion we can offer things that other people can’t. ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro

4 NEW S TAX

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012 POLITICS

Local politicians continue to air dirty laundry abroad Companies could pay VAT only after invoices are paid

Taxing problems: the new measures are intended to promote growth

T

he g overnment w ill announce this week a series of measures mean t to foster economic growth, one of which will be the payment of VAT by sellers when invoices are c ashed and not when they are issued, as is presently the case, said PM Victor Ponta last week.

If implemented, the measure could apply only to companies with an annual turnover of less than EUR 500,000 and for invoices paid b y bank transfer and not cash. “We hope that on Monday we will be able to announce tha t the pa yment of VAT for in voices of up to EUR 500,000 w ill be made only when the bill is paid, pro vided that the pa yment is made through bank transfer , as otherwise i t w ould encourag e the black market,” said the PM. The initiative is expected to be beneficial for companies with liquidity problems as in the current economic context many complain they ha ve to pa y VAT for invoices which are often paid very late. “It is a measure which has been previously r equested b y t he b usiness environment as it allows an improved and m ore ac curate f orecast o f a c ompany’s liquidities. At present firms actually lend the sta te money until their invoices are paid as there is a gap between the V AT pa yment to the sta te, which is monthly, and cashing in the invoices which c an sometimes tak e three to four months if not longer,” said Dragos Nicolae, tax manag er at Accace Romania.

Overall, the measure could help economic growth, say businesspeople, but there are also concerns that in the short term it could reduce budget revenues.

Others ha ve complained tha t i t is not yet clear whether the measure applies to companies with an annual turnover that doesn’t exceed EUR 500,000 or for invoices of up to EUR 500,000 regardless of the company’s turnover.

The measure coul d be in troduced next month but it must be agreed w ith the IMF and the European Commission, said Ponta. ∫ Simona Bazavan

Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice

P

NL president Crin Antonescu became in terim presid ent o f Romania last w eek after Parliament suspended P resident Traian Basescu for breaching the constitution, but the shifting political sands of the last few w eeks ha ve raised concerns throughout the EU regarding the rule of la w and the democ ratic prac tices of the country’s government.

PM V ictor P onta w ent on a tw oday visit to Brussels last week to assure the EU heads that all decisions by the Constitutional Court (CCR) will be respected by the Romanian government and Parliament. The PM met with the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as well as the presidents of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and European Commission, Jose Manuel B arroso. Ponta also met the leader of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanishev.

“I was surprised tha t all the c ritics about R omania’s si tuation are too strong. I tol d Ponta that I am c ritical of some of his dec isions, but I was surprised that the European Counc il was too silen t, espec ially in 2009 , when President Basescu, after the parliamentary elec tions, refused to appoint a PM f rom the parliamen tary majority,” Schulz told a press conference.

Ponta tol d Van R ompuy tha t the political crisis in Romania should not be link ed to the S chengen accession process, which would make the country the eastern border of the EU from September.

The PM said that Romania had fulfilled all the conditions to join Schengen and that the political crisis in Romania w ould be resolv ed on J uly 29 , when the impeachmen t v ote is hel d.

Although P onta tried to reassure Brussels tha t R omania is respec ting democratic practices and is not trying to a ttack the judic iary or or ganize a coup as the opposition PDL has alleged, the European Commission (EC) wants

Mark Gitenstein, US ambassador to Romania a c lear p icture o f t he c ountry. T he government will submit documentation to the EC in a bid to answ er the questions raised b y Manuel B arroso.

“The EC president came with a concrete set of questions, which the government will answer tomorrow, when I return to Bucharest, which from my point of view will make it clear to the Commission and member sta tes that the rule of law and rules and European standards are guaranteed,” said Ponta, last Tuesday.

Ongoing concerns

The EU commissioner for justice, c itizenship and fundamen tal rights, Viviane Reding, said she was concerned about the v olatile poli tical si tuation in Romania.

“The si tuation is the pressure put on the judiciary, the limitation of the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court with all the implications this has and the removal of the ombudsman out side normal procedures. The ombudsman is the one who shoul d fight corruption,” said R eding ahead of her meeting w ith the R omanian justice minister Titus Corlatean.

Romania’s poli tical debacle esc alated on J uly 6 when MPs v oted to suspend Traian B asescu, after eigh t years in office. The president survived a similar attempt to oust him in 2007 , winning a landslide victory in the impeachment referendum.

The G erman chancellor , An gela Merkel, had a len gthy con versation with the president last Monday to find out more about the political situation, said the spokesman of the federal government in a press release. Merkel described as “unacceptable the situation where the rule of law is breached in an EU member state,” adding that she would support the EU in takin g all necessary measures. “I do not suppose that Mrs M erkel w ill vote on J uly 29,” responded Ponta.

Furthermore, the federal g overn-

Angela Merkel, German chancellor ment summoned the R omanian ambassador in G ermany. The Romanian official was informed tha t all the decisions of the Consti tutional Court (CCR) must be published and implemented, especially the one regarding the presidential impeachment.

Last w eek the CCR r uled the impeachment referendum w ill be valid if voter turnout exceeds 51 percent of the elec torate. PM P onta ask ed Parliament in a let ter to v ote on the referendum law in an extraordinary meeting. MPs w ill vote next week to align the referendum law and the CCR’s decision.

