3Q: Aris Karousos, retail chain division director at Germanos and Cosmote
MAPPING PROJECT
Romania, says the country has just started to see the explosion of smartphone sales, with the segment offering ample potential to retailers »page 3
ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY
REAL ESTATE INVESTORS COULD GET A BETTER VIEW OF THE PROPERTY MARKET ONCE A PROJECT BY THE CADASTRE AGENCY TO IMPROVE HOW IT PRODUCES GEOGRAPHICAL INFO KICKS IN »PAGE 10
November 21 - 27, 2011 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 41
NEWS
New kid on the block Austrian IT&C player Kapsch has entered the local market with plans to invest between EUR 7 and 10 million over the next three years » page 6 NEWS
Public meets private The new healthcare law could facilitate the entrance of private insurers into an area dominated by public bodies » page 7 LINKS
Legal bundle As an EU member, Romania needs to align its telecom legislation to the bloc’s rules » page 12 PLUS Evocative sculptor Mircea Roman’s new exhibition » page 14
NEW LOOK FOR OLD TOWN Photo: Laurentiu Obae
Bucharest’s Old Center has piqued the interest of investors in the leisure segment, but pundits say the presence of fashion retailers and other businesses could increase as renovation works in the area are due to be finished by the end of next year »page 8
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
3Q Aris Karousos
NEWS 3
NEWS in brief BANKING UniCredit Tiriac Q3 profit down 43 percent to RON 122 mln
Retail chain division director, Germanos and Cosmote Romania What is the average investment in a Germanos store? The concept works like this: we get the store ready and give the key to the potential franchisee. The only thing he has to invest in is buying some products and of course paying back part of our investment, but this happens through a franchise fee, in installments. With this fee, and besides products they have to buy, what they get is the store ready, free transportation of goods from the central warehouses to the store, free advertising and free catalogues. The concept is set up in such a way that financially speaking, a small-medium businessperson can afford it. The only requirement that makes a difference is that the franchisee must work inside the store. It is a must. The franchise fee really depends on the area and can start from EUR 500 per month. Are you considering new acquisitions to expand your footprint? We did that before we became part of the Cosmote group. Part of our growth was also buying two small networks in 2007 and 2008. Right now, there are no small independent retailers that could be of interest to us. We are perfectly fine with the distribution of our network in the country. Germanos Romania had more than 220 stores nationwide at the end of September. In Bucharest we have 40 stores, in Cluj we have 5, in Iasi 7 and in Timisoara 6. I think 30 percent of our network is in rural areas. For the time being, we do not think it is urgent for us to invest in remodeling the stores. So we do not have this planned in the coming six months. Currently, Germanos has over 1,000 employees. What are the main revenue-generating units for Germanos? Mobile telephony and related aspects play the major role. For us, mobile telephony means handsets, services and some other categories such as the repairs center and accessories. The smartphone segment is growing a lot. It is a fresh product category and extremely dynamic. The smartphone explosion in Romania started less than a year ago, so it has a long way to go. . otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
The net profit of UniCredit Tiriac Bank, which has assets worth EUR 5 billion, totaled RON 122 million in Q3, is 43 percent down on the same period of 2010. Under local accounting standards (RAS), net profit was RON 153 million in the same period. Banking income fell to RON 916 million (EUR 218 million) in the first nine months of 2011, a 10.4 percent reduction on the same period of 2010. This was attributable to regulation and accounting adjustments that were implemented last year. Eliminating these adjustments, UniCredit had gained 1 percent in banking income by end-September. The percentage of provisions within the loans portfolio totaled 6.6 percent. The loans value on the balance sheets increased by 16.5 percent to RON 15.5 billion (EUR 3.6 billion) at end-September 2011, compared to the same period of 2010, while customer deposits reached RON 9.9 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) during the period. The bank’s assets registered an annual growth rate of 7 percent, reaching RON 21.6 billion (EUR 5 billion).
BCR to increase share capital, no BSE listing in sight The general assembly of BCR shareholders last week approved an increase of the share capital from RON 1.08 billion to a maximum of RON 1.7 billion, through the issuance of around 6 million new shares with a nominal value of RON 0.1 per share. The new shares will be available for subscription to all BCR shareholders at this price. The shareholders’ assembly did not approve starting legal procedures for the listing of BCR shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). BCR, the leading bank in Romania with a 20 percent market share and assets totaling EUR 17 billion, reported a decline in net profit of 86.3 percent to EUR 16.1 million, in the first nine months of 2011.
PROPERTY NEPI enters joint venture for development of Victoria City Center in Bucharest New Europe Property Investments (NEPI), Benevo Capital and CD Capital have formed a joint venture to develop the 56,000 sqm of lettable area that makes up Victoria City Center. The shopping center is located on Bucurestii Noi Boulevard in Bucharest. The project stands on a site of 52,230 sqm and will feature a 4,500-sqm food anchor (the first in Bucharest) and more than 32,000 sqm of local and international fashion and related tenants. Victoria City Center will also boast sports, home appliances, home decoration and health and beauty outlets, as well as an 8,000sqm rooftop entertainment zone featuring cinemas, restaurants, bars and pubs
and a health club, amongst other facilities.
Fribourg Development puts EUR 20 million into first phase of Cluj technology park Fribourg Development has allotted EUR 20 million to developing the first phase of the Liberty Center Technological Park. The project will transform the former Libertatea plant in Cluj into an office, residential and public space. The 45,000-sqm space given over to the project is close to Cluj city center. The first two stages are expected to be functional within three years. They entail the development of office space with a dedicated surface of 22,000 sqm, including an area for SMEs. The public space in the project will include exhibition centers, sports centers, food & beverage areas and a medical facility. The green areas are expected to cover 17,000 sqm, while the residential zone should take up 2,000 sqm.
Construction output up 2.5 percent in Q3 Romania’s construction output gained 2.5 percent in Q3, compared to the previous quarter, according to data from Eurostat. The EU 27 average change was 1.5 percent in the same period. Statistical data also show Romania gained 1.3 percent in output in September compared to the previous month. In the same period, output dropped by an average 1 percent in the EU 27. Romania's building output gained 7.4 percent in Q3 compared to the same period of 2010, while the increase recorded in September 2011 versus September 2010 is 2.8 percent. The average values in the EU 27 are 1.6 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.
