FIC launched the 2022
edition of Va Urma (https://vaurma.ro) with the participation of the
Prime Minister of Romania, Mr. Nicolae Ciuca, together with members of
the Government and Parliament, international institutions, and economic
leaders. The "Va Urma" project represents an economic development model
with a vision for the next 20 years, updated to take account of the
latest events at global level. The event was a first step in setting
country directions agreed and supported by the authorities,
representative international institutions, and the business
environment. The participants agreed on ten long-term measures and
several quick wins for boosting the future economy based on
investments, energy mix, digitalization, human capital and institional
capacity.
On Thursday, 8 September, the European Central Bank raised its key
interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points and promised further
hikes, prioritizing the fight against inflation even as the bloc is
likely heading towards a winter recession. Following up on a large July
rate hike, the ECB raised its deposit rate to 0.75% from zero and
lifted its main refinancing rate to 1.25%, the highest level for both
since 2011, with moves promised for the next several meetings to take
place in October and December.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă stated on Thursday, 8 September, that the
government would send the draft budget for 2023 to Parliament in
November, as no decision regarding the increase in pensions had been
made so far. The first vice-president of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), Rareș Bogdan had said, several days before, that PNL wanted
pensions to grow by 16% and that Finance Minister Adrian Câciu had the
obligation to find the corresponding source of financing.
The Ministry of Finance (MF) borrowed RON 1.081 billion from banks on
Thursday, 8 September, through a benchmark government bonds issue and a
discount certificates issue, according to data published by the
National Bank of Romania (NBR). The Ministry thus raised RON 822.5
million through the issue of benchmark government bonds with 58-month
residual maturity, at an average yield of 8.10% per year. The nominal
value of the issue was RON 400 million and the banks subscribed RON
1.295 billion.
Three out of four companies in the world expect to growing sales in
both 2022 and 2023, according to the "CxO Priorities 2022" survey
conducted up by management consultancy firm Horvath, a press release
indicates. According to the cited source, the expectation is based on
the fact that almost three-quarters of companies have managed to
transfer the growing costs into the final prices of products and
services. In Romania’s case, the optimism exceeds the average resulting
from the survey, as 80% of companies expect growing sales in 2022 and
93% have similar expectations for 2023.
Banca Comercială Română has announced that it will introduce the option
of withdrawing cash in euros at 100 ATMs across the country, starting
from September, and that more than 300 ATMs in the bank’s network will
offer this facility by the end of the year. The cash withdrawal
operation in euros is available for BCR debit card holders, natural
entities, at the bank’s ATMs located both in Bucharest and in the other
large cities.
Some banks with temporary liquidity deficit chose in August, the same
as in the other summer months, to borrow from the National Bank of
Romania (NBR) through overnight Lombard emergency loans, at an average
interest rate that grew to 6.2% per year in August from 5.4% in July,
instead of paying higher interest rates on deposits from the start to
attract money from households and businesses. The liquidity shortage
persisted on the interbank market in June, July and August, the same as
in the spring months, having increased to a daily average of over RON
11.9 billion in August, up from RON 9.6 billion in July, yet below the
RON 13.5 billion level recorded in June.
OTP Group has launched the fifth edition of its Startup Booster program
and will partner with 12 technology start-ups which will be able to
test their products and services within the bank’s branches in Ukraine,
Bulgaria, Slovenia and Romania, as well as in the parent bank. The
pilot phase, launched on 5 September 2022, will run until November 25.
During the three months of cooperation, the selected teams will receive
support from OTP Group members in Hungary and internationally, OTP LAB
employees and professionally recognized mentors.
Raiffeisen Bank, the fifth-biggest bank on the local market asset-wise,
has officially joined the Transfond instant payments scheme, being the
seventh bank to enrol in this system, according to the information
provided by the bank. The instant service of interbank payments of less
than RON 50,000 made to banks that are members of the instant payments
scheme will be available to individuals in a first stage. In the
following period, Raiffeisen Bank will also offer this service to legal
entities. Banca Transilvania, BCR, CEC Bank, Libra Internet Bank, Vista
Bank and Patria Bank are the banks that are already part of the instant
payments system.