The US ambassador Mark Gitenstein warned that Romania may slip into a “very dan gerous consti tutional c risis” if the referendum is conducted without the provisions of the CCR ruling.

Traian Basescu kicked off his campaign last week with the message that he is not defending his position, but a European R omania tha t he began building w ith the sta te insti tutions and the public eight years ago.

The poli tical dev elopments seem to have left economic concerns in the shade, but R omania has to con tinue an extensive reform program under a EUR 5 billion agreement with the IMF, World B ank and the European Commission.

“We have a stand-b y agreement. It is still opera tional. The g overnment was clear about i t, so it is valid,” said Nemat Shafik, the IMF’s deputy managing director and acting chair, quoted

by R euters. “I think the poli tical issues w ill be trea ted separa tely. We are c oncentrating o n t he e conomic program.”

Recent political changes in Romania “could adv ersely affec t the economic stability and gro wth, and also t he country’s image on the in ternational markets,” warned Steven van Groningen, president of the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC). ∫ Ovidiu Posirca

NEW S 5

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

BUSINESS AGENDA

WHO’S NEWS BR welcomes information for Who’s News.

Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.

Get in touch at simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

Benoit Catel

is the new president of Volksbank Romania as of this month. He is replacing Johann Lurf who has stepped down from the position. Over the past 20 years Catel has amassed extensive professional experience in the banking industry, having spent the last ten years at Caisse d’Epargne. The French bank merged with Banque Populaire in 2009 creating the BPCE Group (Banque Populaire Caisse D’Epargne), which owns 24.5 percent of Volksbank Romania. Before coming to Romania, Catel led BPCE’s subsidiary in Reunion.

Carmen Georgescu

has been promoted to marketing manager of the Eastern Europe south cluster at Electrolux, responsible for coordinating the marketing activities of ten regional markets, including Romania. Her current role is marketing and communication manager at the company’s local branch, a position she has held since 1996. She holds a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from the Polytechnic University in Bucharest.

Christoph Binder

43, will be the new CEO of Porsche Finance Group starting August, replacing Alexander Nekolar. He comes to Bucharest having held the same position for six years at Porsche Bank Croatia. Binder has professional experience in business development and strategic management which he has gained working for Porsche Bank in France, Croatia and Columbia, and as an independent consultant. For three years he coordinated the project management department of Porsche Bank AG’s Competence Center in Salzburg. Binder holds a master’s degree in business management and a PhD in organizational psychology

from Innsbruck University.

Amit Kumar

32, is the new CEO of ArcelorMittal Hunedoara, replacing Remus Patan who has retired.

Kumar has over 11 years of professional experience in the steel industry. He began his career as production director at Bhilai Steel Plant in India and in 2008 he joined ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Europe as performance enhancement manager.

In 2011 he was appointed investment director at the long carbon division headquartered in Luxembourg.

Ufuk Tandogan

is the new general director of Garanti Group Romania, pending the approval of the central bank.

He is replacing Murat Atay who was appointed general director of Garanti Mortgage in Turkey. Tandogan has been working for Turkish Garanti for almost 25 years, and has extensive professional experience in the banking industry.

In 2006 he was appointed senior vice-president of commercial and corporate credits. He has also served as member on the board of directors of the Turkey credit office and that of Garanti Mortgage Turkey.

Alberto Bravo

has been appointed by Sonae Sierra as managing director responsible for property management in Romania, on top of his present position fulfilling the same role in Spain. He joined the company in Spain in 1999 as operations regional manager, and has held various positions since. Bravo has been head of property management for Sonae Sierra in Spain since 2009 and was also appointed managing director and country representative of the company in 2010. He has a law degree and a master’s degree in General Management from the London Business School. Before working for Sonae Sierra, he had been a real estate consultant since 1993.

July 17

10:30 JTI organizes an event to mark the launch of a new production line at its factory in Bucharest. By invitation only.

10:30 CEZ Group organizes a press conference to present its 2011 financial results at Hotel Epoque Cismigiu. By invitation only.

11:00 The Association of Young Entrepreneurs in Romania (PTIR) organizes a press conference on the support of youth opportunities through EU funds at the headquarters of the National Council of SMEs in Bucharest. By invitation only.

July 19-22

JADE Romania organizes the International Conference on Intrapreneurship at Mamaia resort.

September 12-15

BIFE, the International Fair of Furniture and Wood Products, Furniture Fittings, Interior Decorations, Machinery and Equipment for

Logging and Wood Processing, is organized at Romexpo Exhibition Center. By invitation only.

October 18

Linked Events and Renaud organize the Leaders in Marketing event in Bucharest. Marketing expert Tim McChesney, managing director of Innuvia Partners, will be a guest speaker.

Find out more at HYPERLINK "http://leadersinmarketing.ro/" http://leadersinmarketing.ro/.

September 12 - 15

Antique Market, the art objects and antiquities fair, is organized at the Romexpo Exhibition Center.

October 17 - 20

Tib, the Bucharest International Technical Fair, is organized at Romexpo Exhibition Center.

October 17 - 20

EEE-EXPO, the international fair for renewable energy, conventional energy, equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas, is organized at Romexpo Exhibition Center.