TELECOM Romanian Railways to implement rail traffic management system The Romanian Railways has signed a contract worth EUR 37.2 million (RON 161.94 million), not including VAT, with Thales Germany and Thales Romania, Siemens Romania, Nokia Siemens Finland and Nokia Siemens Romania, according to Mediafax newswire. The object of the contract will be to implement the European Rail Traffic Management System on the Buftea-Crivina route. It will be rolled out over a period of 54 months, of which 24 will consist of the design and execution works and the remaining 30 will be warranty months.
Samsung invests EUR 200,000 in Bucharest service center Samsung Electronics and Electronics Support Division (ESD), a company specialized in after-sales services, opened last month in Bucharest Samsung Plaza, the largest service center in Romania, covering 1,200 sqm. The facility is located on 7 Iuliu Maniu Boulevard and is open from Monday to Saturday. It required an investment of EUR 200,000.
WEEK in numbers
4.4 percent is the economic growth reported by the National Statistics Institute (INS) for 3Q, compared with the same period of last year. The figure is 1.9 percent up on the second quarter of the year
The new center is based on the all-inone concept, offering a complete range of services for products in the Samsung portfolio such as mobile phones, notebooks, television sets and home appliances.
HP GeBOC center in Romania reaches 3,100 employees, will hire up to 600 more next year The Hewlett-Packard (HP) Global eBusiness Operation Centre (GeBOC) in Romania, which was founded in 2005, reached 3,100 employees in October, announced the company in a press release. Up to 600 people are recruited by the center every year, and this rate of hiring is expected to continue. The GeBOC center provides assistance to HP entities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A project on security and safety at the workplace, which targeted over 1,000 employees, has been implemented at the center, financed mainly by the European Social Fund, via the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, but also using the company’s funds. The total value of the project was EUR 130,000.
Romtelecom headcount falls to 7,421 The total headcount at Romtelecom and its subsidiaries fell to 7,421 in September, down from 9,192 a year earlier, according to a financial report by the operator’s parent company, Greek group OTE. “Romtelecom pursued its downsizing and migration to a more flexible, cost-effective operating model. As a result, operating expenses (excluding D&A and one-off costs) were down 11 percent in Q3 2011, notwithstanding higher customer acquisition related costs, such as TV content. Payroll and benefits were down 23 percent, due to the improvements in operating efficiency and voluntary leave programs,” reads the report.
INDUSTRY Tenaris opens USD 5 million services center in Ploiesti Tubes and related services provider Tenaris has opened a USD 5 million serv-
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
4 NEWS
NEWS in brief ices center in Ploiesti to serve its clients in the oil and gas industry. The center is located inside the Ploiesti industrial park and provides vendor managed inventory VMI services for OMV Petrom and other companies in the energy sector. Tenaris entered the Romanian market in 2004 with its then subsidiary Silcotub SA. The company has invested USD 150 million since then in its production facilities and technology upgrades. Its plans for 2011-2013 include another USD 150 million of investments. The main investment targets are the building of a new facility for oil pipes (OCTG) and a new line for pipes used in the energy industry.
RETAIL
on the Romanian chocolate market, has announced that it will buy competitor Supreme Chocolat, the third largest player. Kandia Dulce is owned by the Austrian Meinl family while Supreme Chocolat is a local family business set up by Jihad and Johnny Jabra. The merger will consolidate Kandia’s position on the market and help close the gap with the leader, Kraft. The transaction is awaiting approval from the Competition Council. Kandia Dulce owns the Kandia, Laura, Magura, Rom, Sugus and Silvana brands, while the brand portfolio of Supreme Chocolat includes Primola, Anidor and Novatini. Kandia reported a turnover of about EUR 31 million last year and a profit of EUR 440,000.
Otter sees operating profit up 17 percent on Q3
PHARMA
Otter Distribution has posted sales of EUR 12.3 million in the first nine months of this year, marking an increase of more than 5 percent on the same period of 2010. The shoe and accessories distributor has also announced that its operating profit has gone up by 17 percent to EUR 1.34 million. The company distributes brands like Clarks, Geox, Ara, Gabor, Otter and coq sportif through its own network of 37 stores, out of which five units were opened this year. Otter Distribution opened the first Clarks mono-brand shop in Romania in AFI Palace Cotroceni and three Otter multi-brand stores in Sun Plaza in Bucharest, Maritimo Constanta and Electroputere Craiova this month.
La Lorraine Romania opens EUR 17 million frozen bakery products factory La Lorraine Romania has opened a EUR 17 million greenfield frozen bakery product factory in Campia Turzii. Almost EUR 3 million of the money came from European funds (80 percent) and the Romanian state (20 percent). The company is the result of a joint venture between local Macromex, a frozen and refrigerated products distributor, and Belgian milling and bakery group La Lorraine. Works on the 6,000-sqm project, which is located in the Reif Industrial Park in Campia Turzii, started 15 months ago. At present the factory operates only one automated production line, with a capacity of 5,000 baguettes or 25,000 rolls per hour. The investors have announced plans to expand capacity by adding up to seven more production lines over the coming years, which will require an investment of about EUR 40 million. Distribution will be covered by Macromex and will include both modern and traditional retail as well as horeca. Dan Minulescu, the CEO of Macromex, has announced that his company will open a distribution platform for frozen and refrigerated goods with a capacity of over 20,000 palettes.
Kandia Dulce buys Supreme Chocolat Kandia Dulce, the second biggest player
GSK completes USD 7 million investment in Brasov plant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has finished a USD 7 million investment in two production lines at its Brasov plant. The investment, which lasted three years, was made in the lines manufacturing products in the company’s global portfolio: the antidepressant Seroxat and the HIV treatment Retrovir. Up until three years ago, the plant was manufacturing only local pharmaceutical brands for the Europharm portfolio and intended to supply the local market exclusively. With this investment the Brasov plant is now exporting drugs to over 80 countries worldwide, up from 50 countries at the end of 2010. The largest export markets for the Brasov plant are France and Italy, which receive around 24 percent of total exports. The GSK plant in Brasov started exporting in 2008, and today around 60 percent of its output is sent abroad.
