INTERVIEW: Esin Ugurtay, business development director of Turkish URB Group, tells BR the company is grappling with an influx of counterfeit bearings, while calling for enforcement of regulations in this area »page 11
ROMANIA’S PREMIER BUSINESS WEEKLY
March 18 - 24, 2013 / VOLUME 17, NUMBER 8
TOILING TO SAVE
Lenders have recently put a lot of effort into convincing Romanians to save more. BR looks at the impact this is having »page 10
NEWS
NEWS
PROPERTY
CITY
Beckers on board
Food for thought
The space race
Brewing business
Telecom operators Cosmote and Romtelecom have a new CEO, Nikolai Beckers, who from April will steer the EUR 1 billion combined business
Romania’s agricultural output predictions for this year look good, but improved productivity could more than double the total, say players
Demand for industrial property grew in the last semester of 2012 and pundits predict the growth trend will continue this year as well
The legendary Gambrinus beerhouse in Bucharest has opened its doors after a facelift which also saw the iconic Hotel Cismigiu refurbished
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www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
NEWS 3
NEWS in brief
BUSINESS AGENDA March 18
BANKING
10:00 Vodafone Romania organizes an event to mark the launch of a Regional Network Operations Center, which monitors several Vodafone networks in Europe, at the Vodafone Pipera HQ. Inaki Berroeta, president and CEO of Vodafone Romania, will attend. By invitation only.
Raiffeisen Bank Romania net profit down to EUR 88 mln in 2012 on higher provisioning The net profit of Raiffeisen Bank Romania, owned by Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, fell by 8 percent year-on-year to EUR 88 million in 2012, as the lender doubled provisioning due to the weak economic recovery. The bank has lowered costs by 8 percent, sending the cost/income ratio down by 4 percentage points to 59 percent. It axed 550 jobs last year, taking its total headcount to 5,361 employees, and closed 18 branches, reducing the network to 535. Raiffeisen’s loan book remained stable at EUR 3.52 billion and the loan-todeposit ratio lost 3 percentage points to 92 percent. Raiffeisen added 60,000 customers last year, reaching around 2 million individuals, 105,000 SMEs and 7,500 companies. It had over 1,100 ATMs and 11,000 EPOS. Its assets fell by 4 percent to EUR 5.31 billion.
IT RCS&RDS sells DTH TV division in Croatia Locally-based telecom operator RCS&RDS has sold its satellite television division Digi TV to Vipnet, a subsidiary of Telekom Austria, according to Vipnet officials. The value of the transaction was not made public. According to company officials, Digi TV has been operating on the Croatian market since November 2006 and last year posted EUR 2 million in revenue. “Digi TV has 36 employees and total revenues in 2012 amounted to 14.7 million kuna. With this acquisition Vipnet reinforces the preconditions of convergent communications and TV services, and this is the final step in Vipnet`s transformation process into a company that offers complete communication solutions and superior Multi Screen user experience,” said Vipnet officials. RCS&RDS has operations in six European countries, including Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Italy and Serbia.
LEGAL Reff & Asociatii posts 20 percent growth in 2012 Reff & Asociatii, the affiliated law firm of Deloitte, administered assets worth EUR 1.3 billion last year, as M&A, prop-
March 19
IMAGE of the week
19:00 The Meet the Woman conference series hosts: Do You Know What Your Clients Are Looking for Online? Online Trending Searches Which May Help You in Your Business, at Capital Plaza Hotel. Doina Costache, head of multiple industries at Google Romania, will be guest speaker. By invitation only.
March 20 Bucharest city hall to get dust busting Bucharest City Hall has announced it will conduct spring cleaning in March and April with a budget of EUR 250,000-300,000. According to mayor Sorin Oprescu, the sum is a small outlay for the city. “It truly means something if you start planting hyacinths,” said the mayor, adding that he would try to work with NGOs again on the cleaning efforts and to revive the green areas around Bucharest blocks of flats. erty, banking, energy, capital markets and competition-related activity increased. The firm’s M&A portfolio exceeded EUR 800 million as it assisted on several large transactions: the EUR 80 million takeover of the A Business City Center office building in Timisoara by New Europe Property Investment (NEPI); the EUR 55 million takeover of GlassCorp by Trakya Investment; and the takeover of Liberty Center Mall by Rosequeens Properties. In the energy sector, the firm helped EDP Renewables to restructure its local operations in a EUR 80 million project; it also provided legal assistance to Hungarian company Magyar Villamos Muvek (MVM) on due diligence in developing a hydro-power plant park in Transylvania in a EUR 10 million project. Reff & Asociatii also worked on NEPI’s acquisition of the Lakeview building.
gets companies from all industries, but especially FMCG, retail and banking. The training sessions will take place monthly, at the headquarters of the two agencies.
MEDIA
Herbalife Romania reports 32 percent turnover growth for 2012
Lowe&Partners and MobileWorks launch mobile marketing training platform
Herbalife Romania, the nutrition and personal care products company, has reported a 32 percent turnover growth for 2012 compared to the previous year. The results make Romania the company’s third fastest growing EMEA market. At the same time, the local firm reported a 30 percent growth in the number of distributors. Company officials say the nutrition range helped support its business growth.
Lowe&Partners and Mobile Works have launched MobileWorkSHOP, a platform of strategy and creativity workshops in mobile marketing, intended to familiarize participants with the necessary tools to create communication campaigns on mobile phones. The MobileWorkSHOP platform tar-
RETAIL L’Oreal Romania integrates luxury division into local company L’Oreal Romania is integrating its luxury division L’Oreal Luxe into the structure of the local company and will subsequently include the Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, Biotherm, Giorgio Armani, Diesel and Cacharel brands in its portfolio. The company says the move is intended to increase operational efficiency and allow for a better marketing approach.
10:00 Result Development, in partnership with Mastermind Communications, organizes an event to present the results of the study, Values of Romanian Employees. The event takes place at the Howard-Johnson hotel, Platinum Hall. 10:00 TP-Link organizes a press conference to mark the launch of its local office and of a regional logistics center, at The Hub. Hermes Song, general director of TP-Link Romania, will attend. 18:30 Ensight Management Consulting and Ensight Finance, in partnership with the Garrison Group and TMG Consultants organize the conference Case Studies on Effective Business Transformation at The Ark. By invitation only.