6 PRIVATE CLINICS

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

Private healthcare awaits shot in the arm

After meeting demand for basic service packages and establishing a footprint across Romania, private healthcare chains have understood that the key to future progress is to carve out a niche. Most of the new openings announced so far suggest that private players are trying to stand out from the competition by introducing new specializations on the market. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA Romanians a re g rowing i ncreasingly aware of the importance of going to the doctor, according to a survey carried out

by IMAS a t the request of M edLife.

While last y ear 58 percen t of respon-

dents to the survey had not undergone a r outine c heck- up, a nd o nly went t o the doctor when they had health issues, in the past y ear 75 percent of Romanians said that they went at least once to the doctor.

“The private medical services market is still ‘bathing in shallow waters’ while

the steps made to wards a high- functioning medical system are still ‘wavering’,” R obert Chi tan, direc tor of promotion and dev elopment a t Gral Medical, tells BR. “This is proven by the fact that private centers are still investing in diagnosis clinics , while pri vate hospitals offer accommoda tion and a

Private Healthcare Providers Healthcare Provider

Clients

Number of Clinics

Turnover for 2011

Euromedic*

N/A

N/A

Gral Medical

Corporate clients: 75,000 Patients: 850,000 N/A Over 1 million patients treated by the end of 2011

3 treatment and Diagnosis Centers 4 imagistic Diagnosis Centers 1 treatment and laboratory center 11 laboratories 13 clinics and specialized centers 16 clinics 7 medical clinics 7 laboratories 5 radiology and medical imagistic departments 20 medical centers and laboratories 11 clinics 1 hospital

N/A RON 34.6 million (approx.

EUR 8.1 million)

Hiperdia* Medas

Medcenter* Medicover

Medlife

Medsana Polisano*

Regina Maria*

Romar Medical* Sanador*

N/A Corporate and individual clients: over 100,000 from over 1,500 companies N/A Corporate clients: 200,000 Patients: over 1 million

9 hyper-clinics 8 laboratories/ test facilities 6 hospitals 3 maternities hospitals 28 general medical centers 8 excellence centers with unique specialties 6 pharmacies under the PharmaLife brand partnerships with 135 medical clinics 175,000 patients 3 medical centers partnerships with private clinics N/A 5 clinics 1 hospital 9 dialysis centers 2 in vitro fertilization centers Over 130,000 subscribed clients 18 polyclinics over 130 partner polyclinics 6 hospitals 3 maternities hospitals 3 medical campuses 5 imagistic centers 1 clinic laboratories division with 17 own centers 1 central stem cells bank N/A 3 diagnosis centers 15 medical centers 1 laboratory N/A 1 hospital 4 polyclinics 1 laboratory

EUR 15.2 million

N/A EUR 35 million

EUR 49 million

N/A N/A

N/A

N/A N/A

*Information on the companies’ websites, available before press time. For additions to the list, e-mail editorial@business-review.ro

Positive prognosis: industry players say that private rather small list of sur gical in terventions. Courage and strength to believe in forgotten spec ialties must be mustered, even though the argument of immediate gain discourag es entrepreneurs,” says Chitan.

Last year, the most in demand medical services by patients were lab analysis, sough t b y 22. 3 percen t of respondents, George Straton, president of the Rentrop&Straton Group, tells BR, based on a sur vey entitled Services of the Sta te and P rivate M edical Clinics , carried out between November 2011 and February 2012 b y the mark et research division of the R omanian-German group.

These w ere follo wed b y obstetrics and gynecology services, requested by 18.4 percent of respondents.

Last but not least, general medicine services were also in demand, required by 13.1 percent of respondents.

At the opposi te pole, the least needed medical services were surgery, neurology, dermatology and rheumatology.

Access to private medical services is among the most popular emplo yee perks.

The sur vey, which relies on consumers’ perceptions ra ther than on feedback f rom ac tors on the pri vate medical ser vices mark et, sho ws the main players last year were MedLife (as named by nearly a quarter of respondents), R egina Maria and S ynevo (15

PRIVATE CLINICS 7

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

private medical centers will attract more patients from the state sector in the future percent each), M edicover (9 percen t), Sanador (8 percent) and MedCenter (7 percent).

The uptake of private medical services by nearly half of the responden ts (42.6 percent) indic ates that a significant part of the urban popula tion prefers these to medic al services provided by the state.

However, most R omanians (5 7.4 percent) c ontinue t o a ttend s tateowned medic al uni ts to resolv e their health problems.

One reason is lack of money : last year, most of the res pondents who received treatment in medical state units went there for economic reasons.

According to Catalina Balan, general manager of M edicover Romania, tells BR that the main problem is “the lack of regulations that should give everyone the chance to obtain treatment at European standards, to choose their supplier of medical services based on the quality of the medic al procedures. At the moment, the majori ty are compelled to choose the state system, which is overwhelmed by the high demand and lacks the funds to provide the quality that patients need.”

People who earn in e xcess of EUR 500 per month would generally rather go to a pri vate clinic, while those who usually get treatment in state units tend to earn below this threshold.

“The market of medica l services will certainly steer towards the private sec-

tor. It is only a matter of time until private medic al ser vices ha ve the same coverage as those provided by the state.

At the same time, the number of patients will grow and this wi ll lead to a balance in costs and a drop in fees,” predict Medas representatives.