Romanian Senate approves amendment to claw-back tax The Romanian Senate passed last week a law that institutes a claw-back tax on subsidized pharmaceuticals, with amendments that maintain patient access to these drugs. The most important change is the elimination of patient penalties in the event that pharmaceutical producers fail to pay the tax. Instead, producers will be sanctioned through penalties and interest payments that are set out in the Fiscal Code. The newly adopted claw-back mechanism has established a 10 percent payment threshold for producers out of the annual consumption of subsidized pharmaceuticals, which should bring at least RON 600 million to the healthcare budget. Another amendment removed the provision that payers would be taxed both on VAT and revenue made by other market players. The claw-back rule stipulates that pharmaceutical producers bear the difference between the budgets allocated to pharmaceuticals and actual pharmaceutical consumption.
6 NEWS
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
IT&C
WINE
Austrian IT&C player Kapsch officially enters local market
Newcomer Viticola Corcova launches premium wines
A
ustrian company Kapsch has made its official entrance onto the Romanian market. The company offers solutions for data centers, consultancy in infrastructure and IT applications, integrated communication and security solutions, cloud computing, customer relationship management (CRM), content and document management solutions. The firm plans to invest between EUR 7 million and EUR 10 million locally over the next three years. The company, which dates back 120 years, had revenues of EUR 830 million in the fiscal year to 2011. Some of these investments will go into the acquisition of local technology and software services companies, according to Dan Roman, general manager of Kapsch Romania. He said that there was already a due diligence process going on for acquiring one such company in Romania. “I chose Kapsch because it is an extremely entrepreneurial company and because I thought this would be a new beginning,” said Roman. “I hope that over the next three years, the positive market response will translate into a turnover in excess of EUR 15 million.” In Romania, Kapsch already has nearly 40 employees but, if the acquisition materializes, the number will increase.
A
fter introducing its first wines in June 2010, Viticola Corcova has Kapsch will approach the local market launched a premium collection unwith a mix of solutions and services, der the Dealul Racoveanu (the Racoveanu both standard and customized. In RoHill) label. It features three varieties, Cabermania, the firm has however been active net Sauvignon-Merlot, Pinot Noir and since 2009 through its Kapsch BusinessChardonnay from the 2009 production, Com division, with big clients such as Petrom and Austrian banks. However, which has matured in wooden oak barrels. Part of the same collection, a premium the company decided to make an official Syrah variety was launched last year. entrance at this point in order to be able As with its already launched mainto better assist Austrian clients locally, as stream varieties, the premium wines will well as gain new ones in Romania. mostly be sold through horeca with prices “Kapsch has continuously watched ranging from RON 80 to RON 150 in restauthe evolution of the Romanian IT&C rants, but also through specialized wines market and when we had the opportunity to put our business plans into pracshops. Serban Damboviceanu, co-owner tice with the help of an experienced of Viticola Corcova, told BR that despite management team, we took it. I am sure the economic slowdown, the premium that shortly, given the quality of the wine market had grown in the past year. team and the transfer of knowhow from “There is a positive trend. I see a lot of peothe group, Kapsch Romania will become ple turning to quality wines and this is a a strong local player as well as a growth very good thing. Also, a lot of young peofactor for the Kapsch BusinessCom diple are showing interest in finding out vision in Central and Eastern Europe, more about wine, its tradition and how to said Franz Semmernegg, general drink it. They are learning that wine is manager of the Kapsch BusinessCom more than a simple beverage. The trend is division. definitely positive but we have to continKapsch was founded in 1892 and has ue to promote wine, especially quality remained to this day a family business. It ones,” he said. now has a footprint in over 30 countries The co-owner added that the compaand has three large divisions: Kapsch ny has plans to enter large retail chains by TrafficCom, Kapsch CarrierCom and launching a new wine brand in the future. Kapsch BusinessCom. ∫ It has already started exporting, so far to Otilia Haraga France and Poland, while in the years to
come the focus will be on the local market. Damboviceanu said the target is to take exports to around 25-30 percent of total production. This year Corcova will produce around 250,000 bottles of wine, mainstream and premium. As for the winemaker’s signature, Damboviceanu said that Corcova wines strive to preserve the identity of the grapes by rendering as loyally as possible the "terroir". About EUR 4 million has been invested so far in the company, which was set up in 2005 by its owners, Romanian Serban Damboviceanu and Frenchman Michel Roy. The two met in France while working for the Edouard Leclerc retail chain. In 2005 the company bought more than 50 hectares of land on the grounds of the former Corcova State Agricultural Enterprise (IAS) in Mehedinti county, south-western Romania. The location has been planted with vines since the 15th century, and in the interwar period it was the property of Prince Anton Bibescu. Over the next few years the land was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Muscat Ottonel and Chardonnay strains. Except for Syrah, the strains had been cultivated in Corcova since the time of the Bibescu family estate, and were included in the DOC authorized strains for the Mehedinti-Corcova area. ∫ Simona Bazavan
NEWS 7
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
HEALTHCARE
Draft healthcare law aims to inject quality into medical services
A
Agerpres
new healthcare law is currently being drafted to allow private insurers to break into the health insurance market, which is currently controlled by public bodies. The new law is due to be ready in December. Additional provisions include changes to the legal status of hospitals, a stricter mechanism for dealing with pharmaceutical expenses and providing rural-dwellers with better healthcare coverage. The setting up of a national health card, electronic prescription and digital patient medical records system should also ensure more efficiency. Ladislau Ritli, the minister of public health, described the current plight of the healthcare system, which is underfinanced and inefficient in spending its allocated funds. The comments were made at an event co-organized by Mediafax and the National Health Insurance House CNAS on the future of healthcare in Romania. The management of care units (hospitals) can be improved and current demographic trends in Romania – the number of senior citizens is growing while many younger people are emigrating – will put additional pressure on healthcare financing in the years to come. In addition, local life expectancy at birth is eight years below the EU average, due to the high mortality rate of young adults and infants. Ritli said that around RON 4.4 billion would be spent on pharma-
Ladislau Ritli, the minister of public health ceuticals this year and that 2012 will bring further expansion in generic drugs. By the end of this year, a minimum package of medical services will be made available to the insured, through negative listing, allowing the standardization of medical services provided to patients. Lucian Duta, president of the CNAS, highlighted that the gap between funding and consumption of medical services has widened to EUR 1 billion and that next year will bring balance in this area.
