Doing Business With Romania
Doing Business With Romania
Doing Business With Romania
Supervision: Prof Dr. Jean-Daniel CLAVEL, School of business administration (HEG) Fribourg, Switzerland ClavelConsulting, Switzerland Ms Diana-Maria GEORGESCU, Coordinator of the MBA Student Working Group, Department UNESCO Chair on the study of inter-cultural and inter-religious exchanges at the University of Bucharest, Romania Lecturer a.i. Lilian CIACHIR, Department UNESCO Chair on the study of inter-cultural and interreligious exchanges at the University of Bucharest, Romania Translations: Mrs Oana ROMAN-TARCINIU, Manager, Lexigo Translation, Romania Ms Ioana Maria DRAGOMIR, member of the Coordination MBA Student Working Group, Department UNESCO Chair on the study of inter-cultural and inter-religious exchanges at the University of Bucharest, Romania Ms Catalina-Elena-Iulia MARMUREANU, Canada Lecturer a.i. Lilian CIACHIR, Department UNESCO Chair on the study of inter-cultural and interreligious exchanges at the University of Bucharest, Romania With the support of: Prof Dr. Martin HAUSER, Director, Department UNESCO Chair on the study of inter-cultural and inter-religious exchanges at the University of Bucharest, Romania Prof Dr. Mathias Jaques ROSSI, School of business administration (HEG) Fribourg, Switzerland Prof Dr. Paul MEYER, School of business administration (HEG) Fribourg, Switzerland Prof Dr. Lucien WUILLEMIN, Dean, School of business administration (HEG) Fribourg, Switzerland
Table of content
Foreword / 4
1. By Mr Costin LIANU, Director of the Direction of Monitoring Synthesis, Reporting and Exporting Promoting, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment, Romania 2. By Mr Daniel KNG, CEO, OSEC Swiss Trade Promotion Office
Premises / 10
1. Comparative positioning of Romania (2009) 2. Eastern Europe - Old cultures, new markets, by Prof. Martin HAUSER 3. The research of effectiveness - the inescapable objective, by Prof. Jean-Daniel CLAVEL
3. Economic sectors / 40
3.1 Primary Sector 3.2 Secondary Sector 3.3 Tertiary Sector 3.4 Quaternary Sector 3.5 Sectors with High Potential vs. Risky Investments
Attachments / 90 Tables
Table 1 - Comparative positioning of Romania (2009) / 10 Table 2 - GDP, Current account balance / 19 Table 3 - Imports & Exports 2006-2009 / 19 Table 4 - Consumer price index by major groups 2004-2007 / 19 Table 5 - Monthly Average Consumption of Selected Food Products in kilograms per Capital / 47-48 Table 6 - Selection criteria for export strategy / 62
Figures
Figure 1: The convergence criteria for joining the Euro zone / 23
Cuvnt nainte la Ghidul de afaceri Doing Business with Romania realizat n colaborare de Departamentul-Catedra UNESCO, Universitatea din Bucureti, Romnia, cu Haute Ecole de Gestion (HEG-HSW) Fribourg, Elveia
Exportul Romniei este direcionat cu precdere ctre rile Uniunii Europene, avnd o pondere de aproape 75% din totalul exporturilor, dup cum arata datele pe primele 8 luni ale anului n curs. De asemenea, potrivit datelor Eurostat, Romnia ocupa locul al doilea n Uniunea Europeana n functie de ritmul de cretere a exporturilor. Un aspect mbucurtor al evoluiei actuale a exporturilor l constituie creterea cu peste 25% a acestora fa de perioada similar a anului trecut, ceea ce arata indubitabil c exporturile i cresterea acestora sunt unul din principalele motoare de ieire a Romniei din criz. Un alt aspect pozitiv al ultimelor luni const n aceea c ritmul de creterea a exporturilor continu s-l devanseze pe cel de cretere a importurilor, tendin ce s-a manifestat pentru prima oar n luna noiembrie 2007. Ministerul Economiei, Comerului i Mediului de Afaceri administreaz mai multe instrumente de susinere a exporturilor. Aceste instrumente au fost dezvoltate i reglementate legal pe parcursul ultimilor nou ani, constuindu-se astazi n cel mai coerent sistem de susinere a exporturilor din rile Europei de Est i posibil chiar la nivelul Uniunii Europene. Dezvoltarea acestui sistem de susinere a exporturilor cu sprijin de la bugetul de stat a rspuns imperativelor Strategiei Naionale de Export n ciclul strategic 2005-2009, urmnd s fie perfecionat n cursul noului ciclu strategic conform noii Strategii Naionale de Export 20102014. Cel mai recent instrument, care a fost dezvoltat i lansat n anul 2009, este Portalul de comer exterior al Romniei. Portalul reprezint un sistem interactiv de informaii i consiliere a mediilor de afaceri privind pieele externe i modalitile cele mai eficiente de a ncheia tranzacii internaionale i de a dezvolta exportul. Portalul este conceput astfel nct s menin o legtur operativ ntre comunitile de afaceri teritoriale i pieele externe prin intermediul reelei de reprezentare comercial-economic din strintate. Rolul portalului este de a concentra informaiile de comer exterior i de a coagula eforturile tuturor celor implicai n exportul romnesc, spre a oferi exportatorilor o fereastr care s le orienteze activitatea de comer exterior i s-i ajute la elaborarea strategiilor de penetrare pe pieele externe. Aceast misiune este potenat de posibilitatea oferit de portal tuturor membrilor reelei de sprijin a comerului exterior de a se coordona prin intermediul su. Ministerul Economiei, Comerului i Mediului de Afaceri a iniiat, n condiiile unei perioade dificile din punct de vedere financiar, o serie de msuri pentru continuarea finanrii exporturilor, susinute de o promovare intens a produselor romneti pe pieele tradiionale, cum ar fi finanarea participrii firmelor romaneti la evenimente promoionale internaionale (trguri, expoziii, misiuni) i dezvoltarea Portalului de comer exterior al Romniei. Analiza structurii exporturilor arat o mbuntire constant a acesteia comparativ cu perioadele similare din trecut, respectiv creterea ponderii ramurilor construciilor de maini, mijloace de transport, componente electronice, electrotehnica i produse ale industriei chimice, inclusiv farmaceutice, ceea ce demonstreaz creterea valorii adugate prin activitatea de export. Din sfera serviciilor, exporturile din domeniul tehnologiei informaiilor, domeniu pe care Strategia Naional de Export a mizat permanent i care s-au comprimat mai puin n anul 2009, dau semne de relansare conform surselor asociaiilor de ramura ARIES i ANIS. Au aprut i s-au consolidat noi produse de export precum: produsele agricole ecologice, cele din audiovizual, componentele auto, navele (valoarea exporturilor de construcii de nave i reparaii de nave
n anul 2009 a fost de 800 mil Euro, iar Romnia ocupa locul 4 n cadrul antierelor navale europene), componenetele electronice i produsele electrotehnice, care vor contribui i n viitor la diversificarea structurii exporturilor. S-a extins baza de export pentru agricultura ecologic i vie-vin prin creterea standardelor de calitate. S-au produs mutaii n sensul certificrii calitii. n ultimii ani s-a constatat o cretere a numrului de firme care export sub brand propriu din domeniile mobilei, designului vestimentar, IT, produselor agriculturii ecologice, vievin. Ministerul Economiei, Comerului i Mediului de Afaceri va avea n vedere n viitor promovarea cu precdere a firmelor cu brand de export i a firmelor inovative. Firmele romneti sunt bine poziionate pe piaa Uniunii Europene, ns se impune o reorientare ctre pieele din afara UE, cu precdere ctre pieele int din rile emergente precum cele numite generic BRIC. Astfel, n Programul de trguri 2009 manifestrile organizate n spaiul din afara UE au reprezentat 39,21 % din totalul aciunilor, iar n 2010 vor reprezenta 40,74 %. n contextul celor de mai sus, lansarea Ghidului de afaceri Doing Business with Romania, realizat n colaborare de Departamentul-Catedra UNESCO, Universitatea din Bucureti i nalta coal (Universitatea) de Finane din Friburg, Elveia, este binevenit. Ghidul se va altura Portalului de comer exterior spre a deschide i mai mult poarta oportunitilor de export firmelor din Romnia, oferindu-le totodat investitorilor stini informaii importante despre potenialul pieei romneti. Cele dou instrumente se vor completa reciproc n mod fericit, furnizand investitorilor strini i exportatorilor locali, unelte sigure, aliniate tendinelor actuale i de viitor de pe piaa mondial, permind realizarea n timp accelerat a procesului decizional privind abordarea pieelor locale i internaionale. Totodat Ghidul se va altura mijloacelor actuale de susinere pentru exportatori n vederea analizrii oportunitilor i msurrii impactului financiar al deciziei de a ataca o pia sau alta. Ghidul de afaceri Doing Business with Romania va putea fi accesat i de pe Portalul de comer exterior al Romniei, ceea ce reprezint, n opinia noastr, o recunoatere a rolului i utilitii sale. Dr. Costin Lianu, Director, Direcia Monitorizare, Sinteze, Raportare i Promovare Export, Ministerul Economiei, Comerului i Mediului de Afaceri, Romnia
Foreword to Doing Business with Romania Business Guide conducted in collaboration with Department UNESCO Chair, University of Bucharest, Romania, and Haute Ecole de Gestion (HEG-HSW) Fribourg, Switzerland
Romanias export is mainly oriented towards the EU countries, which receive up to 75% of total exports as shown by the data collected in the first eight months of the current year. Furthermore, according to Eurostat data, Romania is situated on the second place in EU for exports increase rate. A pleasing aspect of the current export evolution is the 25% growth compared to last years corresponding months, which clearly indicates that exports and their growth are the main factors that will help Romania overcome the finanical crisis. Another positive aspect seen in the last few months is that the export growth rate continues to outgrow the imports one, a tendency that was first observed in November 2007. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment manages several instruments that support exports. These instruments have been developed and regulated during the course of the past 9 years, and nowadays constitute the most coherent system of export support in Eastern European countries, and possibly even in the entire EU. The development of this export support system, conducted with the help of state funding, was a response to the National Strategy imperatives for the strategic time-period 20052009, and is set to be optimised during the new strategic time-period in accordance to The National Strategy for Export of 2010-2014. The most recent instrument, developed and launched during 2009, is the Romanian Foreign Trade Portal. The Portal is an interactive information and consulting system for the business environment, offering information on foreign markets and presenting the most effective methods of conducting international transactions and developing export. The Portal is designed so as to maintain an operative connection between territorial business communities and external markets with the help of the foreign economic and trade representation network. The purpose of this portal is to concentrate the foreign trade information and to bring together the efforts of all the parties involved in the Romanian export, in order to provide exporters with a window that will help them target their foreign trade activity and elaborate foreign market penetration strategies. This mission is enhanced by the possibility for all members of the foreign trade support network to coordinate their activities with the help of this platform. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment has initiated, during such a financially difficult time period, a series of measures for the continuance of export financing, which are reinforced by an intense mediatisation of the Romanian products on the traditional markets, such as the participation financing awarded to Romanian firms attending international promotional events (fairs, exhibitions, missions) and the development of the Romanian Foreign Trade Portal. The exports structure analysis shows constant improvement when compared to the same months of last year, more precisely in the segments of car construction, transportation, electronic components, electrotechnical sectors, chemical industry and pharmaceutical products, which demonstrates the growth of added value through export activities. In the services sector, exports from information technology segment, an important field for the National Strategy for Export, contracted less during 2009, and according to associations such as The Romanian Association of Electronic and Software Industry (ARIES) and Employers Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS) are now showing signs of reinstatement.
New products have appeared and have been consolidated in segments such as bio-agriculture, audiovisual, car components, shipbuilding (the total value of ship construction and repairs exports in 2009 th reached 800 mil Euro, with Romania ranking 4 for shipbuilding sites in Europe), electronic and electrotechnical components that will contribute to export structure diversification in the future. The export platform for bio-agriculture and wine has extended by increasing quality standards and changes have been made to the quality certification process. During the last years a growth in the number of firms that export their own brand has been registered in segments such as furniture, clothes design, IT, bio-agriculture products, wine. From here on out, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment will focus on promoting brand and innovative firms. Romanian firms are well positioned in the EU market, although a reorientation towards the non-EU markets is necessary, with focus on emerging markets, such as BRIC. Therefore, in the 2009 Fair Program, the events organised outside The EU represented 39, 21%, and in 2010 the value is expected to rise up to 40, 74%. In the framework presented up until now, the launching of the Doing Business with Romania Business Guide, conducted in collaboration with The Department Chair UNESCO, University of Bucharest and Haute Ecole de Gestion of Fribourg, is auspicious. This guide will join the Foreign Trade Portal in bringing more opportunities of export to Romanian business firms and in the same time give foreign investors important information on the potential of the Romanian market. The two instruments will complement one another, providing the foreign investors and the local exporters with trustworthy instruments, aligned with the current and future tendencies of the global market, permitting an accelerated decisional process of approaching international and local markets. Moreover, the Guide will contribute to the current support measures for exporters by helping them analyse opportunities and measure the financial impact of the decisions to approach a certain market. The Doing Business with Romania Business Guide can also be accessed from the Foreign Trade Portal of Romania, which in our opinion represents the recognition of its purpose and usefulness. By Dr. Costin Lianu, Director, Director of the Direction of Monitoring Synthesis, Reporting and Exporting Promoting, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment, Romania
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Premises
1. Comparative positioning of Romania (2009)* By the UBCG University of Bucarest Consulting Group Romania 55 42
91 Bulgaria 44 50 119 53 56 4 41 95 106 87 Slovakia 42 66 56 81 11 15 109 119 113 61 Hungary 47 39 87 77 61 30 119 122 70 14 Poland 72 117 163 76 88 15 41 151 42 75 Austria 28 122 55 60 39 15 132 102 24 11 20
Doing business Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Employing workers Registering prooperty Getting credit Protecting investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Closing a business
113 92
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41 149
46 55
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2a. Eastern Europe - Old cultures, new markets The contribution of the Department UNESCO Chair on the study of intercultural and inter-religious exchanges at the University of Bucharest
The end of the Second World War was the prelude to multiple migrations and an intense assimilation of remote cultures on the European continent. From the 1950s to the 1960s, economic, political and intrapersonal exchanges developed quickly, being reinforced by the growing independence of many African States and the fall of the communist regime in Eastern Europe. With the disappearance of the iron curtain, Western contractors seized the occasion to invest in Eastern Europe, delocalizing local companies and consequently widening its markets. However, with an infiltration of new work placements amongst the newly created democracies of Eastern Europe, a loss of local industries transpired as well. This profound change poses, on a European level, the dilemma of managing the convergence of very different cultures. Indeed, Europe is distinguished from Asia, Africa and America, by a mosaic of cultures, languages and religions, coexisting within a restricted space. This extraordinary miniaturization explains, on the whole, the difficulty EU faces in its efforts of integration and political alignment, with its Member States. The cultural topography of Romania is complex as several ethnical groups with their respective cultures have taken part in its construction the Daces, the Greeks, the Romans, the Goths, the Slavs, the Ottomans ect. Yet despite the influence of all these cultures, it is interesting to note that Romania has rigidly maintained a Latin language. This was for instance the case when the Daces invaded by the Goths rd in the 3 century AD, following the defeat of the Roman emperor Aurelian, colonized the invader. And isnt this an interesting trait, worthy of capturing the attention of the foreign businessman?! Shouldnt this Romanian perseverance, inherited from the Daces and Romans, be considered in the pursuit of his objectives?! A flight from Frankfurt to Bucharest is a short distance - approximately two hours. In the cultural plan however, it takes on another span: a German contractor leaves behind a world largely marked by the Protestant spirit, modern and capitalist, to plunge himself in an orthodox space, marked by the impress of traditions. From initial contact, contrast can be particularly strong, especially if our traveler moves away from the capital, venturing out and making contact with the orthodox country side. This very cultural difference can be lessened if our contractor moves towards Transylvania and his German and Hungarian minorities. In fact, the cultural distance between the West and these minorities living in Romania will appear less marked than will that between the West and the Eastern part of Romania where Orthodoxy is entirely dominant. Through its Master programs, the University of Bucharest and the UNESCO Department on the study of intercultural and interreligious exchanges, thanks to its indigenous and international professorial college and its diverse areas of specialization prepare students for the intercultural complexes that arise when cultures convene. The three Masters programs organized by this Department take obvious account of anthropological, religious, social, political and the economic components characterizing Romania and satisfy the requirements of any university formation. This Business Guide, elaborated on within the framework of the training given by this Department, results from the engagement of a group of students, coming from diverse viewpoints but having gathered their forces to improve their formation. By Prof. Martin Hauser
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2b. Europa de Est: culturi vechi, piee noi Contribuia Departamentului-Catedra UNESCO pentru schimburi interculturale i interreligioase, Universitatea din Bucureti
Sfritul celui de-Al Doilea Rzboi Mondial a constituit preludiul pentru multiple migraii i a condus la o intensificare a ntlnirilor dintre culturi ndeprtate. ncepnd cu anii 50-60 schimburile economice i politice, precum i contactele interumane, s-au dezvoltat foarte rapid, aciune ntrit i de obinerea independenei de ctre numeroase State africane. Ulterior aceast dinamic s-a intensificat considerabil ca urmare a cderii regimurilor comuniste n Europa de Est. Odat disprut Cortina de Fier, antreprenorii occidentali au profitat de oportunitatea de a investi n Europa de Est, delocaliznd unele dintre ntreprinderile lor i extinzndu-i astfel pieele. Astfel au fost create, pe de o parte, noi locuri de munc n majoritatea noilor democraii din Europa de Est, ns pe de alt parte au disprut o parte din industriile autohtone. Aceast mutaie pune n profunzime problema gestionrii ntlnirii dintre culturi foarte diferite, n special la nivelul Europei. De fapt, Europa se distinge de Asia, de Africa i de America printr-un mozaic de culturi, de limbi i de religii distribuite pe un spaiu restrns. Aceast extraordinar miniatuarizare explic ntro mare msur dificultatea pe care o ntlnete Uniunea European n eforturile ei de integrare i de aliniere politic, economic i social a Statelor membre. Universul cultural al Romniei este complex, multe popoare participnd la edificarea lui Dacii, Grecii, Romanii, Goii, Slavii, Otomanii Apropo de acest lucru, interesant este de subliniat faptul c dac romna este o limb latin, aceasta se datoreaz Dacilor, invadai de Goi n secolul al III-lea d.H. care, urmare retragerii mpratului roman Aurelian, i-au colonizat pe invadatori. Nu exist, oare, aici o trstur interesant de caracter care ar trebui s atrag atenia oamenilor de afaceri din Europa i din afara acesteia: perseverena de neegalat a Romnilor, motenitori ai Dacilor i ai Romanilor, n cutarea obiectivelor lor ?! O cltorie cu avionul de la Frankfurt la Bucureti reprezint astzi, din punct de vedere temporal, o nimica toat aproximativ dou ore. Pe plan cultural, ns, lucrurile stau altfel: antreprenorul german las n spatele su o lume profund marcat de spiritul protestant, modern i capitalist, pentru a se arunca ntr-un spaiu ortodox i empatic, marcat de religiozitate i impregnat de tradiii. nc de la primele contacte, contrastul poate fi foarte puternic, n special dac voiajorul nostru se ndeprteaz de capital i ntr n contact cu provincia ortodox. Acelai contrast cultural va fi mai puin puternic dac antreprenorul nostru se ndreapt spre Transilvania cu minoritile acesteia germane i maghiare : de fapt, distana cultural ntre Occident i minoritile sale care locuiesc n Romnia va fi mai puin pronunat dect ntre Occident i partea oriental a Romniei unde Ortodoxia este dominant. Departamentul-Catedra UNESCO pentru schimburi interculturale i interreligioase, Universitatea din Bucureti, graie corpului su profesoral autohton i internaional, dispunnd de specializri diverse, i pregtete pe studenii si pentru aceast ntlnire intercultural complex prin intermediul programelor sale de master i de doctorat. Cele trei programe de master organizate de Departament in n mod evident cont de componentele antropologice, religioase, sociale, politice i economice, ce caracterizeaz sufletul romnesc i satisfac n acest sens exigenele oricrei formri universitare demne de acest nume. Acest Ghid de Afaceri, elaborat n cadrul programelor de master organizate de Departamentul nostru, este rezultatul angajamentului ferm al unui grup de studeni care, dei avnd formaii universitare diferite, i-au unit forele pentru a-i perfeciona formarea lor academic. Prof. Martin Hauser