Private services carve out a niche

The lar gest pri vate medic al opera tor, MedLife, has opened a pediatric hospital and an orthopedic hospi tal in the past year, both of which are premieres in private medicine in Romania.

Additionally, MedLife opened D ermaLife (a Center of Excellence in Aesthetic D ermatology), a Cen ter of Excellence in Herniology and a Cen ter of Excellence in Thyroid Pathology.

“We a re n ow p reparing a n ew p remiere on the mark et – the first private emergency hospital in Romania. We are in the process of obtainin g authorizations,” MedLife representatives tell BR. To fuel this e xpansion, M edLife, which ended last year with a turnover of EUR 49 million, up 23 percent on the previous year, has already signed a contract for a syndic ated loan of EUR 40 million, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, member of World Bank Group, Erste Group and the Romanian Commercial Bank.

The loan is part of an in vestment program to be rolled out by 2015, which will also include M edLife’s own funds.

8 PRIVATE CLINICS

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012 The money w ill be used for e xpanding operations, opening new units, as well as making acquisitions.

“We are competing on a par with clinics in the W est. (...) Ov er the past five years, w e ha ve assisted wi th o ver 10,000 births and performed appro ximately 20 ,000 sur gical in terventions,” say MedLife representatives.

Another major player on the Romanian market, Medicover, part of a group present in Romania and seven other European coun tries, is also w orking on adding new specializations.

Medicover has performed for the first time gastric sleeve surgery for morbid obesity on a pa tient. The netw ork also performs laparoscopic trea tment, vaginal surgery and the e xtirpation of giant tumors, while preserving fertility.

Furthermore, the firm performs coblation procedures, a new method in the ORL medic al area which enables rapid and prec ise tissue remo val with little or no damag e to the surroundin g tissue.

The firm posted a turnover of EUR 35 million last y ear. “However, the c risis and in vestments in the new est Medicover hospi tal ha ve affec ted the EBITDA,” say company representatives.

In July 2011, Medicover inaugurated the Center for A dvanced Diagnosis in Bucharest, following a total investment of EUR 500,000, of which EUR 350,000 was spent on la test generation equipment.

The private chain also relocated the Medicover Pediatric Clinic to V ictoriei Square. Similarly, the Iasi clinic was relocated to a cen tral location, following EUR 300,000 of investments into new equipment and hirin g 20 new ph ysicians.

In January, the M edicover hospital, which comprises three opera ting theaters, tw o deli very sui tes, a pre- and post-surgery room and medical imagistics (CT, MRI, mammography and radiology), was inaugura ted follo wing an investment of EUR 20 million.

Another importan t pla yer on the market of private medical services, Gral Medical, has managed to implement intensity modula ted radia tion therap y (IMRT), unique in Romania. A year earlier, the company introduced 3-D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT).

Gral M edical, which posted a turnover of EUR 15.2 million last y ear and estimates a 30 percen t growth for 2012, runs a network of 24 centers – clinics, specialized centers and laboratories.

Last year, the network added four new clinics, loc ated in F ocsani, P itesti, Ploiesti and Craiova.

“Starting this year, we want to enlarge the netw ork of Gral cen ters to all the major c ities in R omania, while in the capital we will open the biggest fully automated laboratory. Towards the end of the year, we will enlarge the radio-therapy section of the OncoF ort center by endowing it with ultra high-performing equipment,” says Chitan.

For development plans in 2012, Gral Medical has allocated an investment budget of o ver EUR 3 million f rom its

own resources.

Last year, Medsana focused on prevention, launchin g programs such as LadyCare (with the variant LadyCare+ for women over 40) for the p revention of cervical cancer, breast c ancer and a series of gynecological conditions. The NutriCare program aims to help prevent obesity, diabetes and metabolic diseases, while the C ardio C are program aims to counter cardio- vascular diseases. Last but not least, M edsana also offers the P regnancy Step by Step pro gram, a package of lab analyses for each of the pregnancy trimesters.

The network has developed its range of medical tests by including more complex lab e xaminations ( especially g enetic).

“In the current economic context, our company has postponed many of its expansion plans, including the projec t to open a g eneralist hospital following a prudent investment strategy imposed by our group,” Vassilis Chaniotis, general manager of Medsana Medical Center, tells BR. The network will expand its range of medical services. “These investments would involve, according to our calculations, a budget of approximately EUR 30 million,” Chaniotis says, adding that the network has the necessar y finance available but is waiting for the right time to move.

Medas, which posted a turno ver of RON 34.5 million (EUR 8.1 million), up 46 percen t on the prev ious y ear, has also announced plans for new openings and specializations. “We estimate an investment of EUR 20 million for the new projects that we will begin. When possible, we will use non-reimbursable European funds for dedic ated projec ts,” say Medas representatives.

First and foremost, the chain wi ll soon open a hospi tal for the sur gical treatment of uro - genital condi tions, with an in vestment of appro ximately EUR 4 million. The uni t will have over 100 employees and 40 beds for continuous hospitalization.

“By the end of 2012 w e aim to open another hospital about which w e wi ll give more details when the time is right,” say Medas representatives.

At the end of June, the private chain opened its first niche clinic, Medas Feminis, specialized in materno-fetal medicine.

Meanwhile, the clinic Medas Unirea will include an out -patient section for diabetes sufferers.