For healthcare reform to succeed, public insurance bodies need to compete with private companies, added Duta, who believes that private competitors should be involved in all tiers of the healthcare system. The new law will be completed in two or three weeks, in a joint effort that includes specialists from the Health Ministry, CNAS, Presidency and Public Finance Ministry. If Romanian insurance companies want to participate in the insurance business, but lack the adequate capital, an association between insurers may be allowed, said the CNAS president. The law took longer to draw up as the mechanism through which private health insurance players can access the market had to be set up. If the legal and public consultation processes go smoothly, and the law is passed without impediment, the private insurers could start signing up patients from 2013. Ritli commented that the new law will introduce competition on the health insurance market, offer flexibility in the management of hospitals, which could become foundations, and improve the management of human resources. However, the exodus of medics to Western countries cannot be halted at present, added the minister. Frans van der Ent, country manager at Eureko, which holds a 30 percent share of the Romanian health insurance market, added that companies ready to
enter the healthcare insurance business will have to secure EUR 500 million as a buffer against risks and to ensure solvency, out of the EUR 3.5 billion that represents payments made by the CNAS today, and which should be turned into insurance premiums once the transfer to private operators takes place. Ent added that the profit margin in this business is 1 percent of the volume of annual written premiums. He noted that accessing the market means costs of at least RON 1 million for marketing campaigns and additional sums for IT infrastructure and other business expenses. At present, the voluntary health insurance market totals EUR 10 million. Cristian Vladescu, general director of the National School of Public Health and Sanitary Management, who contributed to the new healthcare law draft, cited a survey showing that 79 percent of families with a household income that exceeds EUR 700 would take out private health insurance, while 55 percent earning EUR 230 would also do so. The survey results indicate that over 80 percent of companies would pay insurance premiums for employees if fiscal deductibility options were set up. Vladescu stated that a monthly payment of EUR 10 to 15 for these premiums would generate an additional EUR 1.5 billion in annual revenue for the healthcare budget. âˆŤ Ovidiu Posirca
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
8 PROPERTY
diversity in the tenant mix makes the Old Town a place for leisure activity and not a commercial point of reference,” states a study on the high street retail market in Bucharest’s Old Town carried out by More Real Estate Services. It found that of 360 existing commercial spaces, 289 are rented, leaving 19.7 percent empty. This suggests sufficient space to rent for future fashion retail growth. “What appeals most to foreign tourists about Old Town is the fact that there is such a large selection of places to eat and drink in a small space,” says Craig Turp, editor-in-chief of city guide publisher In Your Pocket. For years Bucharest has had a good number of places to eat and drink, but they were dispersed around the city, and the distance from one place to another could often be quite big. With Old Town half rehabilitated, that problem is solved. You can find hundreds of places on just a few streets. But the area is small compared to the old towns of the most popular tourist destinations, Prague and Krakow for example. At times it can feel very crowded, too crowded in fact, especially in summer. But neither visitors nor retailers seem to be complaining. “While I do not think that it would harm Old Town Center for there to be a commercial side to it, I do think that it has become known very much as an entertainment district, and as people are used to that, it will be best served by continuing to develop in an entertainment, and not commercial direction. There are already a few souvenir shops, antique shops and such like, enough I think to serve the needs of foreign visitors. Whether locals want it to be a more commercial area is another question...” adds Turp.
Bustling Old Town facing fashion foray? Both overall potential and investor interest are growing in direct proportion with the traffic of foreign and local visitors on the narrow, cobbled streets of Bucharest’s Old Town. Will fashion retailers be the next big thing in this unique part of the city?
Retail costs remain high Photo: Laurentiu Obae
Site unseen: while Old Town teems with visitors, the state of some of its buildings present problems for investors
∫ ANDREEA CEASAR While the current tenant mix in the area is drawn mainly from the leisure segment, with bars and restaurants pulling in the
crowds and representing 54 percent of the commercial area, in the near future the number of fashion retailers and other businesses may increase, as the street repairs are due to be finished by the
end of next year. Today, just 19 percent of Old Town outlets are fashion retailers, mostly old family businesses and companies dating back to communist times. “The lack of
“The main reasons why international fashion retailers and other such firms haven’t yet entered this market are well known. The various owners of commercial spaces wanted to increase the rent from one year to another and this is why they didn’t want to sign contracts for longer than two years,” says Ilan Laufer, general manager of Retail Group, a company focused on the retail market. As any international retailer needs a minimum ten-year contract to invest in such a location, these companies postponed or cancelled any investment in this area. In addition, the degraded state of lo-
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
Moreover, if investors want to upcal infrastructure and buildings made grade their own buildings, the area is fashion retailers think twice before comamong the top five locations in Bucharest ing here. Local buildings are small for the for purchasing prices. “Taking into conneeds of retailers and require huge investments in getting them up to scratch. sideration that interest in this area reAn average surface to let is about 100 sqm, mains strong, the transaction price could even reach the levels seen on Calea Vicbut they vary from 70 to 150 sqm or toriei and Calea Mosilor,” says Papamore. This is why the 28 percent ingeorgiadis, using ground floor prices, crease in the average rent to EUR 45/sqm though he underlines that major reducin the first half of the year (against the tions are available for other levels. Most same period of 2010) is based on the inof the properties in the Old City have two creased traffic in the Old City, not the faor more floors, while on the commercial cilities offered. Adidas was the first new retailer, boulevards the majority have just one. Bucharest’s mayor, Sorin Oprescu, opening an impressive shop in the stated four months ago that the municiOld City of Bucharest three months ago. Of the EUR 720,000 investment, pality would start looking for private partners to renovate the Old City’s buildmore than half went on improving the ings through public-private partnerships structure. that include a temporary concession of “From 2012 some of the biggest fashion retail companies, which have already the commercial spaces in the buildings. signed contracts, will open shops in the “Luciano Benetton [chairman of the fasharea. I believe 2012 will be the first year ion group of the same name, e.n.] showed of fashion retail in the Old Town,” predicts interest in the Old City, as he saw it had Laufer, stressing that the district will great cultural, touristic and, not least, discover the most important changes of commercial potential,” he added. the last 20 years and that new retailers will be upper and mid-market concerns. High risk investment? The existence of interested brands is This month two prominent locations, confirmed by Ilias Papageorgiadis, CEO of Crama Domneasca and La Bon Bonche – More Real Estate Services. “We have anthe latter enjoying the favor of the IMF other six well-known brands that are team and Jeffrey Franks – suffered fire searching for a space in the area, but I damage, highlighting the fragility of indoubt that they will find what they are vestments and posing tough questions of looking for. Commerce requires affordthe area. Investors have put money only able rents and the current rents in the area in improving the ground floors of the do not allow many fashion retailers to enbuildings. Investors have neglected the ter. So either the owners must accept upper levels due to their upstairs colower prices, or these brands will contenants – many of them itinerant or destinue to avoid the location,” says Papatitute – or a lack of interest. As a consegeorgiadis. quence, the upper floors pose risks not