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MHz MIA MMFPS Moz Mt MW MW MWt NAD NAD NBR/BNR NIS/ INS NES OSCE OSIM OSIM PED ROL SAPARD SME SRL SSA t. tbpd TJ UDI UDMR WB WIPO WTO WWII YoY ZF
Megahertz Ministry of Interior and Administration The Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection Million Ounces metric ton Megawatt Megawatt Megawatt Thermal National Anticorruption Directorate National Anticorruption Directorate National Bank of Romania National Institute of Statistics National Export Strategy Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Romanian State Office for Inventions State Office for Inventions and Marks Primary Energy Demand Romanias previous currency. 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development Small and Medium Enterprise Limited company, Ltd. Public company, Plc. tons thousands barrels per day TeraJoule Utilities Dynamic Inc Democratic Union of the Magyars in Romania World Bank World Intellectual Propriety Organization World Trade Organization World War II year over year Ziarul Financiar (The Financial Newspaper)
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1. Framework conditions
Drafting team: Ioana Maria DRAGOMIR (ioana_dragomir2001@yahoo.com) Diana-Maria GEORGESCU (diana.georgescu@ipsos.com) Andra IOANA (andraioana_2000@yahoo.com) Cosmin George VLAD (cosminvlad83@yahoo.com) 1.1. Historical background 1.2. The Romanian Economy 1.3. Economic policies
o o o o o o
o o
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After an average annual rate growth of 6% experienced between 2000 and 2008, under the impact of the global financial crisis, the Romanian economy started sliding backwards into recession and contracted by 7% in 2009. In the same year the current account deficit adjusted to approximately 4.5% of GDP from 11,8 % in 2008 and it is expected to remain below 5% in 2010 as well. While the private sector has seen its financing needs being reduced by the downturn in private consumption and export demand, the public sector has been confronted to higher financing necessities. In these conditions the country requested in March 2009 a stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund worth 20 billion Euros. According to IMF estimations, Romanias economy will contract again in 2010, shrinking by 1.9 % due mainly to the sluggish domestic demand, before recovering and starting growing by around 1,5 % in 2011. GDP, Current account balance Table 1: GDP, Balance of payments 2005-2009, EUR mill. Indicators/Year GDP (Nominal) GDP per capita Current account Capital and financial account 2005 63,600 3,700 -6,888 6,483 2006 86,086 4,500 -10,156 9,532 2007 103,926 5,800 -16,714 17,467 2008 133,895 6,500 -16,157 17,830 2009 129,781 5,600 -5,054 6,150
Imports & exports of goods volume & value Table 2: Trade balance: Imports & Exports 2005-2009, EUR mill. Indicators/Year Exports Imports Trade balance Share of exports in GDP Share of imports in GDP Economy openness: (exports+imports)/GDP 2005 22 30 -8 28 38 66 2006 26 38 -12 27 39 65 2007 30 47 -18 24 38 62 2008 34 53 -19 25 39 63 2009 29,116 35,903 -6,787 22 28 50
Cost of living and consumer price index Table 3: Consumer price index by major groups 2005-2009, (%) Current period Year 2009 Reference period Year 2005 Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008 Food goods 121.66 117.15 112.77 103.25
Inflation rate After the hyper-inflationist period that dominated the Romanian economy for over 15 years, starting with 2004 the annual inflation rate decelerated, reaching its lowest level since 1990, of 3.7% YoY in March 2007. This low level was the result of the national currency appreciation above the equilibrium level that couldnt be sustained on the long term. Therefore, starting with July 2007 a rapid increase in the inflation
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rate occurred due to several factors: large increase in incomes (public wages and pensions), increase in prices not sustained by productivity, depreciation of the national currency, etc. Since Q2 2009 Romania has started experiencing again a disinflation process as a result of the fall in volatile prices, stable administered prices and lower household expenses. However, the increase of tobacco excises and natural gas prices occurred at the very end of the year kept the inflation rate in 2009 (5,6%) far from the EU 27 average (1,0%) For the inflation rate evolution and benchmarking see Attachment 5. Key points
o Costs of production Even if production costs have grown in the last decade, the cost of production
is still much lower than in most European countries, which turns it into a FDI promotion factor; this is why a lot of western companies decide to outsource their activity in Romania (while others decide to go further east, as lately, Romania has become more expensive). Compared to other countries in the region, the cost of production is lower than in Hungary, Greece and Slovakia but higher than in Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. Labour force skills Romanian workers are well qualified, especially when it comes to theoretical knowledge, but they lack experience and need to gain expertise in order to become truly skilled and effective. Romania can provide specialists fluent in English in such fields as IT, petrochemical industry, agriculture, and textile industry. Leadership 20 years after the fall of the communist regime, Romania continues to be in an acute need for leaders in many fields and very often multinational companies are not able to find locals qualified for upper management jobs. Weak infrastructure It represents a huge problem for Romanian development because infrastructure is decisive for any economic activity and society. - the lack of modern motorways which would facilitate a rapid transit between different regions (e.g. the time to reach the Hungarian border leaving from Bucharest is around 9 to 10 hours for 575km); - Local infrastructure such as local roads and public transportation need upgrading; - The railway transportation network is not providing high-speed trains; - Airports need upgrading.
th
o o
Free World Academy country rating (according to its potential regarding a small business
investor) Romania, together with Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria is placed 47 out of 130 and is given 2 stars equivalent of acceptable conditions.
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Employment
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o o o o o
Insuring a competitive and predictable business environment; Contributing to attracting FDI to Romania and to the enlargement of the cooperation with foreign partners on third markets; Promoting the products & services of the Romanian SMEs on foreign markets; Stimulating business communication and partnerships; Preparing specialists in the field of export promotion techniques; Note that, unfortunately, in the current recession framework the Governments priorities might not include the undertaking of foreign economic & commercial actions.
Priority sectors
Energy, Oil and Gas o Ensuring energy security limitation of the import of energy resources; o Durability promoting energy production from renewable sources; o Competition continuing the restructuring and privatisation process of the electric energy and natural gas sectors. Mining Industry o Commercial approach of the mining industry; o Decrease of the Government direct involvement and search for private sector investments; o Undertaking mining activities in compliance with mining protection criteria. Environment o Managing hazardous substances and waste; o Controlling industrial pollution; o Promoting investments in water and air quality control; o Promoting projects for preventing contamination with nitrates in vulnerable areas; o Developing integrated waste management systems and rehabilitation of contaminated sites. Health o Search for an additional involvement of the private sector in the supply of medical services, in order to reduce the pressure put on the public resources and improve healthcare quality; o Increasing quality of life by improving the quality and safety of the healthcare services; o Providing equal access to healthcare for all citizens.
Central Bank policy & strategy Monetary policy (interest & exchange rate)
o In the short run, prices may respond to many different shocks, some originating in the domestic economy and some in the foreign sector. Both types of shocks will affect aggregate demand and supply, cash and prices; In the medium to long run, monetary policy plays the major role in supplying the appropriate amount of money in order to foster growth and maintain stability.
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Inflation issues
The National Bank of Romania (NBR Romanias Central Bank) shifted to direct inflation targeting in August 2005. This monetary policy strategy was adopted after completing a preparatory process, whose last stage consisted in setting up and testing of the economic analysis and monetary policy decision framework specific to inflation targeting. The other prerequisites and criteria that are conditional to the effectiveness of this strategy were also fulfilled (see Attachment 5). o Concrete impacts on business development: uncertainties, as far as ROL is concerned, as well as future value of the invested capital. o Given the ongoing disinflation process in the domestic economy - a sustainable inflation rate over the medium term in line with the quantitative definition of price stability has yet to be attained inflation targets are formulated on an annual basis (December/December) and are set over a twoyear horizon. For a more detailed analysis of the inflation impact on the national economy see the Central Banks Inflation Annual Report http://www.bnro.ro/PublicationDocuments.aspx?icid=6876 o
Inflation see
o o o o o o o http://www.bnro.ro/Direct-Inflation-Targeting-3646.aspx http://www.bnro.ro/Characteristics-3653.aspx http://www.bnro.ro/Inflation-Targets-3241.aspx http://www.bnro.ro/NBR-Projections-4353.aspx http://www.bnro.ro/page.aspx?prid=3493 http://www.bnro.ro/Inflation-Reports-3343.aspx http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/web/_download/Eurostat_Table_tsieb060HTMLDesc.htm
What is measured:
Price stability
Durability of convergence
How it is measured:
Convergence criteria:
Not more than 1.5 percentage points above the rate of the three best performing Member States
Not more than 2 percentage points above the rate of the three best performing Member States in terms of price stability
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/adoption/who_can_join/index_en.htm Comments Romania is still far from fulfilling these conditions and the recent financial problems made this objective less important for the moment. It is said that the fast recovery from the crisis will increase chances to entry to the eurozone. The euro will be an objective for BNR but it is important not to obstruct the countrys development which sometimes requires inflation and governmental debt.
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Primary sector
Oil and other raw materials o Oil law all actions related to the oil operations are the object of the Romanian Oil Law no. 238/2004 o Natural Gas Law - all actions related to the natural gas operations are the object of the Romanian Natural Gas Law no. 351/2004
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Energetic security - Increase the energetic security by assuring the necessary energetic resources and by limiting the dependency on imported energy resources; - Diversify the import suppliers, energetic resources and their transportation routes; - Increase the level of adequacy of the national transportation networks for electric power, natural gases and oil; - Assure the safeguard of the critical infrastructure. Sustainable development - Increase the energetic efficiency;; - Promote the production of the renewable energy; - Promote the production of electric and thermal energy in power plants with cogeneration, especially in high efficiency cogeneration installations; - Support the research and development activities and the dissemination of the applicable results; - Reduce the negative impact of the energetic sector on the environment; - Rational and efficient use of primary energetic resources. Competitiveness - Develop competitive electric energy, natural gases, oil and uranium markets; - Liberalize the energy transit and assure the permanent and non discriminatory access of participants to the transportation and distribution networks and to the international interconnections; - Continue with the process of restructuration and privatization in the electric and thermal power and natural gases sectors; - Continue with the restructuring of the lignite sector in order to increase its profitability and access the capital market;http://www.minind.ro/domenii_sectoare/H163-
04.html - #
Timber o In Romania, the forestry and timber industry sectors are separated o The legal framework for forest preservation and sustainable management is provided by the Forest Bill (Law no. 26/1996). In this sense, the section 6 Wood Removal specifies that: the harvesting of wood products is in compliance with the provisions of forestry management and with the instructions concerning the terms, methods and ages, logging and handling of wood materials, issued by the central authority responsible for the forestry; When harvesting the wood material, the forest districts, economic agents and legal persons are bound to use methods for harvesting skidding of wood properly selected to avoid soil degradation, damaging of seedlings and of trees. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce is the body responsible for the implementation of Government policy in the field of industrial production and goods.
Timber See
o http://www.unece.org/timber/docs/sem-1/papers/r29Istratescu.pdf - European Forestry Commission, STRATEGIES FOR THE SOUND USE OF WOOD
Agriculture The main objective of the policy for agriculture is to support the sustainable development of the agricultural sector and the domains related to it. o o o o The policy for agriculture respects the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its main elements: The Common Customs Tariff The EU bilateral trade agreements The Integrated Tariff of the European Communities
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The main objectives for the following period are: o Developing a competitive environment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries based on knowledge and private initiative; o Reducing the proportion of the population employed in agriculture along with strengthening the economic viability of farming units; o Reducing the fragmentation of farmland property and stimulating the concentration of small farms; o Maintaining quality and diversity of rural space and forest estates in ways that maintain a proper balance between human activities and the conservation of natural resources.
Agriculture See
o o www.maap.ro The Ministry of Agriculture www.strategia.ncsd.ro - The National Sustainable Development Strategy of Romania
Industry In conformity to the core business of the Romanian economic policies and strategies as well as to the European Economic Recovery Plan the main objectives of Romanias industrial policy for 2009-2012 are: o o o o o o o Increase competitiveness and secure market access; Improvements to the general framework and specific conditions for research, development and eco-innovation domains; Consolidate the ecological potential of the industry; Assure a sustainable use of resources; Develop the industrial services and foster public-private partnerships; Adapt labour market mechanisms to the requirements of a modern integrated economy; Develop cluster mapping projects in order to identify clusters and cluster networks.
Industry See
o o o http://www.minind.ro/ http://www.minind.ro/newsletter/Newsletter_ME_nr_3_2009.pdf http://www.fabricadebani.ro/userfiles/Ghid_ita_2010.pdf
FDI policy
Foreign Investor Rights o national treatment for foreign investors; o foreign investment allowed in all sectors of economy; o possibility to freely manage the company with full ownership rights; o full repatriation of capital and profits; o protection against expropriation and nationalization; o Access to incentives and funds provided by EU and Romanian legislation; Incentives and subsidies Fiscal: o Tax exemption for reinvested profit; o Possibility to use accelerate depreciation of equipments (50% in the first year); o Possibility to carry forward the fiscal losses for a period of up to 7 years; o Exemptions from the payment of taxes on buildings and land applied by local councils in Romania on basis of state aid schemes; o Fiscal incentives for R&D: additional deduction of 20% from the eligible expenses from research and development activities; o Subsidies for hiring and training new personnel. State aid schemes/incentives for: o investments between EUR 10-20 mill and creating at least 100 new jobs; o investments between EUR 20-30 mill and creating at least 200 new jobs;
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investments over EUR 30 mill and creating at least 300 new jobs; investments over EUR 100 mill and 500 new jobs; eligible costs over Euro 50 mill; investments in green energy - 50% subsidy from the total eligible expenses for all regions in Romania, except Bucharest (40% subsidy); Eligible expenses: investment in tangible assets (land, buildings, new equipments, installations) and intangible assets. Intensity ceilings increase by 20% in case of small enterprises, and by 10% in case of medium sized enterprises (Exception: economic agents activating in the field of transport) According to the information presented by the Romanian Center for Trade and Investments, FDI incentives will be provided for investments in the following sectors: o Activities in agro-industrial processing; o Top sectors in the manufacturing industry; o Electric and thermal energy production and delivery; production of equipments for increasing energetic efficiency and use of renewable energy resources; o Environmental quality protection and improvement; o Water distribution, purification, waste management; o IT; o Research, development and innovation activities or new products development; o Activities providing work force services. o o o Beneficiaries are investments and investors complying with the following conditions: o o o o o o o contribute to the achievement of at least one of the condition mentioned above activities are carried on in the above mentioned sectors have no unpaid debts to the funds of the general consolidated budget did not ask the Ministry of Economy and Finance to perform neither falling due payments for state guaranteed foreign and domestic credits, nor payments to the risk fund did not contract any state guaranteed loans are not subject to compulsory execution or insolvency, dissolution or other situations regulated by the law there are no state aid recouping decisions issued against them or, in case there are, these decisions have been executed according to the law
o o o
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o o
Citizens of the United States of America, Canada and Japan may also enter Romania without visa and extend their stay without providing proof for means of support. Under the immigration law, foreign citizens can obtain in certain cases (i.e. frequent business trips) short-term multiple entries visas, valid for a period of up to 1 year and only for exceptional situations for a period up to 5 years. The provision stipulating that the foreigners are allowed to stay in Romania for 90 days during a six months period is also applicable for this type of visas.