In August, Medas will also open a clinic dedicated to alternative and complementary medic ine which wi ll pro vide na tural and homeopa thic treatments, acupuncture, reflexo-therapy, bioresonance, aromatherapy, therapeutic and relaxation massage.

“We are about to start a campaign to expand to other locations where we will be present with medic al analysis labs and spec ialty ambula tory ser vices,” Medas representatives say.

Last year Renasterea Foundation, an organization which has been in volved in fighting breast cancer in Romania for

PRIVATE CLINICS 9

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012 more than ten years, opened a Medical Center for Excellence in diagnosis following an investment of EUR 2.3 million, out of which EUR 1. 85 million c ame through a n E EA g rant. R enasterea Foundation co-financed the center with EUR 345,000.

The center has a Digital Mammography Siemens Mammomat Inspiration, a high-tech piece of equipmen t with the lowest radia tion lev el, the first of its kind in Romania. One of the added values of the center is its anatomo-pathology and imunohistochemistr y lab .

Equipped wi th advanced technolog y units, the lab can provide an identification of the type of c ancer cell in less than 75 minutes. Usually , this kind of procedure takes several days.

The reading of the samples is d one with a Zeiss digital microscope that enables the transmission of imag es for second- opinion readin g f rom c ancer specialists w orking wi th the V iennabased AKH clinic and the Anadoul-Istanbul one, with which the center has institutional agreements.

High expenses and challenges

One of the bigg est expenses budgeted by private networks in expansion is acquiring new equipment. According to MedLife, the highest costs in the net work are the investments in the latest generation technology.

“We have in our network 3T MRI, digital mammographies, multi- slice CT , digital radiology, high- performance lasers for ORL ( oto-rhino-laryngology) and derma tology and the Emax pla tform w e ha ve a vailable in D ermaLife center is unique in R omania,” sa y MedLife representatives.

So far, the steepest costs iden tified by the Gral Medical representative is acquisitions, because these are accompanied by the takeover of the medical staff, rebranding and adjusting procedures to the new standards, which is expensive.

Meanwhile, the ongoing costs of the continued moderniza tion of e xisting clinics c annot be o verlooked, ad ds Chaniotis.

Against the background of the constant e xpansion of the pri vate chains, there is a health workforce crisis in Romania which bodes badly for the EU as well.

Lack of health professionals pose an acute problem for policy makers in Romania as a result of risin g migra tion after EU accession, the economic c risis, and inadequate planning and management, Adriana Galan, of the National Institute of Public Health, said during the Romania-Bulgaria Healthcare and Medical Conference tha t took place last week.

A major cost tha t is for gotten by many players is that of a specialized medical team, Chitan points out.

“While pri vate netw orks often acquire medical equipment, the medic al staff is not specialized outside the country,” he adds.

Medics in Romania are inc reasingly dissatisfied and unmotivated, wi th

lower salaries (after 25 percen t salar y cuts in 2010), the threat of unemployment due to hospital sector reform, and low social status, said Galan.

In fact, staff costs are always cited by private medical chains as being among the highest expenses. “From an operational standpoint, our highest cost is the personnel – a highly reputed medic al team, together with the middle and administrative staff, means higher costs,” says Chaniotis.

In the last ten y ears, the number of applicants to medic al universities has fallen from seven-eight candidates per position to only 0 .9 candidates per position a t the M edical Sc hool in Bucharest, said Galan.

Romania is basically a source country a t the momen t. F rance, Ge rmany, Italy and the UK seem to be the favorite destination coun tries, mainly due to their ac tive rec ruiting polic ies. The most sought after medic al spec ialties abroad are family medic ine, intensive

care, emer gency c are and psy chiatry, says Galan.

To counterbalance the drain of medical staff, Romania is offerin g medical school scholarships for students from the Republic of Moldova, who are most likely to practice in Romania after graduation.

At the momen t, there are imbalances in the geographical distribution of physicians. M ost medics , espec ially physicians, are concentrated in the big university cities – Bucharest, ClujNapoca, Iasi and Timisoara – and in the most economically developed regions.

The situation is ev en worse in primary healthcare, where rural dwellers have the most trouble accessin g medical care due to fac tors such as migration and urbaniza tion, popula tion ageing and the age of doctors.

Players on the private medical services market offer their perspective: “The so - called ‘ exodus of medics ’ – which is real – is not as extensive as be-

lieved. F urthermore, the soc io- economic condi tions in other European countries ha ve changed radic ally and have seen many of those who left threefour years ago come back,” say Medas representatives.

The positive side to this is tha t they are coming with new and innovative experience in medical care. The less positive side for Romanian employers is that the price of the labor force has increased as a result of this professional e xperience gained abroad, they say.

“Problems in personnel rec ruitment exist even in times of economic c alm, but are even worse in times of crisis like this. The advantage of the private medical system is that it is highly malleable and adaptable to the current economic conditions and we manage to cope better than the state system where inertia acts as a significant break,” say Medas representatives. otilia.haraga@business-review.ro

MONEY 11

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

Fiscal Code rings the changes

∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA The VAT deduction right related to the purchase, intra-community acquisition, import, rental or leasing of road vehicles, as well as VAT related to the acquisition of road vehicles that are used for purposes other than economic ac tivities, has been limited to 50 percent, according to Mihaela Mi troi, partner , fiscal consultancy, a t professional ser vices firm PwC Romania. She added that an exemption from this provision has been made to v ehicles used for emer gency services or passenger transport.