March 28 ∫EVENT 08:30 Business Review organizes its flagship event Tax & Law, which updates companies and entrepreneurs on the latest fiscal and legal changes, at Pullman Bucharest Hotel. By invitation only. Find out more at www.businessreview.ro/br-events 13:30 Business Review organizes the workshop Access to Finance, outlining the financing options available for firms, ranging from EU funds to state aid, at Pullman Hotel Bucharest. By invitation only.
April 18 ∫EVENT 09:00 Business Review organizes Focus on Energy, an event that gauges trends in the domestic energy market, at Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel. By invitation only.
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
4 NEWS FOOD SAFETY
TELECOM
Romania plunged into third food-safety scandal
New CEO takes helm of Romtelecom and Cosmote
A
ikolai Beckers has been appointed CEO of Romtelecom and Cosmote Romania, effective April 1, a move that may see the German group Deutsche Telekom enforce greater control over operations in Romania. While Romtelecom and Cosmote are part of Greek group OTE (which has a 54 percent stake in Romtelecom, with the remaining stake belonging to the Romanian state), Deutsche Telekom is a shareholder in OTE. Beckers, who has held various positions in Deutsche Telekom, comes to Romania from T-Systems France where he was CEO as of September 2011. He has experience in telecommunications, IT&C, the internet and social media.Beckers began his career in 1989 at Deutsche Bank and has held a number of management positions, such as president and CEO of Deutsche Telekom France, managing director of Deutsche Telekom Philippines and financial director at TOnline France. He was also CEO of Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary in FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). He holds an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Köln, Germany. Michael Tsamaz, OTE group chairman and CEO and chairman of the Romtelecom board of directors, said, “Nikolai Beckers comes to Romania with a long and successful track record within
fter local meat producers found themselves dragged into the Europe-wide horsemeat scandal last month, Romania’s food safety authorities have had to deal with new cases of irregularities. Most recently, milk infested with aflatoxin was reportedly found in Romanian farms, collection centers and processing facilities, and a local farm was suspected of having exported turkey meat containing residues of antibiotics to Germany. In response to this latest food safety alert, the authorities started an enquiry and by last Thursday evening no irregularities had been found at the Codlea farm suspected of having supplied the turkey meat, according to the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA). The scandals prompted the resignation of Mihai Turcanu, president of the ANSVSA. He was accused by milk producers’ representatives of a “lack of professionalism” for his handling of the milk scandal. Following intense media scrutiny of the episode, Romanians have shown signs of losing trust in the quality of milk available in retail networks. Two out of five Romanians have scrubbed milk off their shopping list over the past week, according to a survey released last Thursday by Rogalski Grigoriu Public Relations, while only 43 percent of respondents said they still trusted the quality of the milk they bought. After the ANSVSA ordered testing it was revealed at the end of last week that a total of seven farms, collection centers and processing facilities had been found to have infested milk, but the authorities said contaminated milk had not made it to the shelves. ∫ Simona Bazavan
Whiter than white?
N
Investment Services executive technology director, as well as board member in a number of OTE Group companies. He holds a BEng in electronic engineering from Sussex University as well as an MSc in Mobile & Satellite Communications from the University of Westminster. “ I have had the privilege of driving, contributing to and witnessing Cosmote and Romtelecom transforming in an amazing way. From a mobile operator struggling well behind the market leaders and less technologically advanced, Cosmote has become a solid, proud attacker, with the best broadband network in Romania, an almost 25 percent market share and healthy financials. As for Romtelecom, it has strengthened its position as a competitive player on the Nikolai Beckers telecom market, offering today a comnew CEO of Romtelecom and Cosmote plex range of communication and entertainment services, covering all a Beckers’s predecessor, Stefanos household’s communication needs and Theocharopoulos, who was head of turnkey IT&C solutions for businesses, OTE’s Romanian operations for securing its leading position on the segfive years, will assume a new position ment dedicated to companies. A milewithin OTE Group as group chief stone project in Romtelecom was also technology and operations officer, for reviewing major internal processes,” both fixed and mobile telephony. Theocharopoulos told BR. Cosmote and Romtelecom saw their He will be based in Greece, where he will be responsible for over 6,000 revenues drop slightly but remain broadly stable in the fiscal year 2012, ended employees. “As group chief technology & opera- December 31, according to the financial tions officer at OTE Greece, I will be re- indicators posted by OTE Group. Cosmote notched up revenues of sponsible for guiding OTE Group’s techEUR 462.8 million in the fiscal year 2012. Its total customer base (including Zapp) stood at approximately 6.3 million, with the postpaid ratio increasing to 24.8 percent. EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) rose to EUR 119.5 million, up 19.4 percent on 2011. Blended ARPU (Average Revenue per User) for 2012 was in line with the financial year 2011. At the end of 2012, Cosmote’s market share stood at approximately 24.5 percent. Overall, Cosmote’s 3G services cover more than 73 percent of the Ronological progress and strong network manian population. Romtelecom saw its revenues decline operations to ensure top quality services for our customers. From this position, I by 5.4 percent to a turnover of nearly will also ensure that both Romtelecom EUR 620 million in 2012. The pro forma and Cosmote Romania will have the EBITDA increased by nearly 11 percent support needed in order to proceed with to EUR 166 million in 2012. Revenues their deployment plans and provide from the TV service surged by 17 percent consumers with state-of-the-art solutions and clients tended to migrate towards for communications and entertainment, value-added services. The number of using both fixed and mobile networks,” broadband internet clients jumped by over 5 percent to 1.19 million. This year Theocharopoulos told BR. Theocharopoulos had been CEO of Romtelecom will focus on offering cusCosmote Romania since January 2008 tomized bundles, especially in the TV and CEO of Romtelecom as of July 2011. services and entertainment segments, He joined OTE Group in 2002. He has as well as introducing new ICT services held the positions of OTE Globe business for the business segment. ∫ Otilia Haraga development executive director, OTE
Nikolai Beckers comes to Romania with a long and successful track record within Deutsche Telekom Group, bringing valuable experience from international markets. Michael Tsamaz, OTE group chairman and CEO and chairman of the Romtelecom board of directors Deutsche Telekom Group, bringing valuable experience from international markets. I am confident that he will contribute to the positive course and further progress of our operations in Romania, a significant market for the group, at the same pace.” During his term, Beckers will face at least two major tasks on the Romanian market. One is the roll-out of 4G services, which Cosmote announced it would start by the end of April. A second important challenge involves the possible listing of Romtelecom or a merger between Romtelecom and Cosmote, with a decision on this issue still pending.