Residence permits
o o Foreign nationals staying in Romania for more than 90 days in a six-month period should apply for a Romanian residence permit; The companies located in an EU or EEA member states can accompany the EU and EEA nationals to Romania for an undetermined period without the need to obtain a Romanian work permit. The individuals should apply directly for a Romanian registration certificate/ residence permit; Foreigners assigned as heads of Romanian branches of foreign companies, as well as foreigners nominated as administrators of Romanian companies will apply only for a residence permit provided that certain conditions are fulfilled.
Work Authorization
The work authorization represents the official document issued under provisions of Emergency Ordinance no. 56/2007 which entitles its bearer to be employed and work in Romania. The work authorization is issued by the Romanian Immigration Office at the employers request if there are met a number of conditions: The employer performs a legal activity in Romania, has no debts and made a legal selection according to the provisions of the law regarding employment and detachment of foreigners on the Romanian territory; The foreigner fulfils the condition of professional training, work experience and authorization, and is able from medical point of view to perform the respective activity; The foreigner has no criminal record. The Romanian Immigration Office shall issue the authorization within 30 days from the date of the employers request.
o o
o o o o o
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Copyright
Nature of the right o Copyright is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. The original works can be from literary, artistic or scientific field. o The copyright holder has the right to authorize or prohibit its reproduction, distribution, renting, lending and adaptation through derivative works. It must be mentioned that related rights have evolved around the works protected by copyright that protect: Performers for their interpretations or executions; Producers of sound recordings and audiovisual recordings producers for their recordings; Broadcasting organizations to broadcast their programs and services (Article 94 of Law no. 8/1996 with subsequent amendments). Protection o The right is automatically protected on creation of the original work and need not be obtained through official registration with government office or any other public authority. o The Romanian copyright framework is governed by Law no. 8/1996. o Romania is a member of the Bern Convention on Copyrights (In all countries that are members of the Berne Convention copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office). o The Romanian authority in this domain is ORDA (the Romanian Copyright Office) and the National Phonogram and Computer Program Register. Law enforcement o Infringing the rights triggers either civil or criminal liability. Duration of the protection o Copyright is assigned to the author and involves moral and patrimonial rights, with copyright protection starting from the creation of the work. The patrimonial rights related to copyright last for as long as the author lives and, generally, after the authors death they are transmitted to his/hers heirs for an additional 70-year period. o The patrimonial rights related to copyright in the case of computer programs last all lifetime of the author, and after his/her death they are transmitted by inheritance, according to civil law for a period of 50 years.
Patents
Nature of the right o A patent shall be granted for any invention having as a subject a product or a process, in all technological fields, provided that it is new, involves an inventive step and is susceptible of industrial application. o An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. o The right to the patent belongs to the inventor or his successor in title. o The patent holder has an exclusive right to exploit an invention for the duration of the patent. Unauthorized production, use, marketing, sale or import of the patented product or of the patented process or of the product directly obtained through the patented process is prohibited. Protection o The patent is protected on registration with the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM).
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o o
The procedure for registering patents with OSIM, as well as the rights and obligations deriving from these patents are governed by Law no. 64/1991. Romania is a party to the 1883 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, ratifying all its amendments, and of the 1973 European Patent Convention.
Law enforcement o Infringing the rights triggers either civil or criminal liability. Duration of the protection o o Patents have a 20-year validity from the date of filing the application for registration; not renewable. Law no. 255/1998 enacts a special legal regime for the protection of plant species, also based on a patent certificate. The term of protection of the variety is 25 years from the date of patent. For species of fruit trees, wines and ornamental forest trees the term of the variety patent is 30 years from the granting of the protection.
Trademarks
Nature of the right o A trademark is a sign susceptible of graphic representation which serves to distinguish the goods or services of a natural or legal person from those belonging to other persons. The trademark holder has the right to: use the trademark during the course of its business; prevent others from using the trademark; prevent others from registering a similar or identical trademark; sell or license the trademark. Protection o The right to a mark shall be acquired and protected by registration with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks. o Trademarks framework and protection are regulated under Law no. 84/1998, which details the procedure for registering trademarks with OSIM, the priority rights recognized and the rights and obligations deriving from trademark protection. o Romania is a signatory party to the 1894 Madrid Agreement on International Registration of Trademarks and a party to the Community Trademark System administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. Law enforcement o Infringing the rights triggers either civil or criminal liability. Duration of the protection o The registration of a mark shall take effect on the date of the regular national filing of the mark and shall subsist for ten years. o At the request of the owner, the registration of a mark may be renewed at the end of each ten-year period on payment of the prescribed fee. o The request for renewal of a registration may be made before expiry of the current term of protection, but three months at the earliest prior to expiry of that term. o Renewal of a registration shall take effect as from the day immediately following the expiry of the current term of protection.
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o o o o o o
Government Ordinance no 41/1998 on the fees in the industrial property protection field and the conditions for using the same; Design Law no. 129/1992; Law no. 84/1998 on Marks and Geographical Indications; Law on Utility Models no. 350/2007; Law no. 255/1998 on the protection of new plant varieties; Law on Copyright no. 8/1996. Copyright, patents & marks See www.wipo.com www.mark-patent.ro www.osim.ro State Office for Inventions and Trademarks
o o o
Currency operations between residents and non-residents Non-residents: - Natural persons - foreign citizens, Romanian citizens and stateless persons residing abroad, with -
identity documents issued by law; Legal persons and other entities established abroad, and individuals, foreign citizens, Romanian citizens and stateless persons residing abroad who are authorized and / or registered to conduct business as provided in the regulations in force; Branches, agencies, representative offices, Romanian legal persons and any other Romanian entities, registered and / or authorized to work abroad; Embassies, consulates and other representative offices and permanent missions of other States in Romania and international organizations or representations of such organizations operating in Romania.
Currency operations:
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Current operations performed between residents and non-residents and arising, from: a) International trade transactions with immediate reimbursement; b) Repatriation of net revenues in the form of interests, dividends etc.; c) Repatriation of petty cash deriving from legal obligation of supporting family members; d) Other transactions; e) Expenses made by residents abroad other than currency capital operations, for religious, educational, recreational, business, meetings, conferences, and other similar purposes. The current currency operations are not subject to reporting to BNR. Capital operations currency operations performed between residents and non- residents, arising from: (i) direct investments; (ii) real estate investments (related to a direct investment); (iii) transactions with financial instruments; (iv) financial credits and loans; (v) guarantees; (vi) operations in current accounts and in deposit accounts; (vii) transfers representing subsidies, annuities, secured amounts, allowances; (viii) other capital movements. Transactions between resident companies or between resident companies and resident individuals must be made in RON, the Romanian currency. Transactions between residents and non-residents can be made both in RON and foreign currency. Certain transactions that are deemed by law to be capital transfers require the prior approval of the BNR. Such approval is no
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longer required for certain capital transfers (i.e. operations with securities and other instruments st in the monetary market) from 1 September 2006.
Safeguard measures
Due to liberalization, the capital account transactions are subject to the following principles: a) Inflows before outflows, b) Medium and long term flows before short term flows, c) Direct investment before portfolio investment, d) Respecting the sequence banks - companies - households. The Romanian National Bank can take safeguard measures related to monetary capital operations according to Regulation no. 4/2005, such as: - Compelling residents and non-residents to notify the National Bank of Romania, 10 days earlier, of their intention to perform short-term capital transactions; - Charging a commission fee at the initiation of interbank exchange market transactions concerning the selling/buying of foreign currency; - Raising the mandatory reserve ratio for the amounts representing short-term capital inflows; - Imposing other restrictions or taking supplementary measures for monitoring capital transactions. The period of application of the safeguard measures shall not exceed six months.
Main regulations
o o BNR Regulation no. 4/2005 regarding currency operations, with the subsequent modifications (Currency Regulation) as subsequently amended; BNR Norms no. 17/2002 regarding the statistical reporting to BNR of long and medium term currency capital operations of the long and middle term private external debt type, with the subsequent modifications; EC Regulation no. 1889/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council, on control of cash entering or leaving the Community. Capital movement & profit transfer See www.bnr.ro The National Bank of Romania www.aris-invest.ro Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment
o o
LEGAL ENTITIES
PROFITS TAX Are subject to profits tax: o Romanian legal persons- it concerns taxable revenues coming from any source, be it Romanian or foreign; o Foreign legal entities which carry out activities with permanent establishment in Romania;
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o o o o
Foreign legal entities and non resident natural persons that carry out activities in Romania in an association that does not result in the creation of a legal entity; Foreign legal entities that obtain income from/in connection with real estates located on the Romanian territory or from the sale/transfer of shares of a Romanian legal entity. Residents natural persons in association with Romanian legal entities for the income obtained both in Romania and abroad for associations without the status of a legal entity Legal entities headquartered in Romania incorporated according to the European law
With regard to the foreign legal persons, they become subject to taxation the moment they begin to carry out part or the whole of their business by means of a permanent establishment in Romania. According to governing legal provisions in the field, before starting business in Romania through a permanent establishment, the legal representatives of the foreign legal person must register the permanent establishment with the competent tax authority. The applicable profits tax quota is 16%. As a rule, profits subject to taxation are calculated as follows: accounting profits minus income exempt from taxation plus undetectable expenses. Where is the case of a permanent establishment, profits tax shall be calculated only based on the profits that can be attributed to the permanent establishment. With a view to determining the permanent establishments profits tax, the permanent establishment shall be deemed as a separate person and intercompany transfer price regulations will be used to calculate the market price of a transfer between the mother company and its permanent establishment. To calculate profits tax, the fiscal year is equal to a calendar year (in case a tax payer starts its business or ceases its business during one fiscal year, the period of time subject to taxation is the period of the calendar year during which the tax payer carried out its business). MINIMUM TAX The taxpayers which carry on activities such as night-bars, night-clubs, discos, casinos or sports betting, including the legal persons obtaining these incomes based on deed of partnership, and for which the profit tax owed for the activities provided in this article is less than 5% of the respective incomes shall be liable to pay a tax equal to 5% of such obtained incomes. Romanian legal person, foreign legal entities which carry out activities through permanent establishment in Romania and Legal entities headquartered in Romania incorporated according to the European law shall be bound to pay the minimum tax established depending on the total incomes registered on 31 December of the previous year (minimum tax is 2.200 lei). EXEMPTED TAX The taxpayers are exempted from paying any tax of the amount of the invested profit in certain conditions. EARNINGS REPATRIATION, PROFIT DISTRIBUTION AND OTHER INCOME Dividends - Net profits distributed by a Romanian legal person to a non-resident entity are subject to dividend tax (16%). A lower tax rate may be applicable, should the provisions of the relevant double tax treaty (DTT) be invoked. Dividend tax is reduced to nil if are complied certain conditions, as established by the agreement between Switzerland and the European Community on the implementation of measures equivalent to those stipulated by EC Council Directive 48/2003 on taxation of income from savings in the form of interest payments, published in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L385/30 of 29th December 2004 Permanent establishments do not distribute dividends, a mere repatriation of net profits (after they pay the profit tax) to the non-resident is made. In this case, for the repatriation of the net profit tax is not due. Interests - According to the internal legislation, interests from a non-resident are considered taxable income realized in Romania. The tax payable by a non-resident (calculated by applying the 16%
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quota onto the gross revenue) is retained and transferred to the state budget by the taxpayer. Consequently, the interest paid to a non-resident is subject to withholding tax in Romania (16%). The rate may be reduced based on the provisions of the relevant DTT. For the permanent establishment, the taxation treatment of interest is the same as for the Romanian legal person, if such interest is an expense deductible for the permanent establishment. Royalties - Royalties paid to a non-resident are subject to withholding tax in Romania (16%). The rate may be reduced based on the provisions of the relevant DTT. According to the Agreement signed between Switzerland and the European Community interest and royalty payments made between associated companies or their permanent establishments are not subject to taxation in the state of source, if there are met a number of conditions, mentioned in this agreement. Capital gains - Foreign legal persons that obtain income from immovable property located in Romania or from the sale-assignment of participation stock in a Romanian legal person are required to pay the profit tax for the taxable profit related to such income. Gambling - In case of income obtained from gambling, the tax shall be calculated by applying the 20% quota onto the gross income. Transfer prices rules The Romanian tax authorities may, in order to calculate the tax obligations of the affiliated persons, to reconsider the records of the affiliate in Romania for the purpose of tax investigation, if following the special relations between the Romanian affiliate and the foreign person, these records do not reflect the actual taxable profits sourced from Romania. Affiliates records are not reconsidered whenever the transactions between such affiliates are conducted in commercial terms on the free market. TAXATION ON WAGES AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE SECURITIES BUDGET According to Romanian employment regulations, both employer and employee have to contribute to the social security system but the employer is the one who has to withhold and pay all salary contributions to the state. Social security contributions at the employer level: o Social security contribution between 20.8% and 30.8%, depending on working conditions. It is calculated and paid monthly taking into account the total gross amount paid to employees. o Health fund contribution - 5.2% of the total gross amounts paid to employees; it is withheld and paid every month. o Unemployment fund contribution 0.5% applied to the gross monthly amount paid to employees. o Contribution for medical leave and indemnity - 0.85% of the total gross amount paid to employees on a monthly basis, capped at 12 national minimum gross salaries multiplied with the number of insured persons o Contribution to the National insurance fund for work accidents and professional diseases - the contribution ranges between 0.15% and 0.85% and depends on the risk category; the basis is the total gross monthly amount paid to employees. o Labour Chamber commission - 0.25% or 0.75% applied to the total gross amount paid to employees. It is paid monthly and the different percentage depends on the keeper of the workbooks: the Labour Chamber or the company through the human resources inspector. o Contribution to the Guarantee fund for payment of salary debts - 0.25% applied to the total gross amount paid to employees; the basis of calculus is monthly.
VAT
Taxable operations According to the Fiscal Code, operations that cumulatively fulfil the following conditions are subject to VAT: o they represent a supply of goods or services against payment; o the place of delivery of goods or supply of services is considered to be in Romania; o the delivery of goods or supply of services is made by a taxable person;
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From this general rule, the tax code establishes a series of exceptions, for example: if are provided services to real property, place of supply is where the property is located.
TERRITORIALITY The operations relating to the transfer of ownership right over the assets located on the Romanian territory are subject to VAT. The imported goods are taxable in Romania upon registration of the customs declaration. From 1st of January 2010 Romania transposed the Council Directive 2008/8/EC as regards the place of supply of services. According to this European Directive the place of supply of services is changed from the place where the supplier is established to the place where the beneficiary is established. For the services rendered by a taxable person to a non-taxable person, is still applicable the general rule: the place of taxation is the place where the supplier is established.
VAT PAYERS Any entity, regardless of their legal status, that carry out economic activities and that are registered as VAT payers. The importers of assets, regardless as to whether import is carried out directly, by agents or by third legal entities. Individuals, for the goods they bring into the country, as per the customs regulation. Legal entities or individuals, having their headquarters or permanent residence in Romania, beneficiary of services performed by foreigners. VAT RATES AND REGIMES Romanian VAT legislation is generally in line with the principles of the European Directives. Taxable operations may be: o Taxable operations. The standard rate of VAT is 24% and is applied to all supplies of goods and services. A reduced VAT rate of 9% is available inter alia for medicines, hotel services, books, admission fees to castles, exhibitions. Also, a reduce VAT rate of 5% is available, inter alia, for the delivery of housing buildings (maximum 120 sq.m. excluding attachments), social buildings. o exempt operations with right of deduction, for which value-added tax is not payable, but a deduction of the value-added tax due or paid for purchases (such as: Exemptions for exports or other similar operations, for intra-Community supplies and for international and intra-Community transport - supplies of goods which are dispatched or transported outside the Community by the supplier or by another person on his behalf; provisions of services in Romania for the purchased or imported movable property, in view of processing in Romania and that are subsequently transported outside the Community by the provider of services or by the client, if he is not established in Romania, or by another person on behalf of any of these; international transport of passengers;); o exempt operations without right of deduction, for which value-added tax is not payable and a deduction of the value-added tax due or paid for purchases is not allowed (such operations are, inter alia, hospital treatment, medical care, and closely-related operations carried out by units authorised for such activities, regardless of the form of organisation, such as hospitals, sanatoriums, rural or urban health centres, dispensaries, medical practices and laboratories, centres for medical care and diagnosis, treatment and recuperation resorts, emergency stations and other units authorised to carry on such activities;; provisions of the following financial and banking services; insurance and/or reinsurance operations, as well as the provision of services in connection with insurance and/or reinsurance operations which are provided by persons who intermediate such operations); o imports operations and intra-community acquisition, exempted from tax (for example the import of goods and intra-Community acquisition whose supply in Romania is exempt from value-added tax inside the country in any situation; import of natural gas through the natural gas distribution system, or of electricity); o Operations provided, as are mentions above, that are exempted without right of deduction being made by small enterprises which apply the special exemption regime.
