The political and economic elite reunited at Davos World Economic Forum
warned of multiple threats to global economy, signalling the risk of
global recession. The World Economic Forum meeting comes amid
accelerating inflation, which has reached record levels for decades in
major economies including the US, UK and Europe. Price increases have
undermined consumer confidence and shaken global financial markets,
prompting central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to raise
interest rates. Meanwhile, the repercussions on oil and food markets of
the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started in February and the
blockages generated by COVID-19 in China have exacerbated the crisis.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă stated on Monday, upon the presentation of
the final report of the project "Comprehensive redesign of the
licensing system in Romania", that reducing administrative pressure on
the business environment was the way to accelerate economic recovery.
He pointed out that the presentation of this final report was "a
particularly important opportunity to have a timely and useful analysis
on the table, as it supports all the efforts made by the Government to
reduce bureaucracy, implement digitalization and, as a final objective,
support those who want to invest in Romania".
The European Commission announced on Monday that it had assessed the
existence of macroeconomic imbalances for the 12 EU member states
selected for in-depth reviews in the 2022 Alert Mechanism Report (AMR).
Seven countries - Romania, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands,
Portugal and Sweden - continue to experience imbalances, according to a
press release issued by the European Executive. On the other hand,
Ireland and Croatia are no longer experiencing imbalances, as their
debt ratios have declined significantly over years and continue to
display strong downward dynamics. Overall, vulnerabilities are receding
and are falling below their pre-pandemic levels in various member
states, justifying a revision of the classification of imbalances in
two cases, where also notable policy progress has been made, the
European Commission indicates.
Omniasig, the biggest company part of the Austrian group Vienna
Insurance Group (VIG), recorded over RON 500 million gross underwritten
premiums at the end of the first three months of 2022, up by 40%
year-on-year, according to the information provided by company
representatives. Automotive insurance policies, which include Casco and
RCA, recorded an increase in both gross underwritten premiums and paid
compensations during the period January-March 2022. Total compensations
paid by Omniasig in Q1 of 2022 exceeded RON 250 million.
The National Bank of Romania (NBR)’s Board of Directors has set up a
Payments Committee, which will have a consultative role, and which will
have to identify the measures needed to strengthen the retail payments
market and develop an integrated payments market, among other things.
The new structure will support NBR’s Board of Directors in fulfilling
its tasks with regard to promoting and monitoring the proper operation
of payment systems and payment instruments in Romania, as well as those
related to the authorization and supervision of payment services and
instruments.
ING Bank Romania has launched, in partnership with NN Romania, the ING
Salary Protect insurance policy, which provides a backup plan in the
event of an unexpected incident and covers situations in which a client
may lose their monthly income through unemployment, disability or
extended sick leave. The insurance can be contracted over a 12-month
period, with automatic annual renewal, and costs RON 15, 30 or 45. In
case of unemployment or extended sick leave, the insured sum is RON
500, 1,000 or 1,500 per month for up to six months, depending on the
selected package.
Hyundai Motor Group will invest another USD 5 billion in the United
States by 2025 to strengthen collaboration with US companies in the
advanced technology sector, adding to the USD 5 billion investments
announced on Friday for electric vehicles and batteries. The new
investments, announced during a visit to Seoul by President Joe Biden,
are for robotics, urban air mobility, autonomous driving and artificial
intelligence, the group has reported.
Cernavodă City Hall plans to invest more than RON 1 million in sports.
The local authority has thus launched a procedure for the acquisition
of the works execution service for the "Modernization of sports fields
and fencing of Axiopolis Sports Club". The estimated value of works is
RON 1,273,559.13, VAT not excluded.
AFI Europe Romania announced on Monday that it had inaugurated the
recently renovated AFI Lakeview office building, following a nearly EUR
2 million investment. AFI Lakeview has modern A Class office spaces,
with 25,500 square meters GLA, complex architecture and 2 levels of the
building. According to a recent study conducted by BestJobs and amid
the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions, 62% of the surveyed
Romanian employees would choose to work from a desk the office or at
least in a hybrid format.
The Senate has adopted a draft law initiated by unaffiliated MPs and
currently supported by PSD, PNL, UDMR, through which autonomous
administrations and companies where the state is a full or majority
shareholder have the obligation to transfer, at inventory value, the
ownership of land and other assets in their patrimony to the
administrative-territorial units whose territorial limits they are
located in, upon the latter’s request. The initiators of the draft law
spoke of "derelict land" or "buildings not used" by the companies in
question, which could then be included in local development projects,
financed from European funds, for example.
On Monday, the Government approved a draft decision on the
reorganization of the Ministry of European Projects and Investments, a
document that provides for an increase in the number of executive and
management positions, and the creation of a general directorate for the
implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Minister
Marcel Bolos has announced. As a result, the number of positions in the
Ministry will grow by 30%, to 1,943 people, in order to manage EUR 96
billion European funds, the minister has explained.
Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry immediately responded to the
comments made by Hungary’s recently appointed president about
representing Hungarians no matter where they lived, saying such
comments do "not meet European standards". After meeting Romanian
Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor, leader of the Democratic Alliance
of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), Novák Katalin posted on social media
that she considered her priority to represent all Hungarians.
46% of Romanians would buy a hybrid or an electric car. The information
comes from a study conducted by Deloitte regarding car sales in 2022,
in 25 countries. Most of those who prefer eco-friendly car models would
make such a purchase for lower fuel costs, 49% would be motivated by
environmental protection, 47% by personal health, and 40% would take
advantage of government incentives.
More than 70% of employers in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
region are turning to the hybrid working system, according to CBRE’s
annual Office Occupier Survey. In Romania, about 60% of respondents to
an online survey conducted by CBRE Romania in the second half of April
said they would rather work in an office than from home. On the other
hand, 40% of Romanians still prefer to work from home or in a hybrid
system.