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
NEWS 5
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
It’s a family affair: FBN opens Romanian Chapter With an estimated 65 percent of companies in Romania being family ventures, the Family Business Network has launched the Romanian Chapter which should give this community greater cohesion. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA Family businesses in Europe posted a total turnover of EUR 1.8 trillion in 2011, representing 18 percent of the GDP of the European Union, and providing more than 5 million jobs. A survey carried out by the European Commission in 2008 found that family concerns represented between 31 percent of all businesses in countries such as Great Britain and the Netherlands, and 61 percent in Sweden. Significantly enough, most family businesses are still in the hands of the first generation but it is expected that one out of nine businesses will be transferred over the next five years. In Romania, unofficial statistics suggest that 65 percent of companies are family businesses but they are mostly at the second generation stage, since they were started after the 1990s. Most of these are small enterprises but there are also companies that have grown at national or international level. “At European level, family businesses are lost on average at the third generation,” says Mihaela Harsan, secretary general of the Family Business
Mihaela Harsan secretary general of the FBN
Network (FBN). “For instance, we have a situation in Argentina in which a father, aged over 90, is adamant he will leave the company in the hands of his sons, who themselves are above 70 years old. You come across some interesting and amusing situations.” FBN International was founded in 1990s and was registered in its current
form in 2005, gathering over 5,600 families from 56 countries under its umbrella. The Bulgarian FBN chapter was founded in 2007. The founders of the FBN Romanian Chapter are companies Omnilogic, MB Telecom, Global Vision and Temad Co. The management board is made up of Gabriel Marin of Omnilogic (president), Mircea Tudor of MB Telecom (member), Sorin Preda (member) and Mihaela Harsan (secretary general). Businesses that aspire to become part of the FBN must comply with certain criteria. First, the business should have been in the family for at least 10 years and the family must own the major package. Also, at least one relative should be in the top management. “A professional manager will look strictly at figures, and make cold decisions depending on the targets and budget, without being interested in the welfare of employees. With a family business, the employees’ welfare is much more important. These things existed in Romania during the interbellum period too,” says Harsan. In terms of revenues, the company should be a good taxpayer. The turnover, number of employees, public
perception and involvement in the community are also taken into consideration. Membership of the FBN requires an admission fee of EUR 1,000 and an annual membership fee of EUR 1,000. Currently, there are ongoing assessments of eight potential members: Romanian companies from the areas of protection equipment, pharma, healthcare, textile industry and luxury. “We look at the jobs the company offers. If there is a firm that does not have employees but has a huge turnover, we are not necessarily interested in that. We are interested in their social projects and how much they give back to the communities they come from,” explains Harsan. In most countries, including Romania, the legal framework regarding inheritance is favorable to family businesses, while in others it is prohibitive and inheritance taxes can even reach 90 percent, like in Finland. “It is something ancestral, especially in our Latin space, that when you do something, you want to leave an inheritance for your children. This is in fact the first choice,” says Marin. otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
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
Adina Pascu
censed in economics and business law, having graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. He joined Orange in 2001, and in December 2004 took over the position of regional indirect sales manager for the Muntenia region. Afterwards, he was appointed indirect sales manager and in 2007 he became sales & distribution director. In this capacity, he coordinated Orange Romania’s sales for the residential and business segment, having been involved in the launch of the Orange Store franchise and the transformation of the distribution process in the Prepay area.
general manager of the Procter & Gamble (P&G) production facility in Timisoara, has been promoted to head P&G’s factory in Novomoskovsk, Russia, according to local media reports. She has been working for the consumer goods manufacturer for the past 17 years, out of which she spent the last 6 as general manager of the Timisoara detergents’ factory. She previously worked at the Novomoskovsk factory between 2003 and 2005 as operations director for the liquid detergents division. Pascu will be replaced by Tomas Andrascik, the former HR manager of the P&G factory in Rakona, the Czech Republic.
Florin Popa previously sales & distribution director at Orange Romania, has taken over the position of business-to-business director. He is li-
Claudiu Dragomir has been promoted to sales & distribution director by Orange Romania. He graduated from the Faculty of Transport of the Polytechnic University in Bucharest. Dragomir has been
part of the Orange team since 1997. In 1999 he inaugurated the Orange store in Universitatii Square and in 2003 he was put in charge of managing the business sales team. Between 2009 and 2013 he led the company’s retail team.
Mihai Turcanu has stepped down as president of the general directorate of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA). Vladimir Manastireanu, the institution’s vice-president, will serve in an interim capacity until a new appointment is made. Turcanu’s resignation comes in the wake of several food safety scandals that have challenged the institution over the past few weeks, starting with the horse-
meat crisis last month. More recently, milk infested with aflatoxin was found in local collection centers and a Romanian producer is believed to have exported turkey meat which contained residues of antibiotics. Turcanu is backed by the National Liberal Party.
Alina Necula has been promoted to head of marketing & sales at Adama. She is replacing Asher Lax who has recently left the company after it was taken over by Immofinanz almost a year and a half ago. Necula has previously worked as marketing manager. She joined the real estate developer in 2007, having graduated from the Law Faculty and International Advertising Association (IAA) Romania specializing in marketing and communication.