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As a general rule, the fiscal period is the calendar month. For taxable persons registered for VAT purposes whose previous year-end turnover did not exceed EUR 100.000 the fiscal period is the calendar quarter. We would like to mention that if a taxable person using the calendar quarter as a fiscal period is performing an intra-community acquisition taxable in Romania, the fiscal period shall become the calendar month. The usage of standard pre-printed invoices is no longer mandatory, but the invoices must contain the minimum information required by the law. For the payment of VAT, the beneficiaries, from Romanian, of services provided by foreign persons, and for Intra-Community acquisitions, the mechanism that will have to be applied is the reverse taxation (the tax is to be registered into the VAT register both as a deductible tax and as collected tax) Simplification measures are applied to the following transactions: selling waste and secondary raw materials resulted from their sale; selling wood material. EXCISE DUTY The excises represent special consumption duties owed to the State budget for certain domestic and imported products. Products subject to excise duties: alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, mineral oils, electricity. Also, subject to excise duties are the following products: green coffee, roasted coffee, soluble coffee. The products shall be subject to excise duties at the time of their production on the Community territory or at the moment of their import to Community territory. However, the internal legislation establishes a series of exemptions from excise duties, such as: o General exemptions - are granted if the excisable goods are intended to be used in areas expressly mentioned by the law (for example: the excisable products intended for supply in the context of consular or diplomatic relations); o Special exemptions - as an example, are exempt from excise duties the products supplied by tax-free shops, the products carried in personal the personal luggage of passengers travelling by air or sea to a third territory or to a third country. This exemptions are granted only under certain special conditions established by legal regulations; o Exemptions for certain categories of excisable goods which are granted in certain situations. Thus, by way of example, we mention, the exemptions for processed tobacco. The processed tobacco shall be exempt from the payment of excise duties, when it is solely destined to scientific tests or quality tests for products. Payment procedures: the excise is due at the moment of the release for consumption or when losses or shortages of excisable products are assessed. The persons liable for the payment of excise duties are the importer or the warehouse keeper. Also we want to note that there are special rules regarding the production and processing of certain excisable goods (such as energy products, tobacco). For these products the production and processing can take place only under a special regime (warehousing procedure). It should also be noted that, moving and receiving excisable goods can take place under excise duty suspension, in which case a series of documents are required. If these documents are missing or are improperly completed, the law provides a series of sanctions, both contravention and criminal sanctions. IMPORT TAXES (tariffs) Romania is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and of the General System of Customs Preferences (GSCP). The custom duties are applied to imported goods, and the applicable rates are specified under the EU Customs Tariff. The customs duties are expressed in percentages and are applied to the customs value of the goods, denominated in Romanian currency RON and valid on the date the import customs declaration is registered (ad valorem). There are cases when custom duties are expressed as a fix amount applied to a specific quantity.
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NATURAL PERSONS
o Direct Taxations:
Taxpayers are: resident natural person; non-resident natural person who carry on an independent activity through a permanent head office in Romania; non-resident natural persons who carry on dependent activities in Romania; non-resident natural persons who obtain the specific incomes from Romania Income taxable in Romania: income from independent activities, income from wages, income from the grant of using the goods; income from investments; income from pensions; income from agricultural activities; income from prizes and from gambling, income from the transfer of real estates; income from other sources. The standard income rate is 16%. Income from dependent activities Pursuant to domestic tax regulations, the income obtained by non-resident natural persons from dependent activities carried out on the territory of Romania, are taxable in the said country provided that one of the following conditions of the Tax Code is met: - The non-resident person is present in Romania during one or several time intervals which, as a total, exceed 183 days of any 12-consecutive-month period, which is closed in the respective calendar year; - The earned incomes are paid by or in the name of a resident employer; - The earned incomes represent the deductible expenditure of a permanent establishment in Romania. In case the 183-day interval is not exceeded, the provisions of the convention shall be applied, and those incomes are taxable in the state of residence. In case the 183-day period of presence in Romania is exceeded, the foreign natural person will be assimilated to a resident natural person and will be imposed in Romania with a quote of 16%. Taxation on other income Dividends - For foreign individuals tax rate on dividends is 16% applied on the gross dividend amounts. A lower tax rate may be applicable, should the provisions of the relevant double tax treaty (DTT) be invoked. Interests - According to the internal legislation, interests from a non-resident are considered taxable income realized in Romania. The tax payable by a non-resident (calculated by applying the 16% quota onto the gross revenue) is retained and transferred to the state budget by the taxpayer. Consequently, the interest paid to a non-resident is subject to withholding tax in Romania (16%). The rate may be reduced based on the provisions of the relevant DTT. Royalties - Royalties paid to a non-resident are subject to withholding tax in Romania (16%). The rate may be reduced based on the provisions of the relevant DTT. Capital gains Non-resident persons that obtain income from immovable property located in Romania or from the sale-assignment of participation stock in a Romanian legal person are required to pay the income tax for the gain obtained, in a quota of 16%. Income from independent professions The income obtained by non-residents, derived from the exercise on their own an independent professions or other activities having an independent character shall be taxable only in the State of residence, provided that the non-resident do not normally have in Romania a fixed base for performing its activity. If he has such a fixed base, the income attributable to this fixed base represents taxable income to Romania, by applying the rate of 16%. Exempted from taxation Salary income earned by employees whose activity consists of the creation of software is income tax exempt, subject to certain conditions stipulated by a Government Order (Order No. 250/189/748/2004
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issued by Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Finance). Taxation on wages Social security contributions at the individual level (employees): o Social security contribution (i.e. pension) - 10.5% on the gross income from every month; o Health fund contribution - 5.5% applied to the gross monthly income; o Unemployment insurance contribution - 0.5% applied to the same gross monthly income.
o
o o
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3. Economic sectors
Drafting team: Hanelore Brighite BENING (hanicutzu@yahoo.com) Alexandra DIN (din_alexandra2005@yahoo.com) Corina DUMITRESCU (corinadumitrescu1@gmail.com) Elena Monica PETRESCU (elena_monica_petrescu@yahoo.com) 3.1 Primary Sector
o o o o o o o o o o o o Agriculture Fishing and Fish Farming Extractive Industry Manufacturing Industry Electricity, Gas and Water Construction and Real Estate Transport Means and Infrastructure Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry Tourism IT & Telecommunications Education Media & Communication Industry
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The agricultural land size and the natural available human resources makes Romania a very important producer and partner for the Central and Eastern European market of agro-food products; The support available under the EAFRD represents the ambition to implement the core EU policies including the re-launched Lisbon strategy and the Gothenburg declaration on sustainable development; Since February 2010, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Dacian Ciolos.
Issues o Low performance of the Romanian agriculture not correlated at all with its real potential; o High proportion of small, subsistence farms (56% of farms are under 3 ha); o Low level of productivity and efficiency (due to land fragmentation and lack of capital); o Low access to credits and low development of specific services for agriculture; o Lack of strategic and coordinated plans in the land cultivation area; o Lack of healthy natural products consumption at population level; o Lack of crop gathering points, in conjunction with communication and coordination with suppliers and clients within the value chain; o Lack of watering systems. Opportunities o Increasing the comprehensive, harmonious and sustainable contribution for the development of the rural area; o Reconstitution of ownership of agricultural land and forest; o Completion of the privatization-lease assets and agricultural land and agricultural services; o Stimulating and supporting the establishment of real agricultural farms and professional organizations; o Improving the structure of crops, for maximum efficiency in use of climatic conditions, to meet internal and external market needs and to increase the profitability of farmers; o Improvement of procedures for increasing the budget and its use with maximum efficiency financial resources, internal and external resources; o Protecting and developing the forest and hunting fund; o Settlement on other grounds of education, scientific research and counselling in agriculture, food and forestry which used to be an important asset for local agriculture o Rebuilding the watering systems which worked during the last years of the communist regime o Structural reform of public institutions which falls under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture; o Achieving gradual but steady growth rate, minimum performance parameters, for integration into the EU structures; o Export of agro-ecologic products; o Building further the certification and inspection systems for various products; o Building export centres; o Biofuels production plants, in accordance with EU biofuel rules.
Agriculture See
o o o o o o o o o o o o www.maap.ro www.apia.org.ro www.fao.org www.consultantaagricola.ro www.agroinfo.ro www.ccir.ro www.mmediu.ro www.ecomagazin.ro www.lumeasatului.ro http://europa.eu/pol/agr/index_ro.htm www.gazetadeagricultura.info www.ecolife/articole/agricultura/
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o o o o o
44
45
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o o o o o o o o o
Uranium
Overview o The uranium production in Romania has decreased constantly over the last decade, as several plants became unprofitable or ran out of ore and shut down. While Romania's energy strategy for 2007-2020 mentions that the remaining uranium ores will support the functioning of two nuclearelectric units at Cernavod for eight years, NuclearElectrica (national nuclear energy company) officials declared that the reserve will hold for ten years; o In Romania, uranium is extracted at the Crucea-Botuana mine in Suceava, the only mine that is still functioning nowadays. Issues o According to the Ministry of Economy, the state subsidies for the Romanian National Uranium Mining Company have been reduced by 14.3%. On average, the subsidies for all mining companies have been lowered by approx. 28%; o Several tons of waste sludge contaminated with uranium leaked from a mining operation in western Romania into nearby streams and subsequently the Fekete Krs River in eastern Hungary; o Uranium reserves will probably last for 7 more years, until 2017; o In the future, Romania will acquire uranium from Kazakhstan. Opportunities o In the future, the most plausible investment opportunities lie in uranium processing or in the nuclear-electric units at Cernavod.
Uranium See
o o o o o http://www.wise-uranium.org/umop.html#RO http://www.cnu.ro/ http://www.ziare.com/business/economie/12-18-2009/romania-va-cauta-diamante-si-uraniuin-angola-978891 http://www.ecomagazin.ro/minele-si-haldele-de-uraniu-din-romania-zac-neecologizate/ http://www.nuclearelectrica.ro/en
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There are three leading players on the Romanian gold market: Transgold SA, a 50-50 joint venture between Eurogold Ltd of Australia and its state-owned partner, Remin SA; it operates a modern CIL facility at Baia Mare, initially constructed for a major tailings retreatment project. The company is now progressing to develop a number of mining sites to supply ore from its own sources, and is involved with a number of exploration campaigns, primarily in the north of the country. The Roia Montana gold project in the Apuseni Mountains, where a joint venture between Canadian junior Gabriel Resources (80%), the state-owned company Minvest (19.31%) and smaller shareholders, is endeavouring to develop a major resource around the site of an existing small, Minvest operation. The proposed project target is estimated to contain proven and probable reserves totalling approximately 218 Mt averaging 1.52 g/t Au and 7.47 g/t Ag, containing 10.6 Moz of gold and 52.3 Moz of silver. European Goldfields holds five mineral properties located within the Golden Quadrilateral area of Romania, where it has embarked on a resource development and pre-feasibility programme to underpin the value of its 80%-owned Certej deposit and surrounding satellite bodies. A current resource estimate outlines measured and indicated resources of 31.4 Mt grading 2.1 g/t gold and 11.0 g/t silver for 2.34 Moz of gold equivalent (80% attributable: 1.87 Moz); Important gold areas in Romania are in Maramure, Deva and Roia Montana.
Issues 3 o In the year 2000, in Baia Mare, as result of an accident, 100 000 m of water contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals overflowed. o Gold mining in Romania is currently very much frowned upon due to the controversial situation in Roia Montana, where Gabriel Resources plans to exploit the area. The mine would be Europes largest open cast gold mine. It would destroy Roman ruins more than 2 000 years old, which led the International Council on Monuments and Sites to make a resolution condemning the intended destruction of monuments. The mining company also plans to use cyanide leaching, which creates large quantities of waste and sludge laced with heavy metals and cyanide. The sludge is to be stored in a toxic lake enclosed with a 180 meter high dam. A similar type of dam collapsed in Baia Mare, two years ago, killing most of the freshwater life in rivers for 400 km downstream. Promoters say the mine will create 300 new jobs, but these would last only 17 years whereas the mine would destroy the livelihood of 740 subsistence farmers forever. Due to various tax breaks and other preferential treatment, the mine would provide little revenue to Romania, but instead burden it with the risk of accident and a decades-long toxic heritage; however, villagers look forward to the mine opening, as they are all in desperate need of jobs. In spite of the public opinion and international institutions, the new Romanian government decided on 18 December 2009 to start mining in the area as soon as possible. Opportunities o The Romanian state cannot afford to extract the gold in the Apuseni mountains region due to the very high costs; o Agnico Eagle, competitor for Gabriel Resources, is successfully exploring gold in an area in Finland almost as controversial as Roia Montana; in Kittila, a Finnish town in northern Finland. The people have accepted to compromise the exquisite landscape, as, in the 850 ha occupied by the mine, the vegetation and fauna have been destroyed. The surroundings of the area are, however, intact; numerous jobs have been created for the locals and the company has been involved in several environmental projects, gaining a better image in the public eye.
Gold See
o o o o http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/gold/eu/ro/p0005.htm http://www.bankwatch.org/project.shtml?s=153982 http://www.bankwatch.org/project.shtml?apc=--153982g--1&x=326886 http://www.miningweekly.com/article/romania-centrists-support-gold-mine-project-2009-12-18
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o o o o
Salt
Overview o There are many salt mines in Romania; Slnic, in Prahova region and Praid, in Harghita region are two of the most famous; o Local salt production was 2,7 million tones (2008) (1,7 for industrial purpose, 0,92 for food industry and agriculture and 100000 tones for human consumption). o In 1989 local production was 5,5 million tones o Romania exports 25000 tones of salt for human consumption per year. o The salt mine in Slnic Prahova is a balneoclimatic resort, located at about 44 km of Ploieti, at 400 m altitude; Opportunities o Romania has rich salt deposits which can fulfil European demand for many decades. o Salt mines are important touristic attractions in Romania, as they offer numerous facilities for visitors: they have therapeutic, as well as leisure purposes, besides their most basic use that of salt extraction; all these facilities are worth further investigation and investment.
Salt See
o http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/romania/salt-mine-slanic
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Meat products Milk Potatoes Fresh and canned vegetables Edible fruits
Source: www.insse.ro - The National Institute of Statistics, 2008 Report o Import/Export: Export small percent from total exports. Main exports are raw materials or processed food. There are low export rates to the EU especially on meat products because of the strict standard regulations of EU. Main imports consist of end products for household consumption distributed especially through local giant retailers.
Issues o The local raw materials are still insufficient or of a lower quality than those of the European competitors. o There still are quality standard issues regarding the EU regulations, especially those concerning meat products, milk and derivates; o A number of Romanian companies, active in both the food and drinks as well as in the mass grocery retail (MGR) market sectors, have begun to feel the effects of economic downturn; o Romanias food and drinks market will continue to be held back by low per capita income, large sections of rural population, and its negative food and drinks trade balance; o Given that the country's MGR sector was hit by a sharper than expected fall in consumer confidence, supermarkets and hypermarkets will struggle to retain their customers, who are increasingly seeking cheaper alternatives from the discount sector; o Demand for cheaper private-label goods has picked up noticeably, while discounters are also benefiting from their ability to set up in urban areas (unlike hypermarkets) and residential neighbourhoods, which reduces transportation expenses for the clients; o Due to the changes in consumption created by the economic crisis in Romania, the survival of some niches of food and beverages is challenged. Opportunities o The MGR market is expected to experience additional changes in the next years. For example, existing supermarket operators will focus on smaller formats in order to address changing needs of their consumers, while smaller and independent retailers are likely to succumb to larger companies, all of which will affect the market penetration of food and beverages; o Over the next five years, the value of food consumption at consumer rates is expected to increase by 48.12% in local currency terms, to reach RON 83.2 billion (USD 35.9 billion), although the remainder of 2009 and into 2010 is likely to be more challenging; o The longer-term potential of the Romanian market in addition to the increasing saturation of Western European markets is one of the key reasons for continued investment in the country; o The Bio-product market is still underdeveloped because of the lack of producers while the demand is growing. The consume represented 1% from all products in Romania in 2008 under the EU average, but remains a market with great potential in the future; o Another potential investment opportunity regards the traditional food and beverages niche (especially the alcoholic beverages sector is now being developed for export). o There is a high export potential for ecologic agriculture sustained thought the National Export Strategy of Romania for 2010-14.