PROPERTY 9 only to investors but also to their clients, as there is always the threat of falling plaster, masonry, fire and so on. Also, the narrow streets of the area and substandard infrastructure impede firefighter access. This makes insurance companies reluctant to insure some of the buildings. “Crama Domneasca burned down because of a fire in an un-renovated part of the building above the restaurant, caused by people living illegally in the building. For the good of Old Town and to encourage more investment, the people living in buildings illegally need to be moved on,” says Turp. “It is clear that potential investors would have seen these incidents and begun to think twice about investing. This issue is probably the biggest threat now to the area's continued development.” This might have been a real signal to investors. A huge number of visitors and customers doesn’t mean an instantly perfect business opportunity. Operating in the Old Center requires investments in upgrading and consolidating buildings, assuming high fire and earthquake risks and ongoing street works for at least another year. “I agree that the insurance problem is critical, which is why we advise our clients to avoid investing in properties that cannot be insured (or to invest only if they intend to include the cost of consolidation as well, to make the property insurable). We say ‘yes’ to investing in the Old City, but with careful moves and a clear business plan, avoiding unsustainable costs," says Papageorgiadis. An Allianz-Tiriac spokesperson told Business Review that the company has
sold insurance policies for Old Town, where its set of underwriting guidelines were respected. These guidelines included the type of structure, building materials used, date of building, as well as the seismic risk class. “Clearly no building ranked in seismic risk class 1 can be insured, but this rule applies to any such buildings, not only to those in the Old City area,” says Marius Onofrei, communication and public affairs director of Allianz-Tiriac. According to him, insurance policies do not differ because of co-tenants, as this would be both discriminatory and illegal. The list of buildings considered to be most vulnerable in the event of an earthquake, republished at the end of 2010, includes at least 12 with surfaces of 212 sqm to 3,450 sqm on Lipscani Street, while Blanari Street has five such edifices and Franceza Street nine. Many of them were built in the 1880s and could be badly damaged by an earthquake, so they cannot be insured. And there are further challenges for investors, as competition is high and sometimes unfair, while costs have increased to the level that precludes further investment from amateurs. “If you don’t know your business very well, you will end up losing money, even if your income is substantial. As the first phase of development is about to be over, the greatest challenge for an investor is to prepare a project which will be in accordance with the new phase of the development of the Old City,” concludes Papageorgiadis.
andreea.ceasar@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
10 FOCUS
New state project leads to promised land A EUR 1.88 million project is currently being implemented by the Romanian National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI) to improve its capacity to produce geographical information and thus contribute to a more secure real estate market for investors and individuals alike. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN
Turning the map digital
Charting new territory: the project should contribute to better information on land to gain the necessary knowhow to create derived maps. While the ANCPI has already collected information on a vast number of features – from data about the road and railway infrastructure to rivers, lakes and irrigation channels, forests, the territorial limits of localities, and so on – its experts had to be trained on how to make derived maps. “In order to take a map that has a scale of 1 to 5,000 and take it to let’s say 1 to 1 million or 1 to 500, meaning to make derived maps to large and small scales, the procedures are extremely work intensive. There isn’t an automated procedure through some sort of computer software. Almost 80 percent of the procedures are done by hand and one needs to have a set of unique rules and symbols in order for all those involved to do the same operations,” explained Spiroiu. At the end, the ANCPI will publish a catalogue with all the conventional symbols used in mapping that will later be turned into a mandatory framework. “We are not the only ones in Romania to make maps. We are actually the authority that formalizes the maps and by having this official catalogue, private companies will also have access to it and benefit from it,” she added. ANCPI employees received training from Association Geofoto, a Croatian company, and Local Geotop2001. Technical support for quality assurance was provided by two partner institutions – Statens Kartverk and Registers Iceland. In addition to improving the ANCPI’s capacity to produce geographical information, the LAKI project will also mean the creation of two additional bodies within the institution, a study center and training center. The ANCPI Study Center was necessary in order to improve the institution’s capacity to carry out studies and research activities as well as to be up to date with recent developments in this field in Europe, said Doina Palangean, LAKI project coordinator and director of the international cooperation and public procurement departments. The ANCPI staff training center is the first of its kind for the institution. “It was a real necessity for us as in many cases there are
no public or private educational and training institutions that can prepare people in our very specific fields,” said Simona Panduru, counselor to the general director of the ANCPI. She added that the centers will be a good way to use the knowhow accumulated by the institution’s employees over the years. The center will provide the means to continuously train the staff. “For example, the major changes brought by the new Civil Code to the manner in which properties are tabulated – without the center, it wouldn’t be possible to give the necessary training,” added Palangean. Some 15 employees have been tutored to hold classes, and textbooks will be edited. While admitting that this is not enough for the requirements of the entire institution and all its county offices, ANCPI representatives say that this is only the beginning. As part of the project, the agency will also acquire videoconferencing equipment. The ANCPI chose to apply for the SEE Grants after having previously collaborated with its institutional counterpart in Norway, Victor Grigorescu, director of the agency’s project management department, told BR. “SEE Grants are only one of the financing sources we’re now using. We have applied for all the available financing options for our projects,” he added. Right now the agency is developing one project with the help of the World Bank and several others with European funds. External financing sources for the institution’s investment projects are more than welcome in the context of the government’s general austerity measures. In the past two years the ANCPI has received all its funds from the state budget after having previously self-financed its activities for four years. Spiroiu says the institution is a profitable one thanks to the various services it offers to individuals and companies. “In 2010 and 2011, since when we have been financed from the state budget, we have managed to generate enough money to cover our costs, except major investments, and an additional 70 percent,” she added.