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
6 FOCUS
Skepticism over farmers’ cooperative hinders productivity Romania should have a good, if not great, agricultural year in 2013, according to the first official predictions, which is expected to translate into cereal production of between 18 and 19 million tons. While this is welcome news after last year’s drought, pundits and farmers alike agree that the output could be more than double this figure should productivity improve. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN “How could Romania become a net exporter of agricultural products? This is a key question and the solutions are relatively simple but ultimately hard to accomplish (…) if one looks at the sector’s productivity,” said Achim Irimescu, secretary of state with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), last week during the How Can Agriculture become the Economy’s Star? conference. Land fragmentation, limited financing, a reluctance to set up farmers’ associations or cooperatives, the lack of a coherent multiannual national strategy in the field, an absence of proper agricultural infrastructure and in many cases know-how and market understanding, as well as deeply entrenched tax evasion are the main issues which continue to impede Romania’s agricultural industry. Low yields are still a problem for most of Romania’s farmers, given that a staggering majority – about 1.01 million farmers out of a whopping total of 1.09 million in the country – cultivates plots of land of up to ten hectares. Most of these farmers continue to practice subsistence agriculture with almost no chance of getting their produce on the shelves of modern retail networks or investing in upgrades. At the other end of the spectrum, there are only about 13,000 farms in the country registered as companies, which usually also have the largest cultivated surfaces. These producers report far better yields than their smaller counterparts, comparable to the situation in Western Europe, suggesting that good performance is achievable under the right conditions. A consequence of this unbalanced situation is that despite the much talked up huge agricultural potential, Romania remains to this day a net importer of food products. Ensuring selfsufficiency at least for basic foods is an objective for the MADR but Achim admits that so far the authorities have not managed to achieve this. “The ministry’s objective is to support all producers, regardless of their size, but at this point it is a stretch to hope we will manage to get small pro-
Carrot and stick approach: pundits say that local farmers should work together to increase their bargaining power
ducers to export as there are large players who don’t manage to do so,” he said. Small Romanian farmers aren’t able to get their produce on the shelves of local supermarkets, let alone aim for external markets, stressed the state secretary.
Strength in numbers Getting farmers to set up associations or cooperatives is a solution to many problems, including that of low productivity, everyone seems to agree. One of the first advantages of producers’ association is reduced costs of inputs due to collective negotiations. Nicolae Sitaru, owner of Elsit Com, which cultivates some 2,600 hectares of land, is part of a producers’ association in Ialomita County, which over the past seven years has been buying inputs as well insurance through the association. “This is something that helps us a lot. Actually we help one another to reduce costs. By organizing auctions for pesticides and seeds to
which we invite all the large suppliers, we obtain very good prices. We recommend the same to others,” said the farmer. Better negotiating power also helps when selling the produce, especially to large retail chains which have strict requirements regarding the quality and continuity of deliveries. Associations are beneficial especially for small farmers for whom it is easier to become a profitable business when part of associations which sell value-added products. Such a business model proves especially efficient in times of crisis. “I have often given the example of what is happening in the Belgian milk industry, where despite the crisis producers haven’t lost very much. Some 60-70 percent of the milk sold there comes from cooperatives,” said Achim. Producers are shareholders in the associations which also process the milk and handle the marketing, he explained.
Associations can grow into complex businesses where each member has a clearly defined role. “In France, for example, a cooperative that has 1,400 employees manages to get its members the best prices for both inputs and products. In the end, the individual producer has to do only what he knows best and that is to cultivate the land. He doesn’t have to worry about what he should grow, for example, because the cooperative employs experts who provide access to the best information and technologies. In Romania, while farmers don’t form associations, we can’t talk about such consultancy or know-how,” said Achim. However, despite these advantages, the cooperative model has not yet caught on locally. Sitaru says that one of the reasons for this is that most farmers associate any form of such organizations with the former communist cooperatives which were done by force. He urges the government to
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
The farmer’s perspective The agriculture sector could easily become the star of the local economy should every local farmer be able to report a level of average yields which is realistic given the country’s weather and technological conditions, said Sitaru. “Average yields of 4 to 5 tons per hectare for wheat should be achievable in Romania as well as yields of 3 tons for rape or sunflower and 8 to 9 tons for corn. And many of the large local farm owners, who are often badmouthed, report such yields,” he said. Should such average productions materialize, in a normal agricultural year
Romania would enjoy cereal production of 40 to 45 million tons, more than double the projected figure this year, in the context of what should be a “very good” agricultural year, according to officials. This level could be fairly easily achieved as soon as next year given relatively simple conditions, believes Sitaru. “In order to reach this we should have average farm investments of between EUR 1,500 and 2,000 for every cultivated hectare,” the farmer estimates. Yields are also highly dependent on the existing agriculture infrastructure. “I believe that when it comes to agricultural equipment there should be an average of at least one horsepower per hectare. This is not yet the case in Romania, while other countries have three or four times this figure,” he added. In 2011, which was dubbed one of the best agricultural years in the last decade, Romania reported cereal production of close to 21 million tons, but Sitaru sees this as no reason to boast, as given the weather conditions, 40 to 45 million tons of cereals would have been a more appropriate level. “A coherent strategy is required to reach this, but who do we have to come up with such a strategy? In 23 years we have had 23 different leaderships at the MADR. There is simply not enough time in a year to understand the reality of the sector, let
Comparison of cereal* yields across EU (100kg/ha) Netherlands France Germany ... Slovenia Slovakia Bulgaria Poland Estonia Romania Cyprus
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
84.8 72.7 71.2
91.5 74.6 72
86.8 70.9 66.8
79.5 69.4 64.5
85.3 72.9 69.6
54.9 51.8 40.9 32.2 27.9 32.4 1.6
52.8 43.4 N/A 34.8 27.6 28.2 18.2
60.5 37 40.3 35.7 24.6 33.3 19.3
64.5 50.1 42.5 34.3 26 39.9 19.6
57.7 38.3 38.1 37.1 34.2 23.4 15.7
*including rice
alone come up with a coherent strategy. Continuity should have been somehow ensured,” said Sitaru. As for why local produce such as fruit and vegetables do not make it onto local supermarket shelves, let alone external markets, Sitaru again blames the lack of infrastructure. It all boils down to the absence of basic warehouses where farmers could deposit their produce. “The farmer’s job is to cultivate. It no longer makes business sense, as it did some years ago, for the farmer to load his own car with produce and go and sell it at the market himself. Consider the price of diesel alone,” he said.
Source: Eurostat
come up with a strategy to encourage associations, and while the official agrees that something must be done in this regard, so far no concrete plan has been announced. Barbu Mihaescu of Mattig Management Partners has also suggested that the government support small producers looking to export by identifying some production sectors with development potential and helping set up business incubators in close relation with research centers or universities. There are plenty of other such models that Romania could adopt from the experience of other countries but a will for change is required and once more a clear strategy.
FOCUS 7
Other problems which prevent better crops include lack of financing available for producers, especially subsidies, which are not only lower than what other European farmers receive but are also received by farmers with considerable delays, complains Sitaru. The lack of political commitment to fight tax evasion and reluctance at EU level to allow the cultivation of genetically modified plants, which would allow far better hectare yields, are other hurdles, concluded the farmer. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
8 INTERVIEW
Drive by: advertising on wheels A picture is worth a thousand words – and a picture on a moving car can reach thousands of people every day. Antonio Coli, CEO of Carmedia, a young company that provides advertising on private vehicles, tells BR about the reach of such campaigns and what plans the firm has in store.