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o o o o o o o
Textiles See 51
o o o o o o
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Overview o Forestry industries in Romania (exploitation, woodworking and furniture) accounted in 2005 for 3.5% of GDP and for about 7% of the manufacturing sector output produced by 10% from the total employees in industry. o Significant parts of the Romanian forests are located in the mountains: 51.9%, while in hilly areas there are located 37.2% of forests and 10.9% of forests are located in plain areas. Standing wood 3 volume of forests from the national forest fund is 1 341 million m . The average country wood 3 3 volume is 218 m /ha. The unitary average growth of forests is 5.6 m /year/ha. 3 o The total volume of exploited wood was 15 671 thousand m for the year 2005 and this wood 3 volume had two destinations, for economic operators with forestry activity (11 783 thousand m ) 3 and for population supplying (3 888 thousand m ). o In 2005 the furniture production amounted to EUR 1 195 million, out of which around 75% was exported. Issues o The illegal logging phenomenon currently occurring in Romania is estimated at an annual volume 3 of 100 000 m ; o Less than 27% of Romanias territory is covered by forests, which is under the European average and well below what researchers consider, given the countrys natural conditions; the optimal threshold is estimated between 32-35% from the total countrys territory; Opportunities o The Rural Development Programme for Romania 2007-13 whose primary purpose is to facilitate the transformation and modernisation of the forestry production and processing sectors; o Another objective is the development of scientific research and education with focus on forest sustainable management, economical changes of forestry sector and amelioration of the environment on the national, regional and global level; o Design in furniture sector
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o o o
o o
Hydro, 17,3% nuclear. Export was 5,3 TWh. Romania also imported 0,9 TWh. Main producers: Hidroelectrica more than 25%, Nuclearelectrica 17%, Elcen, CET Rovinari, CET Turceni. The countrys hydropower potential is extremely large, with an estimated additional potential of over 9 MW. There is a total of at least 767 hydroelectric power plants; Wind power: For Romanian wind resources there is a vast range of small existing applications, from small autonomous units for rural areas to large off-shore potential with an approximate capacity of 2.5 MW (UDI Utilities Dynamic Inc., 2009). Currently Romania has approximately 636 MW of wind capacity under construction and 5500 MW planned; Romania has great biomass potential, which is estimated at 88 000 GWh per year. Direct burning in kilns, stoves for space heating, cooking and hot water preparation is about 95 % of the biomass use; About 66% of the firewood and wood waste is located in the Carpathians and Sub-Carpathians; The potential market for solar applications is very large but specific incentives will be needed in order to realise it. (average solar radiation ranging from 1 100 to 1 300 kWh/m2 per year on more than half of the countrys surface); With the third highest geothermal potential of European nations, Romania has a total geothermal installed capacity of about 145.1 MWt producing 2 841 TJ per year. This energy is produced from about 59 direct-use wells with hot water; About 75% of the natural gas Romania uses, is domestically produced, importing the balance from Russia. The gas distribution infrastructure is extensive, with possible providing countries such as Norway, Turkmenistan and the Netherlands; Gas is the dominant fuel source in Romania, accounting for 37.1% of Primary Energy Demand (PED) in 2007, followed by oil, coal and hydro sources;
Issues o Domestic supporting financial sector relatively undeveloped; o Extensive poverty limits the domestic users to invest in energy efficiency; o Market dysfunctionality consisting in the difficulty of increasing household electricity tariffs to costcovering levels due to high inflation and continued depreciation of the leu; o Political resistance to further increases in household electricity tariffs; o The district heating company is losing customers because of continuous poor performance. Opportunities o Romania will account for 3.29% of Central Eastern Europe (CEE) regional power generation by 2013, and will remain a net exporter of electricity to neighbouring states. The country is expected to provide 3.15% of regional thermal generation; o An increase of 66% in hydro-power use during 2008-18 is a key element of generation growth; o Thermal power generation rise by 38% between 2008 and 2018; o Romania's commitment to the European Union is to reach the target of 33% use of renewable energy by 2010. 33% of total electric power and 11% of total energy consumption by 2010 38% of total electric power and 24% of total energy consumption by 2020 o In the first semester of 2009 29.8% from the total energy was provided from hydropower but Law no. 220/2008 for the promotion of renewable energy imputed also the possibility of green certificates (until 2010). o Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant still has 2 reactors in different stages of constructions. These two will increase the output with more than 100%. o Investments in wind power
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o The investment in the sustainable constructions in the context of climate change is a good start
for Romania.
o The infrastructure in Romania is mainly deficitary and is still a good segment for investment. Construction & Real Estate: See
o http://www.realinromania-blog.com/romanian-real-estate-market-spring-2010shopping-in-analmost-empty-super-market/ o http://www.cbre.be/ro_en o http://www.colliersinternational.com/Markets/Bucharest/ o http://www.pr-inside.com/romania-real-estate-report-q-r1859104.htm o http://www.radarfarms.com/?page_id=30&type=573&view=1 o http://www.romaniarealestate.ro/?page=acasa&lang=en o http://domino.colliers.ro/market/2009%20Colliers%20Romania%20Market%20Report%20Mid %20Year%20en.pdf o http://realestate.doingbusiness.ro/en/market-overview/article.php?articleid=455 o http://feaa.ucv.ro/FPV/010-08.pdf o http://www.bucharestherald.ro/interviews-a-analyses/56-interviews-a-analyses/7223-financialcrisis-boosts-leisure-tourism-in-bucharesto http://econpapers.repec.org/article/raujournl/v_3a4_3ay_3a2009_3ai_3a3_3ap_3a127136.htm o http://mnmk.ro/documents/2010/3NistorescuFFF.pdf
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o o o o
o o o
Three of the ten Pan-European transport corridors pass through Romania: corridor No. 4 Dresden Prague Vienna Bucharest Salonika - Istanbul, corridor No. 9 Helsinki Moscow Bucharest -Alexandropoulos and corridor No. 7, which follows the route of the navigable Danube and, together with the Main - Rhine Canal and the Danube - Black Sea Canal (opened for traffic in 1984), provides the routes between the North Sea and the Black Sea; Romania will play an important role in the context of the future oil and gas pipelines from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia to South East Europe and Western Europe; The Government elaborated plans to develop a national motorway system, some of them being under developed. The railway network totals 10 981 km, of which one third is electrified track; The public road network totals 73 435 km, of which 14 700 are modernized roads (less than 400km are motorways). River traffic is almost exclusively conducted on the Danube, from Bazia (at its entry point into Romania) up to Brila for 2 m draught ships, whereas maritime Danube, between Brila and Sulina, is navigable for up to 7 m draught ships; There are plans to improve airports infrastructure. Henri Conda (main Bucharest airport) will develop in two phases, the first being under construction). Two more airports will be built: Brasov and Braila) Successive governments have been eager to rectify the poor situation of the infrastructure, although they have had difficulty in finding the necessary funding; However, most hopes rest on foreign aid, particularly from the EU, and on attracting foreign investment; One of the EU projects that Romania is currently part of, is Marco Polo II, which is a 5-step water transport programme, with a total funding of EUR 450 million. The programme has 5 sections: modal transfer projects, catalyst actions, maritime highways, water traffic avoidance actions and common learning activities; The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continues to support Romanias infrastructure.
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The prices of prescribed drugs and medical services are rather cheap. The problem is the insufficient amount of money paid by the public system.
Issues o Private sector is still underdeveloped and expensive for the vast majority of population. o An important amount of active population is not paying taxes; o Population per physician in 2008 was 428, less than the EU average; o There is no full service private hospital in Romania; o Public and private sectors are not working together; o The number of taxpayer is going down as proportion of total population and the life expectancy is going up. The public sector wont be able to manage the system; o In many rural areas, few have access to medical services. The access of the rural population to basic healthcare services is hindered by the poor transportation services, which mostly impedes on the medical staffs commuting possibilities. o Bribing doctors is a custom in Romania. Patients use bribery to solicit the standard level of medical care; o Not earning enough, young medical staff decide to leave abroad so there is the risk of not having enough doctors and dentists. Opportunities o By implementing the national system of electronic prescription, the Ministry intends to improve the quality of medical service and optimise the medical services costs; o Developments in the private sector o In the last few years most hospitals went on to be managed by local authorities through public budget financing, which saved the healthcare system big amounts of money o Making healthcare insurance more accessible to the population
Tourism
Overview o There is an increase in domestic tourism, more travel within the same region, more travel by road and rail, more direct booking and an increased use of low-cost airlines. o Romania is one of the worlds least tourism intensive countries, ranking 162 out of 174 countries in terms of contribution to GDP. o Real GDP growth for the travel & tourism economy is expected to be -2.4% in 2009. o Availability of low-cost flights: Blue Air, Wizz Air, Germanwings, Jet Tran Air, MyAir, Nouvelair, SkyEurope. o In 2010, the Ministry of Tourism launched an international tourism promotion campaign entitled Romania Land of Choice. Issues o Romania faces a number of major gaps between the rural areas and urban ones in terms of social and physical infrastructure. o Internet access in rural areas is very modest, because of poor development and low income of the population. o Accommodation: poor quality standards of services and accommodation.
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Opportunities o There is much potential for Romania by breaking away from its traditional tourism on the Black Sea. The following sectors should be prioritized: o Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions; o Mountain tourism skiing in winter and hiking in summer; o Heritage tourism using gateway sites such as Braov, Sibiu and Sighioara; o Rural tourism development of wine/monasteries routes and promotion of festivals; o Spa/wellness tourism.
Tourism: See
o o o o o o o http://www.wttc.org/ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/geotourism/romania.html http://www.romaniatourism.com/ http://www.antrec.ro/ http://www.turism.gov.ro/ro/ http://www.turism.ro/ http://www.zf.ro/zf-24/tui-turismul-romanesc-este-cu-7-8-ani-in-urma-celui-bulgaresc5749361/
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Education
Overview o Teaching staff by level of education, in 2007/2008 school academic year o Pre-school education: 13,5%; primary and secondary education: 50,2%; high school education: 22,3%; vocational education: 2,1%; post high school and foremen education: 0,4%; tertiary education: 11,5%; o Education by level of education from private institutions 2007/2008 (education units) o Pre-school education: 206; primary and secondary education: 32; high school education: 41; vocational and apprenticeship education: 8; post high school and foremen education: 58; tertiary education: 50; o Due to the measures taken within the reform of the national system of education, during the period 2005-08, the number of educational institutions has declined by 30,7%; o Tertiary education is continuously extending; the number of students during the period 2005-08 increased. Issues o Heavy bureaucracy; o Lack of quality, modern education o Corruption; o Ever-changing system; o Although there are more schools than necessary in rural areas, the quality of education is poor, because of the poor infrastructure and the low training level of teachers; o Most schools need new buildings, furniture, utilities and teaching materials. o Financing public and private education programs Opportunities o Due to the fact that the public system cannot cover the need for proper education, there is enough room for private investors to create educational services that meet peoples expectations; o Education has a very important role in creating professionals and people are ready to invest in their own education and in that of their children in order to become competitive on the labour market.
Education: See
o http://www.edu.ro/ o www.ise.ro
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Issues o The financial crisis has severely affected the media and advertising industry. Many magazines, advertising agencies are going bankrupt, and marketing and media budgets are being seriously cut. Opportunities o In such a turbulent time for the industry, a well planned investment can turn into an excellent o The Romanian communication environment is highly creative and innovation-oriented; it is very open to new tendencies and very experimental; it has a rather traditional audience, but the younger public is easily attracted to all that is new.
High Potential
o o o o BIO Foods Cosmetics BIO labels Recreational tourism BIO farm fishing and fishing
Risky Investment
o High percentage of small subsistence farms Lack of specialized technology and labour force Limited resources; investment should be directed towards manufacturing Gold mining controversial in Romania due to the polluting and destructive methods used
Extractive Industry
o o
Cheaper Romanian coal Oil very low royalty rates (payment to the Gorverment) Salt mines touristic attractions
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Secondary
Manufacturing Industry
o Highly qualified and economically reasonable labour force o Increasing costs for labour force
o o o
BIO and organic foods niche Wine sector Medium-high quality textiles and consultancy services due to a long experience Receptiveness to new forms of power generation Great biomass potential High demand and prices, still above real value, especially in Bucharest; Niche markets. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development supports Romanian infrastructure development Private clinics and hospitals, as an alternative to the local public health systems Potential to break away from its traditional tourism.
o o
Construction Estate
and
Real
o o
Textile industry in the low price segment, due to competition against Turkey, India and China Dysfunctional electricity market Difficulty in increasing household electricity tariffs to cost-covering levels High competitiveness Economic sector very much affected by the economic crisis Poor state infrastructure. of the
Tertiary
Transport Means Infrastructure and
o o
Bureaucracy, corruption
Major gaps between the rural areas and urban ones in terms of the social and physical infrastructure
Quaternary
IT & Telecommunications Education Media & Communication Industry
Export oriented sectors The NES 2010-2014 will focus on a limited number of sectors compared with the previous one 2005-2009, based on following criteria: o Highly qualified and economically reasonable labour force. Room for private investors to create educational services. Population is very receptive to new trends. o Urban / rural gap o Bureaucracy, corruption Highly affected by the economic crisis, in terms of traditional media
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Market and consumption trends Current export performances Supply capacity Presence and quality of resources and factors market access conditions new international rules and norms regulating international l trade or production or stimulating productionbased on renewable energy Table 6 - Selection criteria for export strategy Sectors Criteria for selection Market trends, outsourcing Endowment with factors (Large pool of Qualified work force;) Foreign language skills of the work force; Human resources with creative and innovative skills. Market trends Supply capacity (; Long tradition in manufacturing) Endowment with factors (Qualified work force Natural resources),. Market and consumption trends Endowment with factors (Qualified work force; Human resources with creative and innovative skills); Market and consumption trends Endowment with factors )Soil quality, Biodiversity Good natural conditions); Existing clusters. Market and consumption trends Endowment with factors (Qualified technical educational system; Qualified work force); Foreign investments in the sector; Existing support industries for this sector. Unique cultural and traditional values; Creative and innovative skills; National design; Multiple handicraft centres in the country. Market trends; Endowment with factors Creativity of the human resources , High schools preparing designers). Market trends; Endowment with factor Market trends; Endowment with factors
Designed driven Garments and Shoes exports Agriculture and agricultural products with focus on organic
Machine Building, Auto and means of transport and Components Cooperatives and Handicrafts and rural tourism
8. 9
Plastic materials and pharmaceutical From chemical sector Electronic, electrotechnic, hardware
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As per the table new export strategy will focus on: fields with export traditions and high performance (clothing, footwear, furniture, vinification, food , arts and crafts) fields with export traditions and technological transfers of favorable FDI delocalization such as machinery, means of transport and components construction, electronics, electrotechnical, military technology; information technology and communications, as a central vector of the new economy which contributes decisively to national production chains in all export fields but which also exports a large amount of its production; In the same time, taking into consideration new trends in the world trade demand NES is targeting creation and promotion of specific export offer in fields that have large export potential when considering global imperatives related to environmental, health or hazardous emissions reduction standards such as ecoagriculture, processing raw agricultural material, the low carbon emissions industry, professional services, nanotechnology, design or those related to the capitalization of renewable energy sources; the same category fits professional services, nanotechnology, design or those technologies related to the capitalization of renewable energy sources. Sectors which are not mentioned in this document will be not neglected. As above mentioned regions may prioritise differently on specific regional high profile sectors. Secondly, the export sector may benefit form instruments and projects which are not sector oriented in trade information, competency building, market access, trade finance, quality management or branding. Special attention will be given to fields where strategic investors exist (automobile, ship construction, machine construction, electronics, IT industry). Some of them like IT or professional services are generating positive effects in the value chain of other export sectors or are attracting related industries and investments, increasing the value of production executed domestically (energy). FDI s are increasing the training level of employees in said area (nanotechnology; equipment, technology and training in the oil field) and are stimulating creation of clusters of SMEs as suppliers. In achieving increased competitiveness for priority sectors, the 2010-2014 NES has to first take into account the degree with which requirements globally accepted as favorable to a healthy business environment are met at a national level, considering the following factors: Suply side institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic stability; health and primary education system; Business environment training and higher education systems; goods market efficiency; labour market efficiency; financial market development status; degree of technological readiness; market size. Development company business development status; innovation. More so, it has to take into consideration factors influencing the efficiency of the domestic goods and services market. The annexes present the sectoral export strategies for the strategic sectors, as developed by the NES working groups.
