Ramona Jurubiță,
Vice-president of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) and Laurian
Lungu, macroeconomic analysis coordinator discussed at Ziarul
Financiar.live program on Monday, 26 September about Va Urma
(www.vaurma.ro), a project that represents an economic development
model for the next 20 years that includes several scenarios. Va Urma
emphasises the multiple advantages of combining private (foreign and
domestic) and public investments together with measures aiming to
stimulate digitisation and innovation. The key elements of the
programme comprise: improving institutional capacity and the efficiency
of state-owned companies; protecting human capital by facilitating
access to jobs, education and health; transforming the energy mix in
the directions established by the Green Deal at European level and the
development of energy infrastructure.
Managers in Romania expect prices in services, retail trade and
constructions to grow during the period September-November 2022,
according to an analysis published by the National Institute of
Statistics (INS) on Wednesday. According to INS’s cyclical survey for
September 2022, managers in the manufacturing industry expect relative
stability in the volume of production (cyclical balance +2%) and in the
number of employees (cyclical balance 0%) for the next three months.
Two thirds of Romanians who use banking products and services intend to
save money within the following 12 months, according to data included
in the market research "Banking system as perceived by Romanians:
lending and Romanians’ financial inclusion" conducted in July 2022 by
the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES) and
commissioned by the Romanian Association of Banks, according to a press
release. The cited source indicates that 30% of respondents in the
survey said they would definitely save money, 37% said they would
probably do so, 10% said they would probably not put money aside, 22%
would definitely not do this and 1% of the participants did not provide
any answer. Young people aged 18-35 with higher education are the most
interested in saving - 80%.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has updated
its economic growth forecast for Romania, from 2.5% to 5.4%, up by
2.9%. The IMF also recently updated its economic growth forecast for
Romania to 4.8%. The government’s economic growth projection, of +3.5%
in 2022, thus becomes one of the most pessimistic forecasts. The upward
revisions occur following the better-than-expected performance of
Romania’s economy in the first half of 2022.
Financial analysts from CFA Romania Association expect the Romanian
currency to depreciate against the euro over the next year, with an
average forecast of RON 4.98/EUR 1 for the six-month horizon and of RON
5.04/EUR 1 for the twelve-month horizon. Both these projections are
lower than the values estimated in July. The expected inflation rate
for the 12-month horizon has decreased to an average of 10.05%. In the
case of the state budget deficit anticipated for 2022, the average
value of analysts’ expectations has fallen to 5.9%. Furthermore, the
real GDP growth estimate has increased to 4.1%.
The top of the general and life insurance market changed at the end of
H1/2022. Groupama surprisingly took the lead on the market after its
volume of gross underwritten premiums tripled in the first six months
of 2022, compared to H1/2021, to RON 1,557 million. Allianz-Tiriac
ranks second, at a small distance, with a comparable volume of
underwritten premiums, of RON 1,554 million in H1/2022, double the
level recorded in H1/2021.
Employees in Romania can buy health insurance packages from the Benefit
fringe benefits platform, following a partnership with Metropolitan
Life. The health insurance packages available to users and their
families can be purchased from the platform directly using the budget
allocated by companies to their employees, the experience being fully
digital and simplified.
EximBank Group has concluded a EUR 8.75 million total financial
agreement with Prime Batteries Technology, the only lithium-ion battery
manufacturer in Romania and South-Eastern Europe. The financial package
is intended to finance the company’s day-to-day business operations and
includes a EUR 5 million credit line granted by Banca Românească and a
state guarantee issued by EximBank in the name and on behalf of the
state, covering 75% of the financing value.
Demand for doors and windows at European level will grow in the
following period, considering that buildings can be thermally insulated
through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). As a result,
Pinum, the company currently owned by Nusco SpA, will start building
its new EUR 20 million plant. In spring this year Pinum estimated a 15%
increase in turnover in 2022. Its turnover had stood at EUR 17.6
million in 2021, up by 32% against 2020. The current plant, located on
the Pipera platform, will be closed when production starts at the new
unit.
Premier Hospitality, a Romanian company specializing in the provision
of hotel services, has announced the opening of Werk Hotel &
Spa, the newest 4-star hotel in Hunedoara, for tourist booking
networks, according to a press release. The cited source also indicates
that local investors Carmen and Lucian Hărău had purchased the land the
hotel was built on from two private owners in 2017 and construction
works on the hotel had started a year later. Works on the property took
three years and the total investment amounted to EUR 6.5 million. Since
July 2021, Werk Hotel & Spa has been operating within a private
booking system, by organizing events, and on 4 August, the hotel also
opened its doors for individual leisure tourists.
Atu Tech (a2t.ro) is investing EUR 300,000 in the development of a new
product category - photovoltaic systems, according to a press release.
The cited source also indicates that the development of the new range
takes place amid the significant increase in demand for such products,
both for complete off-grid or on-grid systems and for installation
equipment and accessories. Atu Tech started developing the new product
range at the beginning of the year and currently has over 200 products
listed on its site, and plans to end the year with over 250 listed
items covering an as wide spectrum of demand as possible.
Minors might no longer be allowed to smoke in public, according to a
draft law initiated by the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Fines ranging
from RON 100 to RON 500 could be imposed for failure to comply with
this obligation. The current law only bans the sale of tobacco products
to young people under 18. According to a survey conducted in 2019 in
Valcea County, 44% of the interviewed students said they had smoked at
least once in their lifetime, 31% - at least once in the past 12
months, and 25% - at least once in the last 30 days.
On Wednesday, 28 September, the Constitutional Court of Romania
approved President Klaus Iohannis’s challenge against the law
establishing measures to complete administrative procedures for the
settlement of pending claims before county and Bucharest municipal
committees for the granting of compensations for property left outside
the country’s borders as a result of historical treaties. The draft
law, aimed at regulating several measures to speed up and finalize the
administrative procedures for settling these claims, had been sent by
Parliament for promulgation on 4 July.
Save Romania Union (USR) President Cătălin Drulă has called on the
Senate and Chamber of Deputies to put up for debate the draft laws
repealing mayors and MPs’ special pensions, claiming they keep being
blocked despite repeated requests to include them onto the agenda. He
has added that the party’s representatives submit weekly written
requests for these draft laws to be debated.
The European Commission’s proposal for a revised Product Liability
Directive is intended to bring the EU’s liability regime up to speed
with the digital age. An additional directive has been put forth
targeting specific damages caused by Artificial Intelligence. The
Product Liability Directive provides a strict liability regime that
allows the victims of material damages to ask for compensation from the
product manufacturer. The previous version of the PLD, dated back to
1985, was one of the first EU laws to harmonize the European single
market.
The real situation of people affected by energy poverty is totally
unknown to state institutions, according to experts from the Romanian
Energy Poverty Observatory (ORSE). In Romania, the profile of
vulnerable energy consumers is usually analyzed by the ministries in
charge of dealing with energy poverty with insufficient reference to
concrete data from the field, case studies or other details related to
these people’s living environment (mountain/lowland areas, rural/urban,
informal housing, etc.). Generalized measures at population level or
which do not distinguish between vulnerabilities cannot generate proper
coverage of needs for different categories of households, ORSE experts
have warned.
Food safety is the main factor influencing consumers’ choices in
Romania when they are in front of store shelves. Thus, 59% of Romanians
(46% of EU citizens) say they guide themselves by products’ safety
level when buying food. The second most important factor is the price
(48% of Romanians vs. 54% of EU citizens), while taste is only the
third most important factor when choosing food (43% of Romanians vs.
51% of EU citizens).