CV Antonio Coli March 2012 – Present CEO of Carmedia Dec. 2010 – Feb. 2012 vice-president of sales, Europe CallPoint New Europe 2006 – 2009 general manager of Stream Germany and Poland 2004 – 2007 general manager of Stream Italy January 2003 – March 2004 business unit director of Teleclient S.p.A. 2001 – 2004 director of operations at Acroservizi S.p.A January 2000 – March 2001 founder and CEO of Epocall S.r.l. October 1997 – March 2001 founder and CEO of Jolly Service S.r.l.
∫ OTILIA HARAGA How many cars are generally used for a campaign implemented by Carmedia? Our media platform allows us to deploy between 1 and 1,000 vehicles. Typically the number of vehicles used in an advertising campaign depends on the impact and visibility that is requested by our clients. In a city like Bucharest between 50 and 100 cars is a good number to ensure great visibility.
Courtesy of Carmedia
What would such a campaign cost a client? The cost of a campaign varies depending on the duration, number of vehicles deployed and type of coverage. In general the price of a branded vehicle starts at EUR 150/month. In a city like Bucharest, one vehicle can generate up to 120,000 views per month. Worth mentioning is that men and women from 18-34 years old spend 20 hours per week in cars, a 33 percent increase over the last five years. Both the amount of time people spend outside the home and the length of commutes are increasing. This presents an excellent opportunity to take advantage of new types of outdoor advertising, notably advertising on private cars, which offers advantages that cannot be found through broadcast, static billboards or print media. Also, 29 percent of people say outdoor advertising has prompted a visit to a retail store within a week. A significant amount of shopping occurs on the way to and from work, and purchases are also often contemplated on the way. A moving vehicle generates 2.5 times more attention than a static billboard. A single car in an urban environment generates 5,000 impressions per day.
ects we have done in Romania, every vehicle can generate an average of 120,000-140,000 views per month depending on the season and the targeted area.
How do you select the cars and drivers that you will use? After subscribing to our website, every driver is reviewed and eventually pre-approved. Once we have an advertising project, we select them based on the area where they drive and their habits and check their profile with a phone interview to make sure they match our client’s needs and brand specifics. At the end of December 2012, we had 5,000 drivers available in the biggest cities in Romania (3,000 in Bucharest alone), but this number is growing every day. Our drivers are students, athletes, people going out several times per week, moms with kids shopping two or three times a week, etc. So, for example, if our clients are targeting students for their campaign or promotion, we will select only students who park their car at the university campus, who drive to places where other students are, such as faculties, pubs, concerts etc. The result is that their car will most likely
be visible where other students are. With the same principle we can target different groups: businesspeople, women with kids, people doing sport and many others in very specific and targeted areas of the country. Any company that sells to the public – food and beverage, retailers, telecom, pharma etc – can potentially derive large benefits from our media solutions. How do you measure the reach of campaigns in more concrete terms? It all starts from tracking every vehicle with a proprietary GPS solution providing in real time the position of every vehicle as well as the number of kilometers, the time spent while parked and all movements in a given period of time. Additionally we use industry standards and independent market research companies to certify the number of views that every vehicle can generate in a month in cities like Bucharest. Based on our previous experience and the advertising proj-
What are Carmedia’s strategic plans in 2013? We have very aggressive plans for 2013. First of all we want to consolidate on the Romanian market, as this is where we have our headquarters and excellence center. In parallel, we will continue to develop our presence in other European countries. We started in Spain and Germany in 2012 and we are looking to expand to Poland, Austria and Turkey in 2013. On the product side, we will shortly launch a new solution to generate traffic online (Facebook and other social media). What turnover and profit do you estimate for Carmedia in 2013? Final numbers for 2012 are not ready yet but we posted EUR 50,000 in revenues in Romania. We project EUR 300,000 in revenues in 2013 in Romania alone. How far would you say the car advertising market will develop over the next few years? Unfortunately, the advertising market has suffered quite a lot from the crisis and companies are looking for lowcost, creative and innovative advertising solutions. We launched our platform in the Romanian market only four months ago; however, we have had a very good response and active projects already. otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
PROPERTY 9
CBRE: developers to resume industrial projects in 2013 Demand for industrial real estate grew by 24 percent in the last semester of 2012 compared to the first half of the year, and the upward trend will continue, says CBRE. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN Bucharest’s industrial space take-up rose by 40 percent in the last half of 2012 compared to the first half of the year, while the industrial stock grew by 2 percent, reaching a total of 980,000 sqm, according to a CBRE report on the local industrial market in the last semester of 2012. “The industrial sector posted a 3.1 turnover increase last year compared to 2011 and generated a quarter of Romania’s GDP which goes to show increasing interest in this sector. This is why this year, given the political and economic stability, we expect developers to resume industrial park projects which have been postponed for several years,” said Marian Orzu, head of the industrial department at CBRE Romania. In 2013, tenants will mainly look to build-to-suit projects in buildings which are optimized for their specific activities and a stable rental market will allow tenants from low-performing spaces to move into class A ones, he added. In a report on the local real estate market in Q4 2012, Jones Lang LaSalle Romania forecasts that although there continues to be a preference for Bucharest’s main industrial hubs, Ploiesti, Timisoara, Cluj and Constanta are emerging as second-tier centers. Moreover, in addition to traditional occupiers such as 3PL companies and automotive related firms and suppliers, Romania has started to attract manufacturers. However, despite the country’s advantageous geographical position, this sector is in an incipient state, mainly because of a lack of proper road infrastructure.
The major built-to-suit and owneroccupied industrial premises delivered in the last quarter of 2012 include the 20,000-sqm built-to-suit unit occupied by DSV in Bucharest West, the Lufkin Industries Oil Field Division owner-occupied facility within Ploiesti West Park of approximately 35,000 sqm (in three main buildings), as well as the 16,000sqm built-to-suit unit occupied by Schlumberger in Ploiesti West Park, according Jones Lang LaSalle Romania data. Another 144,000 sqm could be delivered this year and next outside Bucharest, according to CBRE representatives. An additional 77,000 sqm remains in the planning phase due to lack of financing.