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The Strategic Consideration no. 4 - Optimizing Value Chains and Sectoral Priorities of Important Strategic Sectors From the point of view of national value chain size, Romania has many areas that need improvement. The difficulties identified are located in areas related to: raw materials suppliers, both as regards capacity and quality; the nature and means of obtaining competitive advantages on a local level; distribution area control of international foreign networks; degree of development of production processes; extent in which marketing and design are used and integrated in the value chain; management approach as regards reduced delegation of authority; innovation and use of modern technologies. Taking into consideration the central role of expanding and optimizing sectoral national value chains in the NES, the document aims to identify priority initiatives meant to: Improve efficiency at sector level; Minimize value losses outside of the national value chain; Add value; Create value; Distribute value. The value chain analysis, as well as other analyses for the sectors of the new strategies which were conducted by the working groups who contributed in the drafting of this document have Promoting Investments and Export Oriented FDIs The activity of foreign investors but also the increase in domestic investments have significantly contributed to the implementation and achievements of the 2005-2009 NES. Foreing investements contributed significantly to the overall export performances of the country contributing with more then one third to total exports. The presence of large investors was a determining factor in the modification of the structure of exports and its increase in volume in strategic industries such as: IT, machinery, means of transportation and components, electronics and electrotechnical. The presence of FDIs in other strategic industries such as furniture, clothing, footwear, was also significant for exports. The general objective for this consideration is to further stimulate highly value added export oriented investments in the strategic sectors of NES like automotive and means of transportation, IT&C, electronics, hardware, agriculture and food processing. For this purpose the following actions are proposed, which are meant to encourage the continuous accumulation of FDIs in Romania for the purpose of creating and retaining as much value as possible in the national value chain, but which also have effects in creating influential competitiveness poles, and ultimately effects on national competitiveness: stimulating local authorities to learn and use territorial marketing good practice models and techniques when they are promoting their regional economic offers to both the domestic and foreign business environment and to potential investors; a proactive local attitude and a public-private partnership to attract transnational companies (TNCs) to delocalize part of their value chain operations to Romania; the stimulation of supplier SME clusters around strategic investments in the automobile, machine construction, equipment, IT, electronics, furniture, construction, architecture and engineering, and design industries.
From the point of view of investors, Romania continues to remain a very attractive country, but in order to remain competitive it has to take measures to keep and attract new FDIs: - Political stability and coherent policies are of the utmost importance to this ends.
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The business climate has to be improved, especially through legal improvements and the continuation of anti-corruption actions. The administrative system has to become more transparent and efficient; to this ends it is recommended that public consultation be institutionalized, especially as regards new legislative proposals. Major and sustained infrastructure investments Better EU fund absorption Thorough budget control, coherent budget strategy and planning Creating a single point of information and support for investors, which would have resources specialized in the fiscal and legislative areas, would support the continuation, stimulation and attraction of FDIs very much. Energy and defence will be priority fields for MECMA for the future strategic cycle.
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68
Legal Obligations of Romanian companies: payment of taxes and filing of different fiscal statements with the fiscal authorities
o
1
69
The requirement to keep an Employee General Ledger The requirement to keep Accounting Registries - The Register-Journal; - The Inventory Book; - The Ledger; - The Fiscal Evidence Registry. As per Law no. 359/2004, the procedure of authorizing companies has been simplified. It is only the environmental permit that may require special procedures depending on the company's object of activity. Other types of authorizations are granted based on an affidavit given by the company's legal representative. o o
Procedures 6
o
o o o o o
Tribunals
Romanian Tribunals are Courts organized for each county and the Bucharest municipality. They are located in the countys capital.
4 5
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Competence of Tribunals: - As 1st Phase Courts: a) Commercial Trials of over RON 100 000 as well as trials without a non-financial object; b) Civil Trials of over RON 500 000 with certain exceptions; c) Labour Conflicts with certain exceptions; d) Administrative Contentious Trials with certain exceptions; e) Intellectual and Industrial Property Trials; f) Expropriation Trials; g) Adoption Trials; h) Trials arising from judicial errors in criminal trials; i) Requests to register forced execution of decisions from foreign Courts. nd - As 2 Phase Courts (Appeal): Appeals against 1st Phase Regional Courts decisions. rd - As 3 Phase Courts (Final Appeals): Final Appeals against decisions of Regional Courts which are not subject to 2nd Phase Appeal. Specialised Tribunals Military Courts o Romanian Regional Courts Romanian Regional Courts cover Romanian counties and Bucharests sectors. Regional Courts can contain specialized divisions per the nature and number of the cases. Their competence is for 1st Phase Courts, respectively all trials with the exceptions of those going directly to superior Courts. o The Court of International Commercial Arbitration The Court of International Commercial Arbitration has the mission to promote commercial and civil arbitrage both on a nationwide and international level and alternative solutions to litigation. Attributions of the Court include the following: - Assists the parties on their request in the Arbitrage procedure; - Elaborates models of Arbitrary Conventions and promotes them in specific business areas; - Collaborates with Arbitrary Commissions of Chambers of Commerce; - Maintains evidence of its specific practice; 7 - Collaborates with international arbitrary institutions.
Liability of Romanian Administrators o The administrator (Director) of the Romanian Limited Liability Company (SRL) is the main body of the company. o The Ltd. (SRL) company can have one or more administrators, shareholders or non-shareholders in the company, appointed through the Articles of Associations or the General Shareholder Assembly. o The administrators cannot receive, without authorization from the Shareholder Assembly, the mandate to be administrator in other competitor companies or in companies having the same object of activity. Administrators cannot perform the same kind of trade or another competing trade on their own behalf or in behalf of another natural person or company, under the sanction of their revoking and liability for damages.
7
http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/courts-romania.htm
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Appointing an administrator The administrator can be a natural person or a legal entity. Administrators are appointed initially by the Articles of Association and afterwards, during the current activity of the company, through a Decision of General Shareholder Assembly. This Decision shall confer one or more shareholders or non-shareholders the mandate to administer the Romanian company. Obligations and Attributions of the Romanian Administrators o The main obligations of the administrators are: - to manage the current activity of the company; - to maintain correct accounting for the company, insuring the existence and correct filing of the accounting records; - to fulfil the obligations of the companies they represent (e.g. trade regulations); - to inform the shareholders upon the companys activity; - Not to activate in any way as a competitor to the company and follow the companys interests (the administrators fidelity obligation to the company). o The administrator can perform any operation necessary to fulfil the companys activity. The administrator is able to sign documents related to the internal management of the company as well as fully represent the company in relations with third parties. o Liability of the administrators constitutes of both civil and criminal liability. Civil liability refers to liability to the company and shareholders, third parties and in case of companys bankruptcy. Criminal liability refers to cases of fraudulent management, breach of trust, manufacture and use of false documentation, fraud etc. Persons having been convicted of such crimes cannot be appointed administrators and, if currently being administrators, shall lose their position.8 Human Resources Should one intend to employ personnel, one must take into account the following information: o Employment legislation and other norms regarding employment procedures/regulations o Labour institutions and bodies o The Individual and Collective Labour Agreements Employing Romanian personnel implies signing an Individual Labour Agreement and depending on certain factors, a Collective Labour Agreement. o The Individual Labour Agreement is a specially regulated agreement concluded in written form with each respective employee. This type of agreement is formed of 2 parts, respectively: - A mandatory part which contains the rights and obligations expressly stipulated by the law in effect and - A conventional part which contains the rights and obligations established by the parties (e.g.: confidentiality and the non-competitiveness). An Individual Labour Agreement shall contain clauses related to the following issues: - Duration of Contract The rule is to conclude the Labour Agreement for an undetermined period of time. However, signing Agreements for determined periods of time can be done as an exception; - Working Location City and Unit where the actual work takes place; - Type of Work, - Working Conditions, - Salary, - Working Hours. Besides the above mentioned, the Individual Labour Agreement can contain specific clauses related to professional formation of employees, mobility, confidentiality etc. The Individual Labour Agreement must be registered by the employer with the Romanian Local Labour Inspectorate a day before the employee begins his/her employment.
8
http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/administrators-directors-romania.htm
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Collective Labour Agreement If an employer has at least or more than 21 employees, then the employer must start negotiations for the signing of the Collective Labour Agreement with the employees for determining working conditions, payment and other rights and obligations resulted from labour relationships. The clauses stipulated by the this Labour Agreement are regarded as minimal when compared to those contained in the Individual Labour Agreement, in other words, the employees rights cannot be established at an inferior level than the one in the Collective Agreement. This type of agreement concluded at Unit level must be registered with the Directorate of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family in the respective county. Collective Labour Agreements concluded at a higher level (groups of Units, activity branches or 9 national level) shall be registered with the Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family.
Dismissal of Romanian Employees Labour relations can be terminated in a lawful manner (retirement, certain interdictions, etc.), resignation or dismissal by the employer. The dismissal performed by the employer can be disposed for reasons related to the employee or other unrelated reasons. The employer is able to dismiss for reasons related to the respective employee in the following situations: - when the employee has gravely or repeatedly breached the regulations of labour discipline established through the Individual or Collective Labour Agreements or internal regulations, as disciplinary sanction; - when the employee is arrested for a period of time exceeding 30 days; - when a medical authority decides that the employee is physically/mentally unfit for the position; - when the employee is not professionally trained for the position; - When the employee fulfils all conditions for a pension but has not requested retirement. Dismissal for reasons unrelated to the employee can be disposed in the case of dissolving the position occupied by the respective employee. Collective Dismissal means dismissal of personnel in a period of 30 days, for reasons not pertaining to the employee, of a number of: - at least 10 employees, if the employer has more than 20 and less than 100 employees; - at least 10% of employees if the employer has more than 100 and less than 300 employees; - At least 30 employees if more than 300 employees. It is important to be noted that the employer has the obligation to provide all relevant information and to notify the syndicates or employees representatives with regard to employees total number and categories, reasons for the upcoming dismissals, criteria, and measures to limit dismissals, etc. For both individual and collective dismissals, the employer shall not be able to employ new personnel for the same positions for a period of 9 months, without written notifications to the dismissed personnel for re-hiring. Once notified, these employees will have 10 days to express their interest for the positions. The employees dismissed for their own physical or mental unfitness as well as persons not corresponding professionally to the position as well as those dismissed for motives unrelated to
10
http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/labor-law-romania.htm http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/dismissal-discharge-employees-romania.htm
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o o o
o o o o
Law no. 26/1990 on Trade Register Office, republished ("Law no. 26/1990"); Decree-Law no. 122/1990 on the authorization and operation, in Romania, of representative offices of foreign entities ("Decree-Law no. 122/1990"); Methodological Norms no. 608/773/1998 on Trade Register Office keeping and registration rules, issued by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Justice ("Norm no. 608/733/1998"); Government Emergency Ordinance no. 76/2001 on the simplification of administrative formalities required for the registration and authorization of corporate entities operation, republished as subsequently amended and supplemented ("GEO no. 76/2001"); Government Decision no. 573/2002 on the approval of procedures for the corporate entities operation authorization ("GD no. 573/2002"); Law no. 507/2002 on the organization and carrying out of economic activities by individuals ("Law no. 507/2002"); Government Decision no. 161/2006 regarding the employee general ledger; The Accounting Law no. 82/1991 (Accounting Law) republished in 2005 and amended by Law no. 259/2007.
Other Authorizations
o o
11
http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/import-export-romania.htm
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4.4. Subsidiary
o An overseas corporation can very well do business in Romania via a subsidiary. The subsidiary has a legal personality and is regarded as a Romanian entity. According to the Law no.31/1990, a Romanian subsidiary of a foreign company is a Romanian legal person and, consequently, it is subject to Romanian laws. It is liable, on its own behalf, for the actions carried out. It is accountable, on its own part, for the actions taken on. The Romanian subsidiary has its own patrimony and bank account. In practice, subsidiaries are commissioned following the same steps as the registration of companies, and registering the subsidiary with the National Trade Register Office. The formation of a subsidiary must comply with the minimum capital requirements under the Romanian Company Law no. 12 31/1990.
4.5. Franchising
Situated in a continuous expansion in Romania, the franchise is regarded as a legal gateway that allows "copying" a successful business. o Legal framework Within the Romanian Law system the legal frame which must be followed when drawing up the franchise contract is represented by the Government Decision no. 52/1997 regarding the legal regime of the franchise, approved with modifications by Law no. 79 of 9 April 1998, republished in the Official Gazette as Law no. 180 of 14 May 1998.
The franchise contract The law does not define the franchise contract, but only the franchise as a trading technique. The franchise contract can be defined as the contract by which the franchiser binds to provide the franchisor a trade name, so that the franchisor, in exchange of a royalty payment, be able to exploit or develop a business, a product, a technology or a service under the franchisers mark. The franchiser only transmits the usage right of the client commercial signs (trade name, trade marks and know-how) and not the ownership right of the aforementioned. Following the laws structure, there are three contract phases 1. The pre-contract phase 2. The contract phase 3. The post-contract phase
4.6. Licensing13
Permits required prior to company incorporation
Below are listed some important types of Romanian companies which require prior permits and authorisations in order to be incorporated. Please note that there are also other types of commercial activities which require obtaining permits from the authorities subsequent to their formation: o Banking activities Credit Institutions, Romanian legal entities, can be constituted and are able to function only on the basis of an authorization issued by the Romanian National Bank. The authorization granted is valid for an undetermined period and cannot be transferred to another entity. Insurance and insurance brokerage The Commission of Insurance Supervising is able to grant authorization for the companies activating in the insurance/re-insurance market, in the case of cumulative fulfilment of the following conditions: http://www.romania-company.com/romanian-branch.php http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/permit-license-company-romania.htm
12 13
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Procedure to cover all risks in one class of activity and in the situation which the insurance company only wishes to cover certain risks included in the respective class, a feasibility study must be drafted which must contain the following information and documents: a) The nature of the legal engagements or risks which the insurer wants to cover. b) The calculations methods used for the establishment of the technical reserves. c) The principles of the re-insurance program and the lists with the re-insurers as per the provisions of the norms issued for the application of the Law. d) The components of the Safety Fund, as per the legal norms. e) The financial resources to cover the expenses and resources of the insurer for granting the assistance; f) The first three financial exercises, the feasibility study which will also contain: - The estimation of the expenses pertaining to the executive management and to management positions specific to the insurance area; - Estimation of bonuses and damages; - Budget of income and expenses; - Estimation of the financial resources necessary to the constitution of technical reserves and margin of solvency; - An information technology system adequate for the optimal insurance activity per the information required at point 1, as per the norms regarding the authorization of the insurers, issued for the application of the Law.
IMPORTANT: For obtaining the authorization to function, as well as at any time during the actual activity, an insurer or a re-insurer must be in working relations with at least one actuary and in the case which the volume of activity requires the employment of 2 or more actuaries. An insurer cannot be registered in the Romanian Trade Register Office without the prior permission for registration from the Insurance Supervision Commission. o Companies with activities in the administration of the National Commission of Movable Valuables (CNVM) The Law regulates the formation and functioning of the financial instruments market, with the specific institutions and operations as well as the collective placement bodies for the purpose of the mobilization of the financial resources through investment in financial instruments. IMPORTANT: The National Commission of Movable Valuables (CNVM) is the competent authority which applies the provisions of the Law through the prerogatives established in its governing regulations. The financial investments regulated by the Law are: 1. Main Services a) The takeover and transmittance of the orders received from investors related to one or more financial instruments; b) The execution of the orders related to one or more financial instruments, other than in own name; c) Transaction of financial instruments in own name; d) Administration of the portfolios of the investors individual accounts, on a discretionary basis, respecting the mandate given by the latter in the case when these portfolios include one or more financial instruments; e) The subscription of financial instruments on the basis of a firm arrangement and/or placement of financial instruments. 2. Related Services a) Custody and administration of financial instruments; b) Renting of safety boxes; c) Granting of credits or loans of financial instruments to an investor in certain conditions; d) Consultancy given to legal entities in regards to any matter related to the capital structure, industrial strategy, as well as consultancy and services related to company mergers and acquisitions;
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e) Other services related to the subscription of financial instruments; f) Investment consulting regarding financial instruments; g) Currency exchange related to financial investment. Companies with the following activities: Retail Sale Import Export Producing of Firearms and ammunition The companies which wish to activate in this field are required to apply for a permit from the central or local structure of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police. In order to obtain the permit mentioned above, the persons interested will file with the Romanian police a request with the following documents attached: a) For all future shareholders and administrators (directors) ID and certificates of criminal records; b) The persons mentioned on point a) whose activity will imply actual access to arms and ammunition, must provide the following documents: (i) Medical approval showing that the person in question can own, carry and use arms and ammunition, issued with no more than 12 months before the request is filed. (ii) A medical certificate issued by specialized unit with no more than 6 months before the filing of the request, showing that the person is not suffering from any of the conditions making impossible the authorization to own, carry and use firearms and lethal ammunition. (iii) A certificate showing that the person in question has finished a practical and theoretical training course in the field of arms and ammunition. Romanian security and protection companies In order to obtain the license to function, the following documents have to be provided to the police: a) Approval from the Romanian police related to the object of activity, name of the company, approval of the shareholder and management personnel obtained before the registration of the company with the Trade Register Office. b) The verifications for this approval will be extended upon the husband, wife or person cohabitating with the associate(s) and the management, to find out more about their activities, their interactions with the society and their criminal records. Legal depositions: Romanian Company Law no. 31/1990 and the CAEN Romanian Code (Classification of the Activities in the National Economy)
4.7. Consortium
A consortium represents a short-term agreement in which several firms (from the same or different industry sectors or countries) pool their financial and human resources to undertake a large project that benefits all members of the group. A consortium lasts for a period that is usually shorter than that of a syndicate. Domestic legislation allows for the conclusion of a joint venture agreement (in Romanian contract de asociere in participatiune). Under this agreement, parties act together for the accomplishment of a common business goal. This form of doing business in Romania does not create a legal entity. Generally, one party is in charge of the bookkeeping of the joint venture.
