Online will account for 2% of food trade by 2025, more than double than
in 2020, but the absolute winner of this period will be the discount
segment which will reach a 38% market share, according to an analysis
of research and analysis company Roland Berger. Convenience, modern
proximity stores to be more exact, will gain ground, while hypermarkets
and traditional trade will follow a downward trend, according to the
same source. However, the total market is also expected to grow during
the aforementioned period (2020-2025), by an average of 5% per year,
from EUR 19 billion last year to EUR 25 billion in 2025.
Francois Villeroy de Galhau, a member of the European Central Bank’s
Governing Council, has stated that he expects inflation rate in the
euro area to grow in the coming months, but to decrease below 2% by the
end of 2022. Mr. Villeroy, who is also the Governor of Banque de
France, has pointed out that the increase in inflation is temporary, as
it is linked to the rising energy prices and other developments, and
business leaders have already told him that a decrease can be noticed
in the prices of certain raw materials.
The number of dissolved companies increased by 13.35% in the first
eight months of this year, to 19,306, compared to 17,032 during the
period January - August 2020, according to data centralized by the
National Trade Register Office (ONRC). The most dissolutions were
recorded in Bucharest, namely 3,589 companies (up by 12.65%) and in the
counties of Constanţa (947, +12.74%), Iaşi (877, +41.68%) and Timiş
(873, -4.17%). At the other end of the classification, the fewest
company dissolutions were reported in the counties of Covasna, (111,
+10%), Mehedinţi (122, + 16.19%) and Vaslui (126, +5.88%). Motor
vehicles and motorcycles repair, wholesale and retail trade was the
sector to have recorded the most dissolved companies in the first eight
months of 2021, namely 5,864.
Romania obtained over EUR 1.3 billion from grain exports in H1 of 2021,
up by nearly 3% year-on-year. As a comparison, EUR 1.26 billion cereals
were exported to EU and non-EU countries in the first six months of
202. The largest amounts were obtained from exports to third countries,
namely EUR 789.3 million, while deliveries inside the community bloc
generated an increase of EUR 511.1 million.
Raiffeisen Asset Management (RAM), the company which specializes in the
management of Raiffeisen group’s investment funds in Romania, became
the largest mutual funds administrator on the local market after the
company’s assets had exceeded RON 6 billion at the end of August. The
assets managed by Raiffeisen Asset Management thus grew by over RON 800
million compared to the end of last year. The highest growth rate of
assets was recorded by equity and mixed funds - with a shares
component, which currently total over RON 1 billion.
CEC Bank is the first bank in Romania to offer Braille documents for
consultation to visually impaired clients. With the help of these
documents, clients have access to information about the bank’s offer -
costs and fees and contractual conditions. The sets of documents have
already been distributed in over 1,000 CEC Bank units and can be
consulted by visually impaired individuals requesting products/services
included in the bank’s offer.
Croissants, biscuits and wafers producer Alka Trading Co, whose
portfolio includes brands such as Alfers and Toortizi, plans to make
RON 10.5 million investments, with RON 5.26 million co-financing
through state aid, according to Government Decision no. 807/2014 from
the end of the H1 of 2021. The project is soon to be launched. At the
beginning of the year, the company’s officials said they planned to
invest RON 15 million this year and to employ more than 100 people,
thus reaching 867 employees. The main investment projects they have
established for 2021 are the increase in production capacities at the
factory in Ploieşti, investments in their private brands, both for the
local market and for external markets, and investments in
infrastructure.
Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto has
announced that General Electric will invest 10 billion forints (EUR
27.8 million) to expand its turbines plant in Veresegyhaz, in the
central part of Hungary, according to Daily News Hungary. One hundred
new jobs will be created following the investment.
Early Game Ventures (EGV) (earlygame.vc) has announced the signing of a
EUR 1.8 million investment with Kinderpedia (kinderpedia.co), the
complete digital communication and management solution for schools and
kindergartens built in Romania and recognized in Europe for innovation
and social impact. Existing investors, such as RocaX and Growceanu and
business angels participated in the round of investments, according to
a press release. Kinderpedia is an innovative education platform, which
provides the entire digital infrastructure needed for educational
institutions to work in a smart way and to communicate efficiently and
transparently, both in the classroom and online. More than 2,000
schools and kindergartens in 14 countries on three continents,
totalling about 200,000 users, are registered on Kinderpedia.
On Friday, 8 October, the President of the Senate, Anca Dragu submitted
a legislative initiative in Parliament, introducing clear criteria for
allocating the money from the Government’s Budget Reserve Fund, as well
as a transparent allocation mechanism, after the interim government led
by Florin Cîţu had allocated RON 1 billion to local authorities, and
PSD and USR had accused that the money had been distributed based on
political criteria. Mrs Dragu indicated, in an official press release,
that she had submitted the legislative initiative so that Romanians’
money should no longer be distributed based on the interests of the
Prime Minister or of the party leaders who supported him, but also to
stop the exponential increase in the amounts distributed from the
Reserve fund.
The European Union on Thursday, 7 October won its battle at the UN
Human Rights Council to create a new special rapporteur on Afghanistan,
despite opposition from China, Russia and Pakistan. The rapporteur will
be responsible for monitoring the rights situation in the country
following the Taliban takeover, and will make recommendations on
improvements.
The National Council of Rectors (CNR) has requested the
Government/Parliament to modify the legislative framework so that
access to university areas should only be allowed based on the digital
green certificate, except for persons with medical contraindications.
This is one of the requests of CNR, which had a working meeting in
Brasov, on 8-10 October. CNR has also requested the
Government/Parliament to supplement the institutional financing, given
the impact of the increase in the minimum wage starting from 1 January
2022 and the growing utility prices, but also to supplement the funding
aimed at supporting research in Romanian universities.
Janez Lenarčič, the Commissioner for Crisis Management, has stated that
the European Union is to send 250 oxygen concentrators through the
Civil Protection Mechanism to treat Covid-19 patients with severe
symptoms in Romania. The Commissioner has indicated that 200 of these
devices will come from Netherlands’ rescEU (European Civil Protection
and Humanitarian Aid Operations) reserves and 50 from Poland.
Interim Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has stated that there
currently is a legal framework allowing schools to decide to switch to
online activity if this is established by the educational unit’s Board
of Directors, together with the Public Health Directorate, in response
to concerns publicly manifested by the National Council of Students.
Moreover, he has pointed out that the teaching activity takes place at
national level, and that regulations refer to the entire system.