And what about the general cadastre? As for the much needed and much debated general cadastre, ANCPI representatives say that the process is much more complicated than meets the eye with the actual field measurements being the least of the problems and the only clear aspect in the entire process. Getting the huge funds to finance the project is also only the tip of the iceberg, and even if Romania had the necessary money, the process would still take a very long time to complete so long as there isn’t a strong political will to implement it and, most importantly, to solve once and for all the legal issues related to property restitutions and property deeds which have been dealt with in a very incoherent manner over the past 20 years. This October MDRT representatives announced at the end of a visit to South Korea that the ministry could sign a publicprivate partnership with Samsung for the general cadastre.
simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
LAKI’s main objective is to consolidate the ANCPI’s capacity to produce geographical information for both internal use and for meeting the requirements of the INSPIRE Directive issued by the EU, by setting up the National Mapping Center. The present version of the official map of Romania was published back in 1986. Today, under the EU’s INSPIRE directive Romania and all the member states have to create digital maps that will be part of a general infrastructure for spatial information in Europe. The result will be a comprehensive digital map that can be used by all public institutions in Romania to add information from their specific fields such as infrastructure-related data or in-depth information about the state of existing farmland. Ileana Spiroiu, deputy general director of the ANCPI and director of the National Center for Geodesy, Cartography, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (CNGCFT), which will be transformed in the National Mapping Center, told BR that the LAKI project’s target was to train ANCPI personnel in order to improve quality control over the geospatial data it collects and
Photo: Laurentiu Obae
“After twenty years of incoherent application of a property law that has also often been changed, we unfortunately find ourselves in the situation where the surface area owned according to the property deeds that have been issued over the years is larger than Romania’s actual surface area,” Elena Udrea, the Romanian minister for regional development and tourism, previously stated. The minister stressed that Romania’s lack of a general cadastre makes it very hard to implement large-scale investment projects. Investors too, especially those in real estate and agriculture, have been calling for such a measure for a long time. The ANCPI is currently implementing a EUR 1.88 million project to improve its capacity to supply geographical information and overall upgrade the services it provides, both to other public institutions as well as to individuals and the private sector. Indirectly, the project will also contribute to the larger plan of a general cadastre, although so far concrete steps have yet to follow the authorities’ announced intentions. The institution, which has recently passed from under the authority of the Ministry of Administration and Interior to the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism (MDRT), is the Romanian authority in the field of cadastre and land registration. The Land Administration Knowledge Improvement (LAKI) project will be 51.06 percent financed through SEE (European Economic Area) Grants offered by Norway along with Iceland and Lichtenstein. The remainder is financed from the state budget and the deadline for implementing the project is the end of April 2012.
Also, following the government’s austerity measures, about 850 jobs were cut at the agency. After the institution became state-funded other staff members left of their own volition to work in the private sector for considerably higher salaries, say agency representatives. “It is very hard to manage an efficient IT system with the present level of public wages,” explained Grigorescu. About 3,000 people work for the agency in its general headquarters in Bucharest and its 42 county offices, which barely covers its personnel requirements, says Spiroiu. As it will not be possible to hire any new people in 2012, the agency will have to outsource some of its activities. ANCPI representatives estimate that the institution receives about 10,000 files each day with various requests from individuals and companies. In addition to this, another 1,000 requests for information are made each month by other public institutions such as the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA).
Doina Palangean, project coordinator
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
11 PARTNER CONTENT
Is it worth investing in Green Energy? (I would say yes, but carefully) While we are waiting for some final, but important, regulations regarding the subvention scheme for Green Energy producers in Romania, we are able to extract some first Ilias Papageorgiadis conclusions.
that the European Union proposed, becoming the first country which actually puts it into practice. This scheme looks attractive, more stable and less risky for the state, but also less bankable. I personally make my calculations using the minimum prices announced. (If you are not aware of it, simply email me and I will send it to you).
7. Developing first: You assume a risk but you also obtain a major advantage towards the competition The Green Energy “game” in Romania seems to be made just for the first ones who will construct and connect their project to the grid. Only these investors will benefit from green certificates. So they will assume the risk of being pioneers, but they will be among the few ones who will receive subventions for many years as well. 8. 3 words are key: “Financing” and “Feasible Projects” The banks will remain “in difficulty” during the following year, at least. So you need solutions for your financing. But you should also choose a feasible project as well. This is why a careful due diligence is not just suggested. It is mandatory.
9. A hidden risk: Projects which will remain unsold and unconstructed may see their value depreciated. This subvention scheme reminds me of the phrase “first come, first served”. So if a project will not be constructed during the following 12 – 24 months, it will risk to remain without subventions. As green certificates are not enough for all projects, we may see some projects’ value depreciating. 10 + 1. It’s worth investing in the Romanian Green Energy market. But very carefully While most of the European countries face major economic problems and their green energy market is blocked, Romania offers an interesting alternative, with attractive potential. At the same time it is necessary for every investor to be careful, believe only in facts and confirm every single detail before he proceeds. By doing so, there are good chances that this investment will pay back, so it is worth our attention. What is your opinion? Ilias Papageorgiadis, CEO - More Real Estate Services
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4. Green certificates for another 5 years, but I would bet for 3 or less Green certificates will be awarded until the end of 2016. But I can easily predict that this will stop earlier. Why? Because once the system’s capacity will be reached, it will be use2. We are waiting for some final docu- less for more projects to receive subventions. And I expect this capacity to be covered in the ments: The regulation of all details The new frame for subventions is interesting, next 2 – 3 years. but not yet 100% clear. We know almost everything, but there are still some details 5. Investments of hundreds of million Euro that remain to be settled. I know 3 banks in are needed in order to upgrade the grid’s Romania that are open to finance big proj- capacity ects but are waiting for these documents as Transelectrica announced that an amount of 500 million Euro is needed in order to upgrade well. its grid. Other experts refer to a larger sum. 3. The new subvention scheme with green This is why I would suggest taking into concertificates. The first of its kind in Europe sideration just the actual situation. I am not Romania will adopt the subvention scheme very fond of “promising future scenarios”. 1. Romania has great potential Its wind and hydro potential are among the top ones in Europe. In the biomass segment… the sky is the limit. Solar is “interesting”, especially as the market is still open.