This also applies to acquisitions for which payment is made in advance before July 1 but the delivery of goods and services tak es place thereafter . Ex -

penses incurred through such v ehicles are 50 percent deductible for profit and income ( from independen t ac tivities) tax purposes.

Another major amendment is the increase of the threshold for the applica tion of the special exemption regime for small companies f rom EUR 35, 000 to EUR 6 5,000, or f rom R ON 119 ,000 to RON 220 ,000, accor ding to B ogdan Voinescu, tax partner at Musat & Asociatii Tax Advisory.

“At least theoretically, this new provision will have a positive impact on taxpayers whose annual turno ver is less than EUR 65,000, given that they would not be required to submit VAT declarations or acquisitions/sales ledgers and would not be subject to tax audits in this respect,” said Voinescu. However, this

Photo: Mihai Constantineanu

The deductibility of expenses related to vehicles, as well as the increase of the VAT registration threshold to EUR 65,000 for individuals established in Romania and the deductibility of provisions for receivables are the main changes that have come into force in the Fiscal Code as of July 1.

Tax specialists are keeping an eye on the changes made to the Fiscal Code doesn’t allow the deduction of the input VAT rela ted to acquisi tions made for business purposes.

“This change was aimed a t reducing the number of people registered for VAT purposes to impro ve the tax administration and fight tax evasion, ” said Mitroi of PwC. A measure long supported by business or ganizations was the introduction of provisions related to the assignment of receivables.

“Provisions/adjustments for the depreciation of receivables that were acquired from credit institutions for the purpose of bein g collec ted, are deductible for the difference between the

receivables’ value and the amoun t due to the assignee, if they are assigned and registered in the books of the assignee after July 1, are not transferred between related parties and were included in the taxable income of the assignee, ” said Mitroi.

Alin Chi tu, tax senior manag er a t Tuca Zbarcea & Asoc iatii Tax, said this facility would apply to assignments registered in 2013, but ad ded that the limiting of adjusting deductibility only for credit institutions makes it discriminatory. ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro

12 FOCUS

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

Eyes on the prize: companies must face delays and red tape in order to access coveted EU funds

Romania halfway to 20 percent EU fund 2012 absorption target

agreement on things and different interpretations of the same ma tter between the various institutions, be they management authorities, audit authorities or ev en the European Commission,” said Orban.

The process of standardizing procedures will continue and, in addition to this, the coun try’s P rocurement A uthority (ANRMAP) will ask the government to raise the minimum projec t value at which holding public procurement p rocedures b ecome m andatory, said authori ty presiden t Luc ian Dan Vladescu. This level is currently EUR 15,000 and has remained unchan ged over the past six years.

As for pri vate acquisi tions, i t has gotten to the point where procedures have become as comple x as for public acquisitions, said Orban. “ This is why it must be simplified. We have already begun this but i t is not enough. D etailed evaluations are necessary for all structures involved and unnecessar y procedures should be eliminated,” he urged. Orban ad ded that such procedures are preferr ed as they represent coverage for the authori ties involved but in reality they make it hard to see what the real problems are in the process of accessing funds.

Given this context, numerous projects for which financing was obtained as early as 2008 ha ven’t actually been implemented, thus leading to a blockage of funds. Whether these projec ts stand a chance of bein g implemented by 2015 wi ll be assessed b y the end of September, said Orban. The money that will be taken back from the failed projects will be used to finance others for which demand for fundin g e xceeded the money available.

At the eleventh hour Romania is struggling to absorb as many EU funds as possible, in the face of unresolved issues such as dense and constantly changing procedures and overworked and unmotivated public workers. As the 2014-2020 multiannual fi- Looking forward to nancial framework is approaching, the authorities are also pondering new concepts 2014-2020 Negotiations for the multiannual fisuch as the better spending of EU funds, in addition to their actual volume. nancial framework for 2014-2020 are in ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN While over 70 percent of the EU funding available for Romania for 2007-2013 has been contracted, which makes for a “satisfactory, if not good, percentage”, the actual absorption rate is well below that level, revealed the minister of European affairs, L eonard Orban, last week at the Mediafax Talks about European Funds conference.

This y ear the authori ties ha ve set the tar get to inc rease the absorption rate to a minimum of 20 percent from the existing 10 percent. By comparison, the absorption ra te was only 3. 7 percent before the establishmen t of the Ministry of European Affairs in S eptember last year said Orban.

The best absorption rates are in the area of regional development and agriculture. However, despite isolated successes, o verall R omania risks a disengagement of EUR 952 million this year, the highest being for the Operational Program Increase of E conomic Competitiveness. At present four out

of the seven operational programs are being audited by the EU, with Romania risking the suspension of payments.

The disc repancy between the tw o indicators – the accession and the absorption rate – stems f rom many factors, one of the most importan t being the beneficiaries’ difficulty in coming up with the money to co -finance the projects. B anks are essen tial in the process but only a few ha ve come up with produc ts for clien ts w ith EUfunded projects, said the European affairs minister.

On the other hand, the consensus of the beneficiaries of EU funds is that the reimbursement of pa yments is constantly delayed by ever changing conditions and requests f rom the authorities, said Dan Barna, managing partner at Structural Consulting Group.

