Nearly half of CFA members expect economy to grow by more than 4% this year, above the market average estimating 2.8% GDP growth, Mihai Purcărea, a member of CFA Romania’s Board, stated during the online event “Economic recovery after a year of pandemic. Forecasts for 2021”- organized by CFA Society Romania. As to inflation, he pointed out that in 2020, CFA members had estimated 3-3.5% inflation, but the average rate had been lower.
The sum allocated during the transition period, 2021-2022, for business start-up support for young farmers amounts to EUR 100 million, considering that the National Rural Development Program (PNDR) 2014 - 2020 stipulated EUR 476 million total funds for this measure, according to Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros. The 2021-2022 transition program has allocated EUR 6.2 billion total funds, of which EUR 3 billion for direct payments and EUR 3.2 billion from Pillar 2 targeting investment measures.
The year 2020 marked a significant advance of the personal insurance segment, which reached RON 107 million, up by 27.5% against the previous year. Life insurance had a RON 46 million (30.2%) contribution, while health and accident insurance grew by 25.5% compared to 2019, according to data transmitted by Groupama Asigurări on Friday. The CASCO optional car insurance segment, the company’s first business line, also had an important contribution to total revenues and reached RON 492 million in 2020, down by 0.6% against the previous year.
The Government has adopted the Government Decision allocating a RON 1.5 billion guarantee ceiling to the “New Home” Program, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance. According to the cited source, starting from 2021, beneficiaries have the obligation to conclude insurance policies against all risks, according to financiers’ internal rules, for the entire duration of the guaranteed financing, at a value accepted by an insurance company, yet no less than the market value communicated by financiers through the guarantee request.
BRD Groupe Societe Generale has deferred the instalments of about 2,400 retail clients since the beginning of this year, and the number of requests received in this period amounted to nearly 4,300, the bank announced on Friday. About 80% of the clients whose requests have been approved in 2021 resorted to the instalments deferral solution in 2020 as well.
The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) has selected the association Maristar SRL- Hydrostoy AD as the winner of the contract regarding rehabilitation works on the bridge over the Borcea arm, located on the A2 Highway, at km 149 + 680, requiring an over RON 67 million investment. The duration of the contract - the works execution period - is 24 months, and the works’ guarantee period is of 60 months.
The National Railway Company “CFR” SA has selected the association SC Confer Group - SC Constructii Feroviare Drumuri Poduri as the winner of the public tender procedure for the execution of reconstruction works on the CF Bridge in Budila Commune, located on the Hărman-Întorsura Buzăului line, at km 17+ 318 and of riverbed improvement works. The financing for the works, amounting to over RON 24.5 million, is ensured from state budget funds, and the duration of the contract will be 9 months.
The Romanian Parliament is debating and is soon to give its final vote on a draft law to regulate suspect digital currency transactions, National Liberal Party (PNL) Deputy Bogdan Huțucă, chairman of the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on Budget, Finance and Banks, has stated. He has referred to the Government’s draft law approving Emergency Ordinance 111/2020, which extends the obligation to report to the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering to service providers regarding suspect crypto-currency transactions.
The Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that it had finalized and put up for public debate the draft law for the transposition of the European Union Directive on restructuring and insolvency. It comes with a structural and conceptual rethinking of the insolvency prevention mechanism, the Minister of Justice indicated. The institution announced that it would support the rapid adoption of the legislation on restructuring procedures and the creation of an early warning mechanism for debtors in difficulty.
The Council of the European Union, which is currently chaired by Portugal, on Tuesday (16 March) gave the green light to the Digital Europe programme to fund investment in cutting-edge technology in the EU, in areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, with a total budget of €7.6 billion to 2027. In a statement, the Council – in which EU member states’ governments are represented – reports on this approval, stressing that the new Digital Europe Programme will boost the digital transformation.
The Prefect of Bucharest Alin Stoica has stated that, should Bucharest reach a Covid-19 infection rate of 6 per one thousand inhabitants, holding and attending classes in the physical format will no longer be possible, according to the joint order of the Education and Health Ministries. Moreover, zonal quarantine can be imposed, both in Bucharest and in the already quarantined neighboring localities, so that traffic should be limited and congestion should be avoided, especially in public means of transport, in markets and shopping centers.
The Government is considering introducing work vouchers for about 500,000 workers providing services at beneficiaries’ homes, according to the provisions of Pillar V, “Health and economic, social and institutional resilience”, component 4, “Encouraging work formalization and introduction of inclusion minimum income”, within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Conducting an impact study to select the field for the pilot-implementation of the “zero taxes on minimum wage” measure represents another target included in this component.