Prime Minister Florin Citu has stated that he expects a deficit of less
than 7% this year, which will most certainly be appreciated by rating
agencies. He has pointed out that economic recovery depends on the
success of the vaccination campaign, which would lead to "that
effervescent economy in which people go and spend their resources and
use them in Romania". PM Cîţu has also commented on the Romanian
currency’s depreciation against the euro, stating that, in his opinion,
this is only temporary.
With a 1.6% advance recorded in February 2021, at an annual rate,
Romania was one of the three EU countries where production in the
construction sector grew compared to February 2020. The biggest
advances were recorded in Sweden (5.8%) and Austria (3.6%). Moreover,
construction works in Romania increased by 2.3% at a monthly rate.
Apart from Romania, only three countries reported monthly advances in
this sector: Sweden (9.2%), Austria (8.8%) and Bulgaria (0.2%).
Unemployment rate stood at 5% in 2020, higher than in the previous year
(3.9% in 2019). Gender unemployment gap was 0.6% (5.3% in men compared
to 4.7% in women), while urban-rural unemployment gap reached 1.4% (5.8
% in rural areas compared to 4.4% in urban areas). The highest
unemployment rate (17.3%) was recorded among young people aged 15-24,
according to the National Institute of Statistics.
NN Pensii, the administrator of the largest Pillar 2 private pension
fund in Romania, has reported a RON 44.9 million net profit for 2020,
compared to nearly RON 40 million losses incurred in the previous year,
according to data published on the company’s website. Its turnover
increased from RON 82.3 million to RON 143.7 million. The company
intends to pay RON 2.8 million dividends from the net result, and use
another RON 39.7 million to cover the accounting loss.
CEC Bank clients can make transfers to any other bank in Romania using
their telephone number as an alias, instead of the IBAN code, through
the CEC Bank’s Mobile Banking application. CEC Bank is thus the first
institution in Romania to offer this service regardless of the bank
corresponding to the recipient’s account, even for bank accounts that
are not enrolled in the AliasPay service, recently launched by
Transfond.
Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched BVB Research Hub, a source
of essential information about companies listed in Bucharest, useful in
the investment process, according to a press release issued by the
capital market operator. The platform aims to increase issuers’
visibility and to facilitate investors’ access to good quality
resources. BVB Research Hub is dedicated to individual and
institutional investors, listed companies and brokers, as well as to
the general public. Access to the resources available on the platform
is free.
Arcadia - Hospitals and Healthcare Centers, a private healthcare
network in the region of Moldova, has announced over EUR 600,000 new
investments dedicated to the neurosurgery specialty. In 2020, Arcadia
equipped the centers and hospitals in the network with latest
generation medical instruments and equipment allowing minimally
invasive treatment of frequent diseases, patients’ faster recovery, but
also enhanced postoperative comfort.
Yesterday, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare and the Vice President of
the European Investment Bank (EIB), Christian Kettel Thomsen signed a
EUR 250 million financing contract for the construction of the first
Regional Emergency Hospital in Romania, in Iaşi. The new hospital will
have 850 beds and will replace the old infrastructure of the County
Clinical Hospital with a modern structure and new equipment at European
standards.
The Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) has signed a
RON 48 million contract for the acquisition of medical equipment for
the National Institute of Neurology and Neurovascular Diseases in
Bucharest. The project will increase the Institute’s treatment and
diagnosis capacity thanks to the additional medical equipment,
including the one necessary for the Intensive Care department, but also
for departments’ disinfection.
A draft law initiated by the Government stipulates that payments by
card or cash withdrawal without the holder’s consent shall be punished
with 7 years in prison, the same penalty being mentioned for the
unauthorized use of certain mobile applications. The draft law aims to
modify the definition of non-cash and virtual currency payment
instruments, to adapt crimes involving fraud committed through computer
systems and electronic means of payment, including through virtual
currencies, and to adapt the electronic payment instruments forgery
crimes to the standards imposed by the "Non-Cash" Directive.
An EU regulation on tire labeling due to come into force on 1 May will
not cover the rate at which tires shed particles - a major contributor
to microplastics in Europe - as an agreed method for the calculation of
abrasion is still not in place. The requirement to list abrasion was
included in the tire labeling regulation, adopted in February 2020, but
pushed back due to technical questions over how to measure the rate at
which particles are jettisoned from tires.
Minister of Labor Raluca Turcan has launched the idea of setting up
pension funds for occupational groups, as it happens in other
countries. She also spoke about the principles behind the granting of
magistrates’ service pensions, pointing out that pensions should be as
close as possible to the value of the salary, but should not exceed the
salary. Mrs. Turcan also spoke about the second principle regarding
magistrates’ service pensions, namely stimulating people to remain
active by providing retirement benefits.
The coordinator of the national anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign,
Valeriu Gheoghiţă has announced that vaccination through mobile centers
and mobile teams will start today and that the caravans will initially
get to seven counties. He has pointed out that Moderna’s vaccine will
be used in the mobile centers.