6. 8.000+ MW have received the authorization to connect to the grid. But just 3.000 of them are expected to be constructed There are plenty of approvals for the connection to the grid, they exceed 8.000 MW. But the expected connections are expected to be as low as “around 3.000 MW” (which is not low at all).
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
12 LINKS
EU legal issues line up for local telecom authorities As a member of the European Union, Romania needs to align its legislation in the telecom sector to a bundle of EU ‘house ground rules’. BR reviews progress in some of the regulations in an industry worth EUR 3.6 billion last year, such as the reduction of interconnection and roaming charges, number portability, the national broadband strategy, digital terrestrial switchover and personal data policy. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA At the beginning of this month, the Romanian telecom regulator announced that it would reduce interconnection tariffs for mobile and landline telephony networks, in two stages. From next year, the maximum termination rates – the sums telecommunications operators pay each other for calls outside the network – in mobile telephony networks will be 4.05 eurocents per minute after the first stage of reduction. The initial round of tariff cuts will be between 19 and 30 percent depending on the existing charges levied by each of the telecom operators, so that eventually Cosmote, Orange, Romtelecom, Telemobil and Voda-
fone rates will be aligned. The second round of reductions will begin on September 1, 2012, when the tariffs charged by all operators will fall by 24 percent to 3.07 eurocents per minute. Landline interconnection tariffs will also fall. From January next year, the 52 operators in this field will decrease charges by 15 percent from EUR 0.97 per minute to EUR 0.82. From July 1, 2012, costs will fall by an additional 18 percent to EUR 0.67 per minute. The figures were set by ANCOM based on comparisons with the levels of termination rates in other European states. Some operators have voiced their concerns about the move. “Due to fierce competition on the mobile telecom mar-
Courtesy of Ericsson
Global communication should become cheaper thanks to the new rules ket in Romania, users benefit from the latest tariffs in the EU while the quality of the services is equal or even better. In this context, what must be taken into consideration is that excessive regulation can produce negative effects on the market, operators and, finally, end users. These effects, namely the reduction in revenues and consequently of the capacity to invest, can have an impact on innovation, quality and the diversity of services,” Dorin Odiatiu, marketing director at Orange Romania, tells BR.
Roam if you want to… for less The EU intends to drastically curtail roaming tariffs, which should encourage competition on the telecom market. By 2015, it wants to do away with the difference between the costs of national calls and those of calls made in roaming. The first steps have already been made in Romania too. From July 1, 2011, all telecom operators who offer roaming serv-
ices must respect maximum tariffs for voice services when their users access roaming services in another EU member state, Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein. For a call made in roaming, the maximum charge was set at EUR 0.35/minute (not including VAT). For a call received in roaming, the figure is EUR 0.11/minute. Similarly, the maximum cost of sending an SMS from abroad is EUR 0.11. All operators in Romania who provide roaming services under the jurisdiction of the EU respect these stipulations, and some undercut the maximum sums, according to the president of regulatory authority ANCOM, Catalin Marinescu. In July, the European Commission proposed a new modification to this framework which will see greater competition among operators, more diversity in company offers and, of course, a reduction in roaming charges. This amendment will be analyzed over the coming period in European central institutions,
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
according to the telecom regulator, he added.
Portability wasn’t built in a day… At European level, a set of rules that should empower end users, allowing them to switch telecom providers in just one day without changing phone number has already come into force. “The new European regulation framework stipulates that phone number portability should happen as soon as possible, taking into account the conditions in each member state. However, a specific timeframe for the portability process globally has not been incorporated into EU legislation. Instead, a oneday term is specified for activating the service. Also, a maximum one-day term is stipulated during which the subscriber can have their phone service cut off during the portability process. These terms are also included in the Romanian bill that is to be adopted,” says Marinescu. Like European legislation, the Romanian bill does not set a maximum term for the entire portability process. This is to be done in secondary legislation issued by ANCOM. In Romania, the entire portability process currently has to be done within 10 working days of the request being granted and submitted. This period will be cut to three days (according to Decision nr. 1382/2011), but to implement this new deadline, all telecom operators must modify their IT systems at the same time. At the moment, the Romanian telecom regulator, along with operators, is
LINKS 13 analyzing through a work group what modifications need to be made and the implications they will have on the portability process. The date at which the new portability timeframe comes into force will be set at the end of this analysis.
User data retention still sensitive “As an EU member state, Romania must respect and implement the stipulations of Directive 2006/24/EC, which is already applied in all EU states with the exception of Romania and Germany, while in the case of Sweden infringement procedures have been launched,” said Ministry of Communications officials. The bill concerns the retention of data generated or processed by suppliers of electronic communications, public networks and suppliers of electronic communications services. The bill was drafted following public consultation. However, the topic is sensitive and the drafting procedure has been complicated. In November 2008, the Romanian Parliament adopted Law nr. 298 on the retention of data generated or processed by suppliers of communication services and public communication networks. At the same time, Parliament also approved the modification of Law nr. 506/2004, on the processing of personal data and the protection of private life. However, nearly a year later, in October 2009, the Romanian Constitutional Court ruled Law nr. 298/2008 unconstitutional and repealed it. The current draft tries to eliminate the stipulations that were declared un-
constitutional, expressly prohibiting the intercepting and retention of content or information accessed while using an electronic communication network. What the law allows is to retain trafficrelated data such as dialed and received phone numbers and the duration of the call for six months. “If this law is not adopted by December 28, when the deadline imposed by the European Commission expires, Romania runs the risk of receiving penalties from the European Union,” warned the Ministry of Communications. This means that the EC may decide to send Romania before the EU Court of Justice.
gy, the frequency band targeted by the European Commission to provide broadband internet in rural areas, also called the “digital dividend,” is the 800 MHz band, which is partially used at this moment in Romania by the National Defense Ministry. The telecom regulator is currently in discussions to completely clear the band, but estimations are that this will not happen sooner than 2013. This means that the public auctions for attributing the 800 Mhz band will take place in the second half of next year at the earliest, says Marinescu.
