Annual inflation rate grew slightly in February, to 15.5%, after having
decreased to 15.1% in January, as priced of food products rose by
22.3%, those of goods were up 12.7% and services were 10.3% more
expensive than in February 2022, according to data published by the
National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Monday. Consumer prices were
up 0.98% in February compared to January 2023. The biggest increase was
recorded in food products, of 1.8%. Moreover, according to the same INS
data, gas prices grew by 42% in February 2023 year-on-year, while the
price of electricity rose 27%.
Trade deficit was EUR 2,338 million in January 2023, EUR 203.6 million
(+9.5%) higher than the level recorded in January 2022, the National
Institute of Statistics reported on Monday, 13 March. According to the
cited source, exports totaled EUR 7,160.2 million and imports stood at
EUR 9,498.2 million in January 2023. Exports in January 2023 were up
6.0% and imports increased by 6.8% year-on-year.
The Ministry of Finance borrowed RON 623 million from banks on Monday,
13 March, through an auction of government bonds with a nominal value
of RON 500 million, maturing in 2027, at an interest rate of 7.26% per
year. Seven primary dealers participated in the auction. Total demand
amounted to RON 1.13 billion, of which banks bid RON 1.12 billion on
their own behalf. The coupon rate was 2.50% and the yield to maturity
for the average auction price was 7.26%.
Allianz-Tiriac has developed the first fixed-price life insurance
policy that can be contracted 100% online. It is called My Protect and
has been created for people aged 18-69. The insurance is structured in
two packages, Standard and Optimum, depending on the budget and the
level of protection desired, according to Virgil Șoncutean, CEO of
Allianz-Tiriac Asigurări.
HR Club, the association of human resources professionals in Romania,
has launched, in collaboration with BCR, Joblandia, a platform
facilitating high school students’ access to practical training in
companies, during the A Different Kind of School week. With the help of
the platform, HR Club will launch the Joblandia Week for high school
students, a national program with over 50 locations available in
Bucharest, Cluj, Iaşi, Constanta, Giurgiu, Alba-Iulia, Ploieşti,
Timişoara, Braşov, Tg. Mures, Covasna, Lugoj, Sf. Gheorghe, Miercurea
Ciuc, Roman, Piteşti, Salonta, Satu Mare.
OTP Asset Management Romania has launched a new investment product,
called Discretionarily Managed Individual Investment Portfolios, which
is a form of investments management in which decisions to buy and sell
financial instruments are made on behalf of clients by investment
professionals such as OTP Asset Management Romania SAI SA. The product
can be used by individuals and legal entities.
Real estate developer One United Properties has concluded a financing
agreement with Banca Transilvania for a USD 20 million investments
loan, over an up to 42 month crediting period. The funds will be used
to finalize One Cotroceni Park’s residential component, currently in an
advanced stage of construction, and which must be completed in 2023.
More than 90% of apartments have already been pre-contracted by
clients.
Valentin Ștefan, the Director General of the Romanian National Post
Company, has stated that the Romanian Post Company, the biggest
employer in Romania, with 23,000 people, aims to enter the courier
services market in Romania. The company will invest RON 100 million in
3,000 easy box points for this purpose. The Romanian Post Company had a
RON 1.5 billion (about EUR 300 million) turnover in 2022. As a
comparison, the courier market in Romania was RON 6 billion. For 2023,
The Romanian National Post Company expects to record a 10% higher
turnover in 2023, namely RON 1.65 billion.
JD Agro Cocora Group, owned by Danish investors through Romania Farm
Invest A/S, has bought a farm of about 1,370 hectares in Constanța
County following a EUR 10 million transaction. The new property will be
integrated into the JD Agro Amzacea farm, located in Amzacea Commune,
Constanta County. The acquired farm belonged to a French farmer who had
started the business in 1998. It does not require any further
investments and can already be integrated into JD Agro Amzacea’s
agricultural circuit. In fact, one of the reasons why JD Agro Cocora
opted for this acquisition is the fact that the land is of very good
quality and located in the vicinity of its own farm.
Mandatory accounting records and relevant supporting documents shall be
kept in archives for five years calculated starting from 1 July of the
year following the end of the tax year they were drawn up in, including
payroll statements, according to Law 36/2023. A law had been adopted in
2022 which stipulated that the change shall only apply for payroll
statements. However, in 2023, Law 36 completely reformulated the
provisions on the archiving of all financial-accounting documents.
Liberal (PNL) Senator Daniel Fenechiu stated on Monday, 13 March, that
he had submitted to the Standing Bureau of the Senate a request for the
withdrawal of a controversial draft law which, according to the civil
society, restricts the right to establish associations, inhibits the
action of civil society and limits the right of non-governmental
organizations to bring cases of illegality to justice. Several NGO
representatives protested in front of Victoria Palace a week ago,
demanding the withdrawal of the draft law.
Lawyers will be allowed to retire early, by law, no more than five
years before reaching the standard retirement age if they have
completed a full period of service in the legal profession only,
according to a draft law adopted by senators. Under the same normative
act, the ban on practising the profession of lawyer upon reaching the
age of 70 will also be removed from the law. The initiators of the
draft law point out that Article 38 on early retirement in Law 72/2016
on the pension system and other social security rights for lawyers does
not meet all the conditions for its implementation.
On Monday, 13 March, the Senate unanimously adopted (98 votes "in
favor") a legislative proposal submitted by Save Romania Union (USR),
according to which the right to child allowance shall be established
from the first day of the child’s life and not from the month following
the month when the child was born, as provided for by the current
legislation. The initiators point out in the explanatory memorandum of
the draft law that "the direct and immediate benefit of such a change
is an increase in the new parents’ income by an amount of money
representing support for the period between the day of birth and the
last day of the same month".
The government has found ways to address the milestones needed for
Romania to get the second payment of the national recovery and
resilience plan – funds that the Commission has blocked since January.
Romanian officials and Commission representatives have discussed the
milestones for the past weeks. To reach one of the milestones, the
debated EU Whistleblowers Directive had to be correctly transposed. To
overcome issues identified by domestic lawmakers, the government agreed
that it would propose to replace "strong indications" with
"indications" in the law that transposes the directive.
The value of nursery vouchers is to increase by RON 30, to RON 600 per
month, according to a draft order put up for public consultation by the
Ministry of Labor. According to Law 165/2018, these vouchers are
granted to employees (in both the public and the private sectors) who
do not benefit from maternal/paternal leave and from the allowance
granted for raising children up to the age of two.
The number of vacant jobs at national level has reached 47,759, while
employers in the European Economic Area offer 287 positions to Romanian
workers, through the Eures Romania network, according to the National
Employment Agency (ANOFM). Of the 47,759 vacant jobs declared by
employers to employment agencies, 2,810 are for higher education
graduates.