Major moves There were about 22 transactions in the last semester of 2012, involving a total surface area of 89,000 sqm, says CBRE. Deals involving Bucharest stood at 38,000 sqm, outside the capital the total reached 32,000 sqm and the remaining 24,000 sqm represented direct transactions between owners and tenants. The largest deal in the second half of 2012 was grocery retailer Profi renting 15,000 sqm for a logistics center in Log Center Ploiesti, followed by the14,000 sqm secured by motor industry player Faurecia in the Dacia Pitesti platform. Other large transactions were the 7,500 taken by KLG Europe Logistics in Olympian Park Timisoara and Meitav which rented 6,000 sqm in Pantelimon Logistics Center. The capital attracted most investments in industrial developments in H2 2012 (44 percent) followed by Ploiesti
Investment in industrial real estate projects (mln euros) 2009
2010
2011
2012
43.9
12.5
0
85.9
15
Jones Lang LaSalle Romania estimates the modern industrial stock in Romania will reach 1.8 million sqm, as of Q4 2012, with up to 55 percent of the stock located in Bucharest’s industrial hubs. In Romania, over the whole of 2012, the modern industrial supply increased by approximately 130,000 sqm (including all types of industrial premises such as speculative, built-to-suit, pre-let and owner-occupied units).
Source: CBRE
2008
(19 percent), Pitesti (16), Timisoara (15 percent), Ramnicu Valcea (5 percent), Arad (3 percent) and Constanta (1 percent). There were no major changes to prime rents in the second half of 2012, which remained between EUR 3.75 and EUR 4 per sqm, depending on the surface rented. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
10 MONEY
Savers struggle through income freeze In the past few years lenders have mounted extensive campaigns to persuade Romanians to save more, in spite of the fragile economic recovery. However, chasing savers in an environment scarred by austerity measures won’t make a significant impact on the economy, reckon specialists. Eastern Europe), especially in Hungary and Serbia. Romania posted a credit-to-deposit ratio of 1.2 percent in 2011, which was 0.1 percentage points above the CEE average. Matei stated that the retail segment was struggling with higher risk rates and a “relatively unattractive” retail interest rate difference. A larger challenge for the system seems to be the level of non-performing loans, which reached 18.23 percent at the end of 2012. She predicted that banks will seek to build a larger share of their revenue base from related activities that generate commission, such as bancassurance – a partnership between lenders and insurers on sales infrastructure.
∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA Romanian savers put away on average EUR 39 each month, and more than half of those surveyed expect to save less in the next five years, according to an Erste Group Saving Barometer published in late 2012. However, more than half of the people quizzed were dissatisfied with their personal financial situation and 78 percent said they could not afford to save any money at the moment. Asked if they considered saving money more important these days compared to previous years, only 36 percent said they did. Just 16 percent of the interviewees regularly put money aside. The Erste report found that a large share of Romanians save to give themselves a financial buffer, or to make acquisitions or renovations. Romania is among the countries with a low savings rate, along with other Balkan nations that are not EU members. Hungary and Ukraine are in a similar position. Putting their money into savings accounts does not necessarily guarantee consumers any return this year, as the interest is likely to outstripped by inflation. ING Bank Romania estimates Romania will register an annual inflation rate of 5.4 percent, while the lender’s interest rates on deposits hover around this figure. “The real negative rates are temporary and random. This situation is not normal,” Misu Negritoiu, chairman of ING Bank Romania, recently commented. The National Bank of Romania said that RON-denominated household deposits rose 1.5 percent in January to RON 75 billion (EUR 17.1 billion) against the same period of last year,
39 EUR the average monthly sum put away by savers in Romania, according to an Erste Group Saving Barometer
Crisis saver more aware of personal finance Save the day: recession-hit consumers are finding it hard to put money aside
although they were down 4.2 percent in real terms. Meanwhile, RON-denominated corporate deposits fell 6.8 percent year-on-year (12 percent in real terms) to RON 48.8 billion (EUR 11.1 billion). Forex-denominated loans gained 16.3 percent and 14.7 percent for households and corporates to RON 72 billion (EUR 16.4 billion) and RON 24 billion (EUR 5.5 billion), respectively. Overall, deposits by non-government residents rose by 4.1 percent year-on-year to RON 192 billion (EUR 43.8 billion) in January.
Saving requires development Romania has to rekindle growth and its society if it wants to reap the benefits of a strong saving culture, says Claudiu Cercel, deputy general director at BRD – Groupe Societe Generale. The lender registered a 5.1 percent growth in deposits to RON 31.7 billion (EUR 7.2 billion) last year, helped by forex deposits that rose by 22.7 percent to RON 14.1 billion (EUR 3.2 billion). “The current economic structure, which is the consequence of a poor performance in meeting the criteria of an inclusive society, creates too little
value per employee in relative terms to extract significant savings resources,” Cercel told BR. He added that a country’s savings ratio is dependent on a series of factors, ranging from economic growth to the urbanization rate and revenue levels. “We shouldn’t realistically expect radical changes in the savings volume as a percentage of GDP, not even in the medium term,” added Cercel. Gross savings stood at more than 24 percent of GDP in 2011, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat. Cercel suggested the savings structure could be changed through a fiscal stimulus. For instance, the taxation rate could be lowered for savings with a term of up to one year. Since the start of the recession, the Romanian subsidiaries of large banking groups in the Euro zone have attempted to replace some of the parent funding from internal sources. “Against the backdrop of the 2008 recession, but especially due to a shortage of liquidity, the banking system has promoted savings in a move to attract funds, especially savings in the local currency, the RON,” Flavia Matei, senior consultant at Ensight Management Consulting, told BR. She added that this trend has been registered across the CEE (Central and
The recession has eaten into the cash that many Romanians would otherwise have been able to put away for a rainy day. Matei commented that the savings capacity has been hit by shrinking incomes, which saw the share of consumption in the total income rise. This meant that people had to allocate more to meet their basic needs. Romanians who took out loans in foreign currencies also saw their installments rise after unfavorable shifts of the exchange rates against the Swiss franc and the Euro in the past two years, according to Matei. “An important trend registered in the financial sector was the consumer’s inclination towards standardized, traditional products, and ignoring those with a savings or investments component,” added the senior consultant. Cercel of BRD commented that consumers have become more aware of their savings options, while bank and client activism have boosted financial education and personal development. “The society needs these ‘anchors’ after the excess of the period of economic exuberance,” concluded Cercel. EUR 39 – the average monthly sum put away by savers in Romania, according to an Erste Group Saving Barometer. ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
INTERVIEW 11
Keeping the bearings rolling With the largest share of Romanian bearings exported worldwide, Turkish URB Group has turned the Barlad plant into one of the main domestic industrial powerhouses. Esin Ugurtay, business development director of URB Group, tells BR the company is grappling with an influx of counterfeit bearings.