“Our s ite, w ww.fonduri- structurale.ro, has some 5, 000- 6,000 v isitors and their general feeling c an be summed up in three w ords: confusion, bew ilderment and disappointment,” he said.

Management authorities constantly request more doc umentation f rom the

beneficiaries but in man y c ases i t is physically impossible for the public workers to actually check all the papers they receive, stressed Barna.

Orban admits the char ge and sa ys that despite the deadline to process reimbursement requests in 4 5 working days, there are delays. The main cause of this and other issues in the system is lack of sufficient personnel and sometimes even lack of expertise. Wage cuts in the public sec tor have driven many specialists to search for work in the private sector or even leave the country.

“We have reached the p oint where we are suffoc ating beneficiaries w ith all sorts of requests, each more absurd than the one before, and w e see tha t this increasingly dissuades them from considering accessing EU funds,” said Orban.

One of the main difficulties Romanian beneficiaries face in a ttracting EU funds is the ma tter of acquisitions, be they public or private, said the minister.

“I recently met with beneficiaries, several ma yors, who reproached me exactly for this – the lack of a uni tary

full swing said Orban. “ The European Commission’s proposition satisfies us, both in terms of the fundin g available and the procedures,” he stated.

Romania must learn f rom its experience so far and come up w ith solutions in or der to not repea t the same mistakes.

A stronger coordination system and changes to the HR policy in order to better moti vate public w orkers must be applied, thinks Orban.

And this time around, there is also hope that better coordination between the numerous individual structures involved in the accession of EU funds, but also within the government, could result in coherent development strategies. This coul d lead to the bet ter spending of EU money instead of concentrating solely on the amoun t of funds absorbed.

“We wanted very much absorption without paying too much a ttention to the quali ty of the projec ts. W e ha ve often acted on a first come, first served basis,” admitted Orban. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

CITY 13

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012 WELLNESS

Massage services and posh baths are among the many options on offer at the modern spa complex So spa, so good: stressed executives seek relaxation at the growing number of spa facilities available

Spa centers spring into local leisure choices When our Latin forebears said “sanitas per aquam”, they knew that looking and feeling good was both an art and a science, where water plays the main role. So the ancients invented spas, where hot and cold springs were held to offer physical and spiritual purification. The same thing happens nowadays, with the difference that behind every spring transformed into a five-star resort there is a focus on financial as well as physical results. ∫ OANA VASILIU Spas around the w orld offer promises of relaxa tion through tradi tional or contemporary herbal medic ine, spiritual medi tation, massag e and other healing arts. Heat is an important ingredient, as saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzis and hot rock massag es mak e v isitors relax, sw eat and deto xify, and dra w blood to the surface. But while hea t is said to boost relaxation and detoxification, the benefits of ice therapy for better c irculation and reduced inflammation of muscles and join ts have been tested with success and have spread worldwide. The traditional hot and col d trea tments used in spas are still firm favorites among spa goers, but new trends arrive every year.

2012 trends in the spa business, according to SpaFinder, a company that forecasts the emerging concepts set to shape the spa scene ne xt year, should

encourage spa o wners to foc us on healthy feet trea tments, col d and ice treatments, wellness and beauty coaching, online wellness gaming, pairing fine dining and spa v isits, v ibration, sound, music, light and color therapies, glamour, showing the sc ience behind the spa, the spa as a family v enue and the “ wow” fac tor. In this business, the greatest challenges spas face is the pursuit of differentiation and profitability, and these trends can make a difference in clients’ eyes. Spa goers have a lot of choice so they do not ha ve to settle for a verage or or dinary e xperiences.

In Romania, thanks to the sprin gs that c an be found mostly in the Carpathian Mountains, the spa industry has existed since anc ient times.

Today, the Romanian spa industry is divided in to rela xation, medic al, hot el, wellness, balneo and resort branches.

Although the economic c risis has laid waste to many fields of ac tivity in Ro-

mania since 2008 , the spa industr y seems to be in rude health: according to desprespa.ro, a website specialized in the local spa and w ellness market, the number of male clients of spas has risen to 36 percent and international luxury spa brands are w illing to invest in Romania, as is ev ident in the openin g of the Buddhabar – BuddhattitudeSPA. Reflecting the expansion of the industry, services such as special vouchers and giftc ards through the desprespa.ro website can be purchased and clients can go online to book spa visits in R omania, F rance, Dubai or Qatar, the countries with promotional offers on the w ebsite. Although spa services are considered an alterna tive form of relaxation more than of medicinal benefit, more and more offers for healing are now being promoted.

Detox makes clean swe ep of market

In the wellness industry, it seems that

detox diets are the new big thing worldwide. Famous Hollywood actors, public figures and businesspeople regularly attend detoxification centers to purif y their bodies.

With spas so common these da ys and their services familiar to many, this new i ndustry p romises n ew w ays t o cleanse y our body more efficiently, using plants and herbs in particular.

The technological boom this century has left the en vironment v isibly polluted, w ith t oxins i n t he a ir w e breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Detox proponents say this pollution tests our na tural self- cleansing process which c an no lon ger fully eliminate the toxins from the body, depositing them in the colon. These deposits, which buil d up in the human body, stop people losin g w eight, even if they ea t sensibly and e xercise.