For further information, see the information in Attachment 26 Signing contracts in Romania
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Marketing services Training Main legislations Law no. 66 of 7 October 1993 Labour Code no. 53/2003 The Civil Code
moment of dissolving the company upon the winding method of the company, when agreeing upon the assignment and winding of the companys patrimony and when insuring payment of debt to potential creditors. On the date when the Court decision to dissolve the company is issued, the entity enters winding, as per the provisions of the Law and a winder has to be either hired by the company or appointed by the Judge. Main legislation: Romanian Company Law no. 31/1990
15
http://www.romanianlawoffice.com/dissolving-romanian-company.htm
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Achievement o This dimension measures the degree to which the society values tasks and work or relationships 16 and quality of life. In the case of Romania, studies have shown that it is a task-oriented society. This conclusion is easily explained by the fact that Romania exhibited strong dictatorial leaderships throughout time. High context environment Romanians belongs to a high context type o society where informal, contextual communication is important. Social capital Romanians belong to the low trust type of society where capacity of trustful association is hard to achieve between non family members. Therefore there is lack of capacity to associate and to trust, a lack ofsocial capital which increases the transaction costs Time Orientation o This dimension reveals the extent to which the members of a society can adapt themselves to reach a desirable future or, based on past experiences, they focus on fulfilling the present needs. In the case of the Romanian society, one will discover the focus on fulfilling present needs and targeting especially short term results and goals
In the past years Romania has become an attraction for foreign investors. There are many reasons for this, but at the same time this interest has yet to materialise in the figures that statistics show. We cannot yet determine the exact causes for this phenomenon, but we can present some of the aspects of todays reality: PROs Flat tax 16% Selling products in the EU without paying taxes Port to the Black Sea Properties at reasonable prices A market of 21.5 million people Well trained people willing to perform CONs Bureaucracy Political instability Corruption Incoherent changing of the Fiscal Code Weak infrastructure Unforeseen new laws
Other points to consider while doing business with Romanians: o Romanians have an innate talent for learning foreign languages to the extent of understanding their interlocutors body language and mimics o Romanians have a great willingness to learn and will steal anything as copy their auto locates (e.g.: the way you negotiate)
16
Ingrid Aioanei, (2006) "Leadership in Romania", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 19 Iss: 6, pp. 705 - 712
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o o o o
Romanians will put in 110% dedication in any project Romanians will ask from you more than you are willing to pay (they love to negotiate a bargain) To close a deal in their terms, Romanians will make promises they cannot always keep (sometimes more than you ask for) The leadership styles in Romanian companies differ from the ones in Western Companies. It is widely known the rule that any decision can only be taken by the owner/managing director of the company, this meaning that the hierarchy is very strong.
Considering the above, we could try to draw the portrait of the ideal Romanian businessman as follows: He would have to be Christian Orthodox. He should be able to speak at least perfect Romanian and English, with at least one MBA degree. He should have an intermediary position in an international company, with some connections in the political sphere (that are not publicly admitted). He should have a strong character, but at the same time he must be willing to accept outside ideas meant to help his business.
Information needed and required After establishing contact with one or several potential business partners, the foreign businessman should proceed with a background check of the candidate and his current business (es). Aspects that should be verified:
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The businesses experience on the market The products/services offered and their prices The human resource fluctuation The local and international competition The business relations with other partners The legal situation of the company and its administrator - on the website of the Ministry of the Public Finance; this shows information about the balance sheet - turnover, profits (where one must pay attention to the local practice of not reporting all profits in order to avoid taxation), assets, debts and others, as well as on the website of the National Trade Register Office (against a small fee) - that shows even more information The list of insolvent companies on the electronic version of the Insolvency Procedures Bulletin, edited by the National Trade Register Office The debts to the state budget, social state insurance, unemployment government tax and health government tax - on the website of the National Agency of Fiscal Administration The list of inactive as well as the list of reactivated fiscal taxpayers - on the website of the National Agency of Fiscal Administration The list of past payment incidents - if any - at any local bank's Payment Incident Register Private websites focusing on unmasking business felonies, such as www.antitepari.ro or www.bonitate.ro. However, they rely mostly on reports done by other parties and therefore they should not be used as unique source of information. The litigations where the potential business partner is the party sued and asked to pay a certain amount of money or he is demanding his insolvency. These lawsuits are normally filed st in a court of law in the proximity of the culprit. This can be the 1 phase court (in the first nd resort) or the 2 phase court (for the appeal). Therefore it is advisable to search the lawsuits in both courts of law. The search can be conducted on the website of the Ministry of Justice. One should bear in mind however that the mere existence of litigation is not proof of guilt. By conducting such an investigation one can find out the potential collaborator's background and choose to continue or cease the relations with a partner that is close to bankruptcy or who only pays his debts when he is brought to court to do so, or who is generally not doing correct, legal business.
Finding the appropriate information sources Whenever possible, it is recommended to use official sources of information, such as the websites of the different Romanian Ministries, websites of International Organizations (ITC, WTO, Eurostat etc.). The information found on unofficial websites, newspapers and magazines, as well as the opinion of different local businessmen may be very interesting, but also highly subjective and therefore should be considered and used cautiously. It is advisable to use the services of a consultancy company that is locally represented. When contracting such services, one can choose between: big international companies, such as PWC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte, etc. small & medium local companies If the business is large, then it may be necessary to go with one of the Big 4. Otherwise, it might be better to choose a local consultancy company: not only because of the cost of the operation, but also because the local consultant may have a better grasp of the local customs and procedures.
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The best way to find a good consultancy company is to ask for reference from business partners, clients, suppliers who have conducted business in Romania at some point. If this is not possible, one can turn to the Romanian Management Consultants Association (AMCOR). All members of AMCOR are Romanian consultancy companies that specialise in management consulting. A full list can be found here with links to each company and its contact details. Additionally, one may also get assistance from the Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment.
What are the risks to be considered when entering the Romanian market with / without a local partner?
Enter the market with a local partner: o He is familiar with the laws of their country and could take advantage of the fact that the foreign businessman does not know all the details. Enter the market without a local partner o Getting lost in the bureaucracy o Necessity to learn the customers preferences by hiring a specialised company (to avoid losing money and time)
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5.5 Experiences
For having a concrete input, we applied a short questionnaire to the Romanian Economic Associations. The research was developed in July-August 2010 having as main sample all the companies members of the Romanian Economic Associations. The response rate to the research was 10%, which is normal in this period of the year (summer holiday). The main information is revealed by the following questions: 1. Please specify the difficulties you encounter in managing your business. a. Poor infrastructure. b. Poor brand image and promotion. c. Difficulties in accessing the European Founds. d. Frequent price increase of marsh gas and energy. e. Difficulties in re-qualifying current human resources skills. f. The migration out the country of the high skilled human resources. 2. Please specify the first needs you have in order to manage successfully your business: a. Legislative stability b. Accessible loans to various banks c. Eliminate the tax on the profit coming from reinvestments. d. Encouraging the development of new techniques for increasing energetical efficiency. e. Decreasing the price of march gas by increasing the weight of the national march gas in the light of the reduction of the imported quantity. f. Promoting the exporting products with public financial support.
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Broadly, Romanian society is still a conservative society. Here are some figures on this aspect:
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The main causes for discrimination in Romanian society are: 1. Ethnicity (64%); 2. Disabilities (53%); 3. Sexual orientation (50%) (2006 Euro Barometer). However the discrimination sentiment is not too powerful in Romania in comparison with other countries worldwide. Gender o Romania is within the European average figures (Metro Media Transylvania), women being well represented (by number) on the labour market since communism; o Although the situation improved in the last years, the presence of women is still poor in the Government: 12% of Ministers and 13.3% of state secretaries are women (FNUP and MMFPS study); 72% of the population (2006 Euro Barometer) considered necessary that women should be more present in management positions (the European average is 77%) o Main regulation: Law no. 202/2002 regarding gender equality. Religion o 85% of population declare themselves Orthodox, followed by the Roman-Catholics, Reformed and Pentecostals. o There are no declared tensions among Romanians caused by religious orientation; Ethnic o The largest ethnic groups in Romania are: Romanians 89.5%, Hungarians 6.6% and Roma 2.5% (General Survey, 2002); o There are some tensions over the systematic political action of UDMR (the Democratic Union of the Magyars in Romania) to segregate labour and education according to ethnicity in Harghita and Covasna counties; o Roma people are the most discriminated ethnic group, also because of the international prejudices against them that affect the image of Romania; Sexual orientation o Homosexuality is not well accepted in Romania, figures being over the EU average (58% of Romanians considered homosexuality as inappropriate behaviour whereas the EU average was 48% - Special Euro Barometer 2007). Homosexuality is seen in opposition with the general values of family and Christianity. Issues: Romania had a well established social welfare system before 1989, like any European communist country, but with a lot of shortcomings, especially in the social care system. After 1990 the system collapsed. New radical changes came fast (for example the Pension Law) and future investors should be aware of the rapid changes in the Social Welfare sector.
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Enabling factors
Lack of proper control from the authorities; Lack of transparency from the Romanian authorities; Poverty and scarcity of goods;
Combating corruption
Legislation o Law no. 78/2000 on preventing, discovering and sanctioning of corruption acts; o Decision no. 43/2002 regarding the National Anticorruption Directorate o Law no. 365/2004 regarding the Ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption; o 52/2003 and 544/2001 regarding decisional transparency; o Law No. 161/2005 establishing The Anti-Corruption General Directorate; o Law no. 54/2006 establishing The National Anticorruption Directorate; o Law no. 144/2007 creating The National Agency for Integrity. Institutions o National Anticorruption Directorate (NAD) Set up on the 1 September 2002; Carries out criminal investigation and prosecution for the offences stipulated in Law no. 78/2000 mainly for high level corruption; 18 Reports show a growing rate of sentences in corruption cases investigated by the NAD; o Anti-Corruption General Directorate (AGD) Established by Law No. 161/2005 on regulating certain measures for preventing and combating corruption within the Ministry of Interior and Administration Has the ability to : - prevent, provide information about/and to combat corruption offences, connected to corruption or directly linked to corruption offences of the MIA personnel; - receive citizens complaints on the alleged corruption offences of the MIA personnel; - perform judicial police activities, according to law; - organize and perform activities for testing the professional integrity of the ministry personnel; o The National Agency for Integrity Founded in 2007 made Romania the first European country to have an institution specialised in the verification of assets, conflicts of interest and incompatibilities; Verified by The National Council of Integrity. Campaigns o Several campaigns were launched in Romania in order to raise awareness among citizens about the corruption issue: Coalition for a Clean Parliament - before the 2004 elections, with the intention to expose the candidates involved in corruption scandals;
17
Corruption Perception Index: a way of ranking countries by the perceived existence of corruption among officials and politicians. The country with the highest score is perceived as the least corrupt. 18 REPORT on the Activity of the National Anticorruption Directorate carried out in 2008 on http://www.pna.ro/
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Dont bribe, a campaign supported by Transparency International designed to increase the awareness level of people towards the problems generated by corruption.
Perspectives
Since 2000 important steps were made by Romania in order to overcome the corruption issue, especially in order to comply with the European norms. The 2009 report of Transparency International shows positive as well as negative aspects: An increase in the number of investigations completed and in the importance of individuals investigated by the AGD. The activity of NAD continued and was able to gain more trust among population; The lack of evaluation of the National Council of Integrity activities; The Government, because of the financial crisis, reduced the level of transparency in using public funds;
As a commitment of the new mandate of President Traian Basescu, the removal of politicians immunity clause is to be expected. Overall Romania gained the necessary means to fight against corruption and stays on an ascending course.
Risks
Unfair competition especially in several important sectors (See Chapter 3), mostly due to oligopoly situations generated by privatizations with strong state owned foreign entities (in Telecom, Gas and Electricity, Water, Transportation and Banking) Difficulty in penetrating the Romanian market because of already consolidated coalitions between local businessmen and decision makers at political level; Creating long term trust, communication and commitment
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UBCGs support (main direct supports) Jean-Daniel CLAVEL (PhD Professor, Clavel Consulting Switzerland) Paul MEYER (PhD Professor, School of Business Administration Fribourg, Switzerland) Rico Johannes Baldegger (PhD Professor, School of Business Administration Fribourg, Switzerland) Mathias Jaques ROSSI (PhD Professor, School of Business Administration Fribourg, Switzerland) Thomas STRAUB (PhD Professor, School of Business Administration Fribourg, Switzerland) Mihai KORKA (PhD Professor, Academy of Economic Sciences, Bucharest) Radu BALTASIU (PhD Professor, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest) Magdalena IORDACHE PLATIS (PhD Professor, Faculty of Administration and Business, University of Bucharest)
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English
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7.6 Website
www.doingbusinesswithromania.com
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ATTACHMENTS
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ROMANIA
Anthem: Official Language: Capital: Area: Population: Density: Ethnic groups: Formation: Desteapta-te, romane! (Awaken, Romanian!) Romanian Bucuresti (Bucharest) 2.1 million inhabitants 238391 km2 (82nd) 22.215.421 (2009 est.) (51st) 90/ km2 (104th) 89,5% Romanians; 6,6% Hungarians; 2,5% Roma; 1,4% others January 24, 1859 - Reunification of Wallachia and Moldavia July 13, 1878 - Officially recognised independence from the Ottoman December 1, 1918 - Unification with Transylvania December 1 Unitary semi-presidential republic
President - Traian Bsescu Prime Minister - Emil Boc Pres of Senate - Mircea Geoan House Speaker - Roberta Anastase Empire
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COUNTRY INDICATORS
1. Economic Growth Indicators
GDP
Subject Descriptor Units
U.S. dollars U.S. dollars Current international dollar Current international dollar Persons
Scale
Billions Units Billions Units Millions
2006
122.696 5.670 226.592 10.471 21.639
2007
169.286 7.850 247.533 11.478 21.564
2008
200.074 9.310 270.772 12.600 21.489
2009
160.674 7.502 251.741 11.755 21.415
GDP, current prices GDP per capita, current prices GDP based on (PPP) GDP based on (PPP) per capita Population
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, October 2009 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/resCountry.asp http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/weoselgr.aspx
Economic Growth
2002 2003 5,2 2004 8,4 2005 4,1 2006 7,9 2007 6,3 2008 7,3 2009(e) -7,1
(e) estimate (f) - forecast
2010(f) 1
Economic Growth
5,1
http://www.coface.com/CofacePortal/COM_en_EN/pages/home/risks_home/country_risks/country_file//Romania?nodeUid=572 200
Inflation
Year
2000 40.7% 2001 30.3% 2002 17.8% 2003 14.1% 2004 9.3% 2005 8.6% 2006 4.86% 2007 6.6% 2008 6.3% 2009 4.7%
Inflation Rate
Data from NSI
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http://www.insse.ro/cms/files/arhiva_buletine2009/bsp_12.pdf http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/pages/arhivaBuletine2009.en.do
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3. Use of Human Resources and Social Stability Indicators Urban population: 55,20%
Birth rate: 10,61 birth/ 1000 population (2008) Death rate: 11,84 death/ 1000 population (2008) Life expectancy: 72,18 years (2008 est.) - male:68,69 years - female: 75,86 years Fertility rate: 1,38 children born/ woman (2008 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% 14-65 years: 68% Over 65 years: 14% Net migration rate: -0,13 migrants/ 1000 population (2006 est.) Talent pool : 106 universities ; 631 faculties ; 125000 univ. graduate/ yr Religions: Romanian Orthodox: 86,7% Roman Catholic: 4,7% Protestants: 5,3% Greek Catholic: 0,9% Islam: 0,3% Unemployment rate:
2002 8,40% 845 2003 7% 692 2004 8% 799 2005 7,20% 704 2006 7,30% 728 2007 6,10% 599 2008 5,80% 568 2009 6,80% 699
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Year
EUR
Source: NIS
174
179
204
267
326
428
474
445
Human Development Index (HDI) HDI (2007) = 0,837 (63rd) Life expectancy index = 0,792
Education index GDP index Human Poverty Index (HPI-1) Probability of not surviving to age 40 (%): Adult illiteracy rate: Population not using an improved water source: Population below income poverty line (2 USD/ day)
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf
Democracy Index: Press Freedom Index: Corruption Perception Index: Index of Economic Freedom: GINI Index (2005):
7,06 (50th) 12,75 (42nd) 3,7 (69th) 61,5% (68th) (2008) 31 (21st)
Globalization Index (2010): 39th (from 156 countries) - Economic Globalization: 44th - Social Globalization: 77th - Political Globalization: 21st
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ro.html http://globalization.kof.ethz.ch/static/pdf/rankings_2010.pdf
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-3,1
2009(e) 8
(f) forecast
2010(f) 8,2
EUR
(million)
2000 1147
2001 1294
2002 1212
2003 1946
2004 5183
2005 5213
2006 9060
2007 7250
2008 9496
2009 4556
Share
18.8% 17.2% 15.4% 8.8% 7.3% 6.5% 4.7% 3.9% 2.3% 1.8%
Sector
Automotive Electronics IT Service Financial Services Telecom R&D Centers Logistics Pharmaceuticals
Renault; Ford; Delphi; Dura; Honeywell; Lear; TRW; Yazaki; CalsonicKansei; Continental AG; Michelin; Pirelli; Autoliv; Ina Scheffler Selectron; Celestica; Nokia; Systronic; Elcoteq; Benchmark; Elbit; Selex; Kathrein Microsoft; Oracle; HP; Intel; IBM; Cisco; ACI; Amazon; Siemens; Wipro; Siveco; Ericsson ALPHA Bank; ING; Erste; Raiffeisen Bank; Unicredit; Societe Generale; Millenium; HVB Vodafone; Orance; UPC; OTE; ZAPP Renault Tech.; Infineon; Alcatel-Lucent; Freescale; Microchip; Alvarion DHL; TNT; Maersk; Hapag; Frans Maas Gedeon-Richter; GSK; Zentiva (Sanofi); Sandoz; Ranbaxy
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Chapter 1
Attachment 1: Ancestors, origins of the language and people
The land of modern Romania was inhabited since immemorial times. The first organised population were the Dacians, a Thracian tribe. Dacia developed into a regional power due to its mineral resources and soon it became a target for the Roman Empire. After 20 years of conflicts the Romans led by Emperor Traian conquered Dacia in 106 AD. The Romans staid here till 273 influencing decisively the culture and language. In 273 Romans army and officials retreat from Dacia but the roman population remained and having no influence from Rome, the local culture and language developed separately into something similar with present Romania. In the 4-13th centuries the Romanian people had to face the waves of migrating peoples - the Getae, the Huns, the Gepidae, the Avars, the Slavs, the Petchenegs, the Cumanians, the Tartars - who crossed the Romanian territory but never conquering the local population who was able to maintain its values by retreating in the mountains. Middle ages Romanians feudal states th Beginning with the 10 century the local population started to organise itself into small states led by th Romanian leaders. This process ended in the 14 century when the three Romanians feudal states were created: Moldavia, Walachia and Transylvania. Constraints from three empires The next step was the fight for maintaining the independence as long as Hungarian Kingdom, than Poland, Ottoman Empire, Hapsburg Empire and Tsarist Empire all intended to express their influence and even conquer Romanians states. The greatest danger came from Ottoman Empire which th succeeded in imposing its influence after 3 centuries of fights. The influence was maximum in the 18 century when The Ottoman Empire introduced the "Phanariot regime," (until 1821), under which the Sublime Porte appointed in the two principalities Greek voivodes recruited from the Phanar district of Istanbul. Also Transylvania was almost continuous under Hungarian and later under Hapsburg rule. Freedom, independence and formation of the Great Romania The peace treaty of 1829 signed at Adrianople (today Edirne) ended the Russian-Turkish conflict of 1828-1829; this treaty greatly weakened the Ottoman suzerainty, but it increased Russias "protectorate." Now that trade was freed, Romanian cereals began to penetrate European markets. In 1859 Moldavia and Walachia succeeded in uniting themselves creating Romania as a country which independence was recognized in the Russian-Turkish peace treaty of San Stefano (March 3, 1878). Also Romania became a kingdom ruled by the German Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family. At the end of WWI, due to the dissolution of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Transylvania became an independent state and soon united with Romania creating the Great Romania. Developing into a modern country After WWI a lot of reforms took place and soon Romania became a rather modern and competitive state in Europe, well-known for its cereals and oil reserves. WWII and communism WWII found Romania in the position of a local power with some of its leaders influenced by German politics. Romania took part in the campaign from the east alongside with Germany. But in 1944, when the fate of the war was obvious, the new Romanian leaders decided to fight together with the Russians till the end of the war. After that, the soviet forces remain in Romania and help introducing the communist regime with local rulers but with directives from Moscow. Romania remained an independent communist country till 1989 revolution. The worst period was during the last decade when Nicolae Ceausescu transformed its regime into a disnature which isolated Romania in foreign relations and transformed local economy into an underperforming and unrealistic one. Revolution, transition and EU membership Romania decided to transform itself into a modern democracy and to become a member of EU and NATO after the revolution. The first years war very hard due to the fact that neither the leaders nor
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the population was prepared for democratic reforms. Only in 2000 the economy started to grow. Later st in 2004 Romania became a NATO member and than, on 1 of January 2007, an EU one. Even though Romania grew a lot last decade, there are still a lot of things to improve: corruption, forgetting the old mentalities.