CV Esin Ugurtay 2010 to date business development manager, URB Group 2009 – 2010 sales manager, URB Group April – September 2009 sales consultant, URB Group 2004 – 2009 logistics-purchasing manager, Aka Automotive 1997 – 2004 sales manager, TNT International Express 2000 graduated from the Economy Faculty of Uludag University in Turkey
∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA What kind of support do you expect from the government? Unfortunately, in Romania there is still no regulation for the standards of bearing you can import. Romania has always been the center of the bearing industry, but legally it doesn’t have any standards. Bearings that are made in China are made from low-quality material, which is really risky for the end users and threatens their safety; such products can easily be imported into Romania. We are looking for some protection for the bearing industry and the legitimate bearing producers. If you do not protect your industry with some legal standards, we can’t protect you. What is the cost of fake bearings for your business? In Romania, there are some fake URB bearing producers whom we are fighting in court. For example, in India 70 percent of the URB bearings sold in the market are fake. They delete the URB brand and write another German brand on it. Many producers are making the Chinese fake URB bearings that we are fighting against. How did bearings demand in Romania fare last year? We are expecting the market to exceed EUR 10 million in Romania, but unfortunately, since 2008 – when the global crisis started – we have been affected in the internal market. This year we have
decided to go to industries on a city-bycity basis, near the customers to explain the opportunity to the purchasing managers and engineers. In the next three years our expectation is to match the 2008 level of over EUR 10 million. What is the value of the bearings market? Right now the legitimate bearings market is EUR 100 million. We are looking to reach a 10 percent market share and we can exceed that. What is the feedback from the authorities? Unfortunately, they look only at the price ratio. You can’t compare URB and Chinese prices. You can buy a bearing you can use for 60 days on one application for USD 1 or bearings that you can use for ten years for USD 30. Have you continued to invest in Barlad? In the last two years we have made over EUR 10 million of investments and in the next ten years we plan to make another USD 50 million in investments. What are the main export growth markets you’re targeting this year? We are looking at Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia. We are also looking to further develop the market in Russia. Generally, of whatever we are supplying to our customers, approximately 90 percent of the total package is from Romania. The remaining ten percent we supply from our plants in Hungary and Turkey. ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
12 CITY
History is on tap at Gambrinus Brewery More than a century since its first opening, the Gambrinus beerhouse, where Romanian artists would congregate at the beginning of the 20th century, has come back to life in the center of Bucharest. BR popped in to hear the story behind the grand opening from Alexandra Pop, marketing director of Gambrinus Brewery, over a beer.
All photos: Silviu Pal
Royal approval: King Gambrinus, one of the official patron saints of beer, sits sentinel over the fully equipped bar
cians. “It was probably Caragiale’s best investment, as we all know that he didn’t know how to manage his funds,” says Pop. Unfortunately, the original building, on 4 Campineanu Street, was demolished in 1940. However, one year later someone named Naumescu reopened the brewery, with its initial feel and menu, on the ground floor of Palace Hotel (at the junction of Regina Elisabeta Boulevard and Brezoianu Street) named Cismigiu Hotel after World War II.
Facelift
Writer’s eye: A century later, Caragiale still looks after his brewery
∫ OANA VASILIU Once upon a time… In Bucharest, Gambrinus beer enjoys a long tradition. Its history dates back to 1869 but it shot to fame in 1901, when the Romanian playwright and publicist
Ion Luca Caragiale took it over, transforming the brewery into a location where theatergoers could debate the latest premieres at the nearby National Theater (now the Novotel Hotel, which preserves the entrance of the theater), as well as a meeting place for musicians, writers, journalists and politi-
Last December, the Spanish developer Hercesa re-opened Bucharest’s landmark Hotel Cismigiu, entirely refurbished following a EUR 15 million investment. Hercesa bought the 100year-old building in 2004 and started reconstruction works in 2008. The hotel’s exterior was refurbished according to the original design while the interior had to be entirely altered. Another EUR 150,000 was invested in the interior of the legendary brewery. The beerhouse kept the inter-war period décor, presenting images of Bucharest, Caragiale’s portrait, as well as pictures of other breweries owned by Heineken,
the official beer served at Gambrinus Brewery. “Our architects tried to maintain the same décor as in the 20th century as far as possible, but unfortunately we weren’t able to find any pictures of the interior, just the exterior of the beerhouse,” added Pop.
The menu The new owners adapted a statue of King Gambrinus himself, who overlooks the entire brewery from the top of the bar. “Here is a combination between the legend of King Gambrinus and the old brewery, all seasoned with Romanian dishes and contemporary liquors,” says Pop. The venue was opened in partnership with Heineken, and also provides food for tourists staying at Cismigiu Hotel. “Currently, we are open from 7am because we serve breakfast and other meals for guests of the hotel. There is a door which connects the brewery to the hotel, which make access much easier,” says the marketing manager. Despite the brewery’s name, currently it does not serve Gambrinus beer, which is also part of the Heineken portfolio. oana.vasiliu@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
CITY 13
FILM REVIEW
Child’s Pose
All photos: Cos Aelenei
A bit of a drag: Luminita Gheorghiu plays overbearing mother Cornelia
DEBBIE STOWE Director: Calin Netzer Starring: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Natasa Raab, Florin Zamfirescu, Ilinca Goia, Vlad Ivanov On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Cotroceni VIP, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Elvira Popescu, Grand Cinema Digiplex, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex, Patria, Studio How far will a mother go to save her child? This is the question explored by Child’s Pose, winner of the Berlin Golden Bear last month, and now on general release in its homeland. The picture is inseparable from the powerful performance of Luminita Gheorghiu, a Romanian New Wave regular, who is in almost every scene. Gheorghiu plays Cornelia, a ghastly nouveau riche architect who’s leading the sort of wealthy yet joyless existence that the non-rich like to believe is common among the rich. Fur coat-clad, helmet-haired and hard faced, she’s a sort of Romanian Carmela Soprano, buoyed by her membership of what passes for the country’s “elite” – namely unpleasant people with money and connections. The cash and contacts are called into play when Cornelia’s deadbeat son Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache) accidentally runs over and kills a young boy. Momzilla immediately comes in to bat for her over-mothered offspring, attempting to influence the investigating officers, get a witness statement altered and even persuade the victim’s family to take a lenient approach in their pursuit of justice.