Moreover, sa y deto x spec ialists, i f the toxins in the colon are tolerated by the or ganism, they en ter in to the bloodstream, affect ing the immune system, and may lead to diseases and accelerated ageing. This is the main reason why people shoul d detox at least once a year, some industry players recommend.

Though there is no medical consensus, some claim tha t a deto x diet c an help prevent chronics diseases such as cancer, diabetes, fa tigue and arthri tis, as well as effecting visible changes: safe and fast weight loss, clearer and more radiant skin, impro ved ener gy lev els, healthier digestion and improved regularity of bowel movements and brighter eyes. oana.vasiliu@business-review.ro

14 CITY

www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 16 - 22, 2012

CULTURAL EVENTS PERFORMANCE Magic Summer Festival July 18, 19.00 Romanian Athenaeum

OUTDOOR Bucharest Baneasa Airport Air Show July 21-22, Bucharest Baneasa Airport

Oslo, 31st August

Royal Horse Show Jumping July 19-22, Piccadilly Riding Club 542 Bucharest-Ploiesti Drive between Saftica and Tancabesti villages

Thirty horseback riding clubs with approximately 120 competitors will attend the national Royal Horse Show Jumping contest.

For four days, participants will compete in more than 15 different tests.

MUSIC Roxette – The Neverending Tour July 19, 20.00 Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca

The biggest air show ever to take place in Romania will be held at the Bucharest Baneasa International Airport, accompanied by a general aviation exhibition. Two of the most famous aerobatic aviation teams – Frecce Tricolori (Italy) and Turkish Stars (Turkey) – will be in Bucharest for the first time for the event.

Swedish pop band Roxette return to Romania for a second concert one year after their first gig in the country, this time in Cluj-Napoca.

In a career going back nearly 25 years Roxette have so far sold 75 million albums. Their hits include The Look, Listen to Your Heart, It Must Have Been Love and Joyride.

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALIST Otilia Haraga JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Ovidiu Posirca, Oana Vasiliu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anda Sebesi ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTO EDITOR: Mihai Constantineanu PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatric e Gheorghiu

Courtesy of Independenta Film

Famous pianist Valentin Gheorghiu invites lovers of classical music to enjoy compositions by Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, F. Liszt, Rachmaninov, Dvorak and Enescu in the Grand Hall of the Athenaeum. Gheorghiu will be accompanied by musicians Roxana and Valentina Gheorghiu as well as Gabriel Croitoru and Marin Cazacu.

FILM REVIEW

O-slo motion: Anders Danielsen Lie plays a recovering addict wandering the city

Choose life. Choose a job . Choose a ca reer. Choose a family. Or choose drifting around Oslo, drinking coffee in tasteful cafes, discussing the alienation of modern life wi th y our f riends and ha ving meaningless sexual encounters.

Protagonist Anders chooses the la tter in this Norwegian post-Trainspotting study of middle-class drug addiction – though with none of the jok es and excesses of the iconic Sc ottish film. It opens with a montage of shots of O slo, accompanied b y v oiceovers of adults sharing childhood memories and impressions. This nostalgia sets a melancholic tone that characterizes the film.

The stor y follo ws Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), a thirty-something recovering junkie. On the surface, thin gs are looking up: Anders is clean, close to finishing rehab and even has a job interview at a magazine, for which he ma y leave the rehab facility for the day.

But the horrors of addiction (none of which are depicted here) have been re-

placed by numbness and disaffec tion.

Sober, Anders is cut off from everything and cannot engage with the w orld. In this state he meanders through the city, an early suicide attempt and a flirtation with a pretty student no more affecting than the witterings of strangers.

Filmmaker Joachim Trier obser ves from a distance, w ithout judging. The movie doesn’t condemn or glamorize drugs, making it a different animal from more shocking addiction films such as Requiem for a Dream. Nor does i t seek to explain why Anders is where he is: his comfortable background is not suggestive of traumatic experiences. Trier seems more in terested in the modern condition. No , Anders isn ’t “happ y”.

But his old party pal Thomas (Hans Olav Brenner), no w married wi th chil dren and a successful c areer, doesn’t seem much happier with his own lot, confessing his ennui to his friend.

Is this just another day in the desperate life of an ad dict? Or is this Anders’ s last day, a half-hearted attempt to tie up loose ends before he checks out? W e don’t kno w; nor , i t appears, does he (why bother wi th a job in terview if you’re set on killing yourself?). But the contrast between Anders’ lonely hopelessness and the clean and pretty depiction of Oslo adds to the haunting nature of this mature and somber film.

PUBLISHER Anca Ionita EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi MARKETING MANAGER Ana-Maria Stanca SALES & EVENTS Ana-Maria Nedelcu RESEARCH Catalina Costiuc SUBSCRIPTION Lili Voineag PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRI BUTIONEugen Musat

PUBLISHER Bloc Notes Media ADDRESS No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3 Bucharest, Romania LANDLINE Editorial: 031.040.09.32 Office: 031.040.09.31 EMAILS Editorial: editorial@business-review.ro Sales: sales@business-review.ro Events: events@business-review.ro

DEBBIE STOWE Director: Joachim Trier Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Grand Cinema Digiplex Baneasa, Hollywood Multiplex, Sala Elvira Popescu