The European Commission has approved the financing for the “Regional
project for the development of water and wastewater infrastructure in
Mediaş, Agnita and Dumbrăveni regions”, in Sibiu County, a EUR 76.7
million investment (total eligible costs), supported from the 2014-2020
Cohesion Fund through the Large Infrastructure Operational Program
(POIM). The project targets investments in the development of water and
wastewater infrastructure in 19 administrative territorial units in
Sibiu County, in order to increase the level of urban wastewater
collection and treatment and ensure the supply of drinking water to the
population, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of
Investments and European Projects.
Cronos Med Group, the surgery and aesthetic medicine network founded by
doctor Constantin Stan, has invested EUR 700,000 for the acquisition of
a new clinic in Iaşi, as part of a plan to expand to several cities,
after private equity fund Morphosis Capital, whose foundations were
laid by four Romanian executives, had taken over the majority stake in
November 2021. The Cronos Med business was founded in 1991 in Bacău by
plastic surgeon Constantin Stan. Cronos Med also has three clinics and
a hospital in Bucharest and Bacău.
Teilor, the luxury jewelry stores chain, whose bonds have been listed
on Bucharest Stock Exchange, has invested EUR 2 million in the
implementation of an omnichannel shopping experience, which included
the launch of a new teilor.ro platform, and the implementation of an
ecosystem for customers shopping online and in-store. In addition, the
company has announced that it has launched the buy now, pay later
online option on the local market, allowing customers to purchase
products in installments, interest-free, from the website directly.
The only school feeding program with national coverage in Romania could
be improved after a draft law was submitted to the Senate by MP Cătălin
Teniță. The draft law stipulates an increase in the number of portions
of dairy products, bakery products, fruit and vegetables that school
children would receive. The proposed changes target the return to the
distribution of 5 portions per child per week of milk and dairy
products, fruit and vegetables, fresh bakery products, consumed within
24 hours from their production, diversified products, provided on a
distribution chain accessible to micro enterprises and local producers,
according to the initiator.
The government has approved a Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG)
regarding some measures targeting transport infrastructure projects,
projects for the development of integrated waste management
infrastructure, projects aimed at improving the risk response system
and projects regarding investments in hospital infrastructure, financed
from non-reimbursable external funds, as well as for amending certain
normative acts, according to a press release. The draft emergency
ordinance stipulates the possibility of including the necessary
commitment and budgetary appropriations for projects under the
Transport Program, the Sustainable Development Program and the Health
Program into the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry and the
Investments and European Projects Ministry’s budgets.
Next to the six Western Balkans countries, several countries from the
EU’s near neighborhood should be among the non-EU countries invited to
attend the first EU summit of the European Political Community next
month, an EU official said on Wednesday (7 September). The first summit
meeting of the new EU-plus forum is to take place in Prague, as the
Czech Republic currently holds the rotating EU presidency, just ahead
of an informal meeting of EU leaders on 7 October.
The Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) announced on
Wednesday, 7 September that it had put up for public consultation the
guidelines for three calls with a total allocation of EUR 117 million,
aimed at supporting vulnerable groups’ integration onto the labor
market. The timetable for this call for projects was approved during
the Government meeting on Wednesday, 7 September. The call will be
launched on 20 September, applications can be submitted between 20
September and 20 October and the contracting of projects is scheduled
to take place on 5-30 December.
More than eight out of ten participants in a survey conducted by Reveal
Marketing Research and "Romania Eficientă" believe that improving the
energy performance of buildings is a very important initiative that
helps reduce energy use in the long term. Hospitals (88%) and schools
(86%) are considered the main public buildings that need to be made
energy efficient, according to a press release. The aforementioned
survey also indicates that the reduction of energy costs is the most
popular advantage of living in an energy-efficient home for 67% of
Romanians.