Viewers familiar with the Romanian New Wave will find many similarities here. Minimalism, realism and a grim look at post-Communist society are punctuated by moments of black humor. Corruption is an important theme. However, Child’s Pose is unusual for shifting the focus away from the gloomy apartment blocks and proletarian misery and onto the swanky villas and levers of power of the moneyed class. The “real” Romania, though, is not far away. After Cornelia is called out of an operatic performance to Barbu’s aid by family friend or perhaps relative Olga (Natasa Raab), the two women sit, dressed up to the nines in their flashy furs, ridiculously out of place in the drab police office, which recalls other New Wave productions such as Police, Adjective and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Meanwhile, the simple rural home of the victim sounds a reminder that the Romania of posh pads, fancy parties and trendy cafes is not open to most. Child’s Pose is not easy viewing. Scenes involving the young boy’s grieving family are particularly harrowing to watch, and it’s hard to find a likeable character among Cornelia’s family and associates, who are either feeble personalities in thrall to the dominant matriarch or equally conniving chiselers themselves. But it’s to the credit of Gheorghiu, director Calin Netzer and writer Razvan Radulescu that Cornelia is far more complex than a one-dimensional harridan. Though we see her plumb some frightening moral depths in her manic maternal quest, she also demonstrates far more courage and resolve
Childlike: Bogdan Dumitrache and Ilinca Goia as the disempowered couple
than her ineffective husband and son, and she is the driving force in their attempt to reach out to the victim’s family – even if her motives are mul-
tifarious. It’s a hugely impressive performance from Gheorghiu and marks another feather in the cap of Romanian filmmaking. ∫
www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 18- 24, 2013
14 CITY
GOING OUT
DON’T MISS THE HUMAN BODY EXHIBITION
PERFORMANCE Thu, March 21 CONCERT: Richard Clayderman – Sala Palatului, 20.00 The Prince of Romance, who has recorded over 1,300 melodies and created a new romantic style through a repertoire which combines his trademark originals with classics and pop standards, will enchant the Romanian public with pieces from his latest album. Thu, March 21 CLASSICAL MUSIC: Francophone Gala – Radio Hall, 19.00 Under the wand of Tiberiu Soare, the violist Gabriel Croitoru will perform using the same violin as George Enescu, the Guarneri del Gesu, from 1731. The audience will be treated to Édouard Lalo’s Spanish Symphony in D minor for the violin and orchestra, as well as the Symphony in E flat major, composed by George Enescu. Thu, March 21 OPERA: La Traviata, projected from Opera Australia – Grand Cinema Digiplex, 20.00 The tragic love story La Traviata is told here in an extravagant and romantic show. This huge production involves spectacular scenery, beautiful costumes, fireworks and a 9m tall chandelier that brightens the stage, giving an impressive view of the Opera House and the port of Sydney. The performance is conducted by Julian Kovatchev. Thu, March 21 KIDS SHOW: Battery Dance Company Show – Palatul Copiilor, 18.30 The Battery Dance Company performs on stages around the world, teaches, presents and advocates for the field of dance, educating children through the art form. The group will host several local workshops for children with disabilities, Roma teenagers, schoolchildren, students and aspiring artists.
Body beautiful: The multiple galleries take visitors through human anatomy
∫ OANA VASILIU Antipa Museum March 22 to June 30 Realistic and provocative, The Human Body will stop in Bucharest for the first time. The exhibition includes more than 200 pieces – human material which through dissection of organs and tissue offers a three-dimensional perspective of the miracle that is the body. The exhibition includes nine themed galleries: introductory, an overview of the body and the fascinating journey ahead, skeletal/muscular, the body’s supporting skeletal framework and the muscles that work in tandem with it, respiratory, the system that brings air to every cell and also facilitates speech, digestive, the process that moves food through 10 meters of digestive tract, extracting the nutrients needed for survival, nervous, the brain as the center of consciousness and the spinal cord that sends impulses to FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery PUBLISHER Anca Ionita EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor JOURNALISTS Otilia Haraga - senior journalist, Simona Bazavan, Ovidiu Posirca, Oana Vasiliu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe PHOTO EDITOR: Mihai Constantineanu
ISSN No. 1453 - 729X
LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean
it at the speed of light, circulatory, a unique and awe-inspiring look at the heart and the 145,000 km of blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body, reproductive/urinary, the system with two functions: elimination and re-
production, fetal life, life in development on a most basic level, and your future, encouraging the visitor to take a more active role in his or her health and wellbeing. The body parts used have been donated to Dalian Hoffen Bio-technique Laboratory in accordance with Chinese legislation. The laboratory researches and develops plastination techniques for the preservation of human body parts, giving the exhibits to several medicine schools for educational purpose. Using plastination techniques, human tissue can be conserved forever. Tickets prices are RON 50 for adults (Tue-Fri) and RON 60 (SatSun), RON 32 for children aged 7-18 (Tue-Fri) and RON 40 (Sat-Sun). Family passes are also available, at RON 85/100 (one adult and one child), RON 110/120 (two adults and one child) and RON 120/135 (two adults and two children). Tickets are available online, at www.eventim.ro, and through the Eventim network (Germanos, Vodafone, Orange, Domo, Humanitas and Carturesti). oana.vasiliu@business-review.ro
Skeleton key: Individual organ specimens are also on display
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi SALES & EVENTS Sales managers: Ana-Maria Nedelcu, Oana Albu, Raluca Comanescu, Sales executives: Bogdan Spirea, MARKETING Ana-Maria Stanca, Catalina Costiuc, Andreea Rusu PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRIBUTION Eugen 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@business-review.ro sales@business-review.ro events@business-review.ro