Broadband strategy is moving forward
The transition to digital terrestrial television is taking place across the entire European Union. It will see the appearance of new broadcasting platforms for transmitting TV programs in digital format. Romania’s transition to digital was blocked last year. The country promised the EU that the analogue TV signal will be switched off by January 1, 2012. Instead, in August 2010, the government passed a bill delaying it to January 1, 2015. “From a technical viewpoint, Romania is ready to make the transition to digital terrestrial television, but we must wait for the approval of the legal framework. We are still waiting for the approval of various ministries and depending on when this comes, we can make the transition in several months,” said the minister of communications, Valerian Vreme, previously.
Broadband take-up as a percentage of the population in Romania is on the increase but the current growth rate is not enough to catch up with the rest of Europe. To address this problem, the government has launched a National Strategy for Broadband Development with the aim of increasing the household take-up rate to 80 percent by 2015. “We estimate that by the end of 2015 we will be able to reach over 80 percent of the entire Romanian territory,” say Ministry of Communications officials. Broadband coverage is still limited, particularly in rural areas. In 2012, a contract will be signed on financing from European funds for the internet broadband network to be deployed in areas as yet uncovered by operators. Worth EUR 84 million, it will run for 24 months. As part of the Digital Agenda strate-
Digital terrestrial TV has to wait
otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | November 21 - 27, 2011
14 IN TOUCH FILM REVIEW
EXHIBITION REVIEW
Margin Call
Body and Face Contemporary art gallery AnnArt hosts an exhibition by sculptor Mircea Roman, whose work has been acclaimed all over the world, from Osaka to London.
∫ DEBBIE STOWE Directed by: JC Chandor Starring: Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Grand Cinema Digiplex Baneasa, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, The Light Cinema Not many movies are set in banks. This is because, unless they are being held up at gun point, banks have been largely boring places. However, at some point the staid gents of old were replaced by reckless City boys playing Russian roulette with our jobs and homes, thus rendering banks of rather more dramatic interest. One creative result of this is the independent thriller Margin Call, which follows a critical 24 hours at an investment bank. At the beginning, the axe is falling on vast swathes of the workforce. As he is being escorted out by a security heavy, sacked risk management worker Eric Dale manages to alert a colleague of his suspicions the bank is hugely over-leveraged, and a decline in economic sentiment could bring down the whole house of cards. His calculations corroborated, the big guns are brought in and the story charts the institution’s desperate attempts to save itself at any cost. Set almost entirely in the bank’s expensively anonymous corporate offices, Margin Call keeps things taut, and would
ISSN No. 1453 - 729X
Marius Caraman
Bracing for the worst: Kevin Spacey as a beleaguered banker in this taut thriller
work well on the stage. It’s an intelligent film, examining how the impersonal, impenetrable construction of global finance The wooden gods of Mircea Roman sursucks in and dehumanizes decent people. round the visitor with their overwhelming More than one character compares the abpresence. The primary energies they exude stract and meaningless nature of much of recall both Ancient Egypt and the metheir work unfavorably with the honest dieval wooden churches of Oltenia and toil that creates real value in the world. Maramures. Time stands still and all that is And yet the lucrative spoils keep them in left to live is a dilated present moment. the game despite any finer instincts. “The characters brought together in this exIt’s all done with an impressively hibition have a face,” says curator Adrian high-caliber cast for an independent feature. Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci are among the corporate drones of various pay grades who have made their November 23 compromises. But the film is not con11:00 SAP will organize a press confercerned with condemning individuals; ence to announce a major investment they are just cogs in the wheel. on the local market. Franck Cohen, There is no violence in Margin Call, president EMEA, will attend. By invitation not even very much shouting. It’s an only. understated movie and can afford to be – every viewer will be familiar with the ramifications of the decisions made by November 24 these characters in their thousand-dollar 18:00 The Greek Embassy will host a suits and Rolexes. It perhaps invites comlecture by the former minister of finance, parison with United 93, both of which Nikos Christodoulakis, on the current provided a non-sensationalist, fictionalEuropean crisis and Greek debt, to take ized take on destructive actions that place at its premises in Bucharest. By incame to reverberate around the world. vitation only. Though the intrinsic subject matter is somewhat dry and technical, this is a November 24 – 27 compelling story of greed, betrayal and morality that is no less powerful for be12.00 AIESC organizes the Romanian ing set on Wall Street rather than in a traYouth Leadership Forum. The event ditional war zone. takes place at the Rin Grand Hotel.
BUSINESS AGENDA
Guta in the exhibition catalogue. “Social and human categories, attitudes, and not individual entities: he proposes types instead of people, or generic male-female relation.” The sculptor’s interest in Egypt started as early as high school, and led to an interest in Greek art up to the classical age. Curator Adrian Guta brought together pieces of different “ages”, as he calls them, covering a period from 1996 till 2011. This is probably the most comprehensive exhibition by the 53-year old sculptor in Romania. Roman is one of the most important figures of contemporary Romanian art. His international career was boosted after he was awarded the Great Prize at the Osaka Sculpture Triennium in 1992. The UK Delfina Studios Scholarship (1993-1994) followed, with exhibitions at Riverside Studios, Meunier Chocolate Factory and ACVA Gallery in London, as well as in museums in Belgium, Italy, Japan and Holland. ∫ Anca Ionita Until December 3rd, AnnArt Gallery, 1, Mahatma Gandi St, tel: 031 437 95 33, Mo-Fri/ 15:00-20:00, Sat /12:00-20:00
November 27 17:00 AmCham Romania organizes its annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner Party starting at 5.00 pm at the InterContinental. Please contact AmCham at amcham@amcham.ro for more information. November 28 18:00 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the Foreign Investors’ Forum at Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel. By invitation only. Details at www.businessreview.ro/events/ December 7 CEO Clubs Romania holds its official launch in Romania with the "Leadership in High Stakes" conference, at which Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Srini Pillay will be one of the guest speakers. By invitation only.
editorial@business-review.ro FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALIST Otilia Haraga JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Ovidiu Posirca COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anda Sebesi, Michael Barclay ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu
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