o o
http://www.roembus.org/English/romanian_links/history_of_romanians.htm http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/romania.htm
Attachment 2:
o
Communist leaders introduced after the war Stalinist reforms as nationalising the economy, collectivisation of the agriculture and developed a secret police to persecute the population, punished by prison or labour camp all the opponent of the regime; also the 5 years plans were established. The population also suffered because the private initiative was banned and culture and church were influenced in order to serve the regime. In 1965 Ceausescu came to power and first he made some democratic moves but later he transforms Romania into a ruthless dictatorship. Ceausescu accelerates the process of industrialisation by building huge industrial units financed by foreign loans. In some sectors the heavy industry was producing 8 times more than local needs but the service sectors were underdeveloped. Due to this situation the population suffered a lot and as long as Romania isolates itself on the global map, Romanian products became unneeded. In order to pay foreign debts communists forced the population to work hard and decided to cut utilities like water, electricity, heat. Also Ceausescu decided to export as much as possible cereals, fruits, vegetables and meat without feeding the Romanians enough. To sustain agriculture Ceausescu even demolished a lot of villages and moved the peasants into block of flats destroying their values. Today Romania is a fully democratic society but one can see that there are still relics from the past regime. First of all many Romanians still have old mentalities and will never be fully prepared for these new values and politics. Also corruption developed its methods during the communist regime and became a national problem very hard to solve. Now Romanian economy is mostly own by private sectors and only some enterprise especially in the energetic sector (natural gas producer, nuclear energy producer, some big power plants, biggest hydroelectrically plants, electricity transporters, railway transporter and other few industrial plants and only one important bank are owned by the state. Centrally planned system see http://books.google.ro/books?id=5_Q1KadVl08C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=f alse Dimitri G. Demekas, Mohsin S. Khan - The Romanian economic reform program - IMF, Washington DC , nov 1991 Barry P. Bosworth - Reforming Planned Economies in an Integrating World Economy, Brookings Institution, 1995. 192 pgs. - chapter 4: Central Europe http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508461/Romania/42846/Economy http://www.cee-socialscience.net/archive/economics/romania/report1.html#jump389 http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/romania.htm http://countrystudies.us/romania/27.htm
o o o o o o
Attachment 3: The transition period o In January 1990 Romania began a long and difficult road through democracy and capitalism. The
new leaders were former second echelon communists but it would have been almost impossible to have non-communist in power as long as former Romanian communist party was present in every structure of the society. The first years were difficult and the still young Romanian democracy had to face little reforms, some communist measures and a lot of protests and social unrest. Many huge industrial plants, most of them the pride of communism, proved to be unprofitable, with old technologies and gained debts fast. Soon after the revolution the first private enterprises start their
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activities but their mission was hard as long as almost no support came from authorities so their influence in the economy was unimportant. The first step for privatisation was made through a mass privatisations but its success was of small proportions. Foreign investors became interested in Romanian economy only after 1999 when enough reforms were finished and Romanian ratings show a positive direction; in that period also the market liberalisation happened. Today most of Romanian economy is owned by multinational companies and the greatest part of production is exported. The privatisation brought social unrest as long as new owners decided to dismiss thousands of workers in order to optimise the production and to make the enterprise profitable; also the public opinion was subjective and considered the selling of Romanian industry to the foreigners as a great mistake. These days the unprofitable state owned companies represent a very small part of the GDP and they are represented by unprofitable tourism infrastructure, small agricultural companies and few industrial plants. As long as economy was growing the local consumption grew too but it also grew a lot because Romanians desired a lot of products not available during the communist regime. Thats why imports grew faster than exports year by year. As a conclusion the transition period changed Romania in all its aspects: economy, society, culture but it would be a great mistake to say that the past was forgotten. Even today a lot of Romanians have problems regarding their mentality and many Romanian educated by the communist regime are not capable to think realistic. There is still a great corruption in the public sector and it can happen that one has to pay bribe in order to have his problems solved legally. The transition period see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specialreports/1989.shtml http://www.ebrd.com/pubs/econo/lits.pdf http://www.ebrd.com/country/country/romania/ro/index.htm http://www.cee-socialscience.net/archive/economics/romania/report1.html#jump389 http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/romania.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508461/Romania/42846/Economy
o o o o o
Attachment 4
Exports:
Romanian export dynamic grew fast during last years from a value of 6 billions USD (approx. 4.4billions Euro) in 1994 to 11.2 billions USD (approx. 8.7 billions Euro) in 2000, 18.9 billons Euros in 2004 and 35.1 billion Euros in 2008 (data from CIA World Fact Book)
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Exports during 1.I-31.VIII 2009 amounted to 78638.4 million lei (18591.7 million euro). Compared with the corresponding period of 2008, exports decreased with 5.9% at values expressed in lei (19.0% at values expressed in euro). The main export partners for Romania are presented in the table bellow (data for 2009) with grows in case of: Germany, Netherlands and Spain, Austria and Norway and falls for: Ukraine, Turkey, Moldavia, Hungary and USA
Posi Country 1.I-31.VIII 2009 tion Mil. lei 1 Germany 14830.5 2 Italy 12219.9 3 France 6174.8 4 Turkey 4026.4 5 Hungary 3372.1 6 Bulgaria 3057.8 7 UK 2558.4 8 Netherlands 2554.8 9 Spain 2148.5 10 Austria 1945.7 11 Poland 1613.3 12 Greece 1518.8 13 Belgium 1456.3 14 Russia 1308.8 15 Czech Republic 1247.2 16 Serbia 1130.2 17 Norway 1088.1 18 Moldova 985.3 19 USA 917.6 Ukraine 826.6 20 Data from National Institute of Statistics Period: 1.I 31.VII. 2009 Mil. euro 3509.3 2890.7 1461.2 950.2 797.8 724.0 605.5 603.8 508.4 460.5 381.8 359.3 344.7 308.4 295.0 266.2 255.7 232.2 216.1 194.8 Weight in total exports % 18.9 15.5 7.9 5.1 4.3 3.9 3.3 3.2 2.7 2.5 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1
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In the structure of exports, six sections of the Combined Nomenclature hold 74.5% of total exports, as follows:
Section of the Combined Nomenclature Value -million lei19965.1 Value -million euro4720.0 Structure in % as against total exports 25.4 in % as against 1.I-31.VIII 2008 For values For values expressed expressed in lei in euro 104.2 89.8
Machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment; sound and image recorders and reproducers Vehicles and associated transport equipment Textiles and textiles articles Base metals and articles of base metals Mineral products Plastics, rubber and articles thereof Data from National Institute of Statistics
The following table present the main export products (industries) and the most important clients: 1 2 3 4 5 Clothes Wine Furniture Glass objects Chemicals and petrochemicals EU, Russia EU, USA, Japan EU, Russia, CIS, Midd-East EU (Germany, UK, Holland, France), Japan, USA EU, Transnational Corporations(TNC) Turkey, Africa, Asia EU, Turkey, Midd-East, EU, TNCs Asia, Midd East, Emerging countries. EU, Regional EU, TNCs USA, Europe, Japan Developing countries EU (Germany, Scandinavia) EU (Germany, Scandinavia) Germany, Scandinavia TNCs, EU (Germany, Italy, France), USA, Japan EU (Germany, Italy, others) TNCs, EU (Germany, Italy, France), USA, Japan USA, EU
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
- fertilizers; - tires and rubber; - plastics; - pharmaceuticals Metal products Machinery constructions IT&C Services and consulting Organic products Rural tourism SPA treatment Components for transport industry Crafts and handicrafts Electronics and electrics devices Culture (audio-visual)
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Registering Property
Employing Workers
Protecting Investors
Starting a Business
Enforcing Contracts
United States Switzerland Germany Lithuania Macedonia, FYR Slovak Republic Bulgaria Hungary Romania Poland Turkey Czech Republic Italy Moldova
4 21 25 26 32 42 44 47 55 72 73 74 78 94
8 71 84 99 6 66 50 39 42 117 56 113 75 77
12 15 57 4 63 11 56 61 92 88 36 62 98 17
4 15 15 43 43 15 4 30 15 15 71 43 87 87
8 29 7 17 64 61 87 14 55 75 27 82 156 22 89
Greece 109 140 50 147 107 87 For more data visit : http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/
Attachment 5 Economic policies Interest Rates on Monetary Policy and Standing Facilities, history:
Policy Rate Date iun. 2010 mai. 2010 apr. 2010 mar. 2010 feb. 2010 ian. 2010 oct. 2009 iul. 2009 apr. 2009 ian. 2009 iul. 2008 ian. 2008 iul. 2007 ian. 2007 6,25 6,25 6,50 6,50 7,00 7,50 8,00 9,00 10,00 10,25 10,00 8,00 7,00 8,75 10,25 10,25 10,50 10,50 11,00 11,50 12,00 13,00 14,00 14,25 14,00 12,00 14,00 14,00 2,25 2,25 2,50 2,50 3,00 3,50 4,00 5,00 6,00 6,25 6,00 2,00 1,00 1,00 Credit facility rate Deposit facility rate
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Closing a Business
Economy
105
European Union (EC6-1972, EC9-1980, EC101985,EC12-1994, EU15-2004, EU25-2006, EU27) Euro area (EA11-2000, EA12-2006, EA132007,EA15-2008, EA16) Euro area (16 countries) Belgium Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Germany Estonia Ireland Greece Spain France Italy Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg (Grand-Duch) Hungary Malta Netherlands Austria Poland Portugal
1.3 1.2 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.3 3.7 1.1 1.1 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.1 3.3 1.2 1.2 2.2 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 3.3 0.9 1.1 2.7 2.4 1.6 1.5 1.9 2.5 2.3 1.8 4.5 18.7 2.6 10.3 7.4 5.8 2.3 6.1 6.0 7.4 7.6 12.0 9.7 1.8 3.9 4.5 1.4 -0.1 2.6 1.6 2.1 3.0 6.3 1.3 2.1 2.7 2.3 2.4 2.0 0.9 1.7 1.9 1.7 3.6 0.6 0.6 1.4 1.9 1.4 1.0 1.8 1.9 1.8 2.3 2.8 8.8 3.1 3.9 5.6 3.6 1.4 3.0 4.1 4.4 6.7 10.6 2.1 2.5 5.3 4.0 4.7 4.0 2.3 2.2 2.7 2.9 3.1 4.5 2.1 2.9 3.7 3.9 3.4 3.0 3.5 3.3 3.0 4.2 1.8 2.2 3.5 2.8 3.6 3.1 3.1 3.4 3.6 2.8 4.1 0.7 0.6 1.8 1.8 1.9 2.2 2.3 1.9 1.9 1.6 3.2 2.0 1.7 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.8 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.0 3.5 2.3 1.1 4.9 2.0 2.8 4.0 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.2 4.4 4.3 2.1 2.6 2.5 2.0 2.9 6.2 6.9 6.6 10.1 15.3 5.4 1.5 1.1 1.6 0.3 -1.1 1.2 2.7 3.8 5.8 11.1 1.0 1.0 3.8 2.4 2.1 2.5 3.2 3.8 3.0 2.7 4.1 14.2 10.0 10.0 9.1 5.2 4.7 6.8 3.5 4.0 7.9 6.0 3.7 2.3 3.0 2.5 2.6 1.9 2.7 2.5 2.6 0.7 4.7 1.8 2.0 2.3 5.1 3.9 2.2 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.6 2.2 0.8 0.5 2.0 2.3 1.7 1.3 2.0 2.1 1.7 2.2 3.2 11.8 7.2 10.1 5.3 1.9 0.7 3.6 2.2 1.3 2.6 4.2 2.2 2.2 2.8 4.4 3.7 3.3 2.5 2.1 3.0 2.4 2.7
1.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 2.5 0.6 1.1 0.2 0.2 -1.7 1.3 -0.3 0.1 0.8 0.2 3.3 4.2 0.0 4.0 1.8 1.0 0.4 4.0 -0.9
Romania
Slovenia Slovakia Finland Sweden United Kingdom Croatia Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Turkey Iceland Norway Switzerland United States Japan
Source of Data:: Eurostat
:=Not available=See explanatory text=Estimated value
59.1 45.8 45.7 34.5 22.5 15.3 11.9 9.1 6.6 4.9 7.9
7.9 6.1 8.9 8.6 7.5 5.7 3.7 2.5 2.5 3.8 5.5 6.7 10.4 12.2 7.2 3.5 8.4 7.5 2.8 4.3 1.9 3.9 1.3 1.3 2.9 2.7 2.0 1.3 0.1 0.8 1.3 1.6 3.9 1.0 0.5 1.3 2.7 1.9 2.3 1.0 0.8 1.5 1.7 3.3 1.6 1.3 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.3 2.1 2.3 2.3 3.6 : : 3.7 4.5 4.3 2.5 2.4 2.1 3.0 3.3 2.7 5.8 : : : : : : : : : :
5.6
0.9 0.9 1.6 1.9 2.2 2.2 : 6.3 16.3 2.3 -0.7 -0.4 -1.4
82.1 61.4 53.2 56.8 47.0 25.3 10.1 8.1 9.3 8.8 10.4 1.3 2.1 4.4 6.6 5.3 1.4 2.3 1.4 4.6 3.6 12.8 2.0 2.1 3.0 2.7 0.8 2.0 0.6 1.5 2.5 0.7 3.4 : : : : : : : : 1.0 0.8 2.3 1.6 2.2 3.4 2.8 1.6 2.3 2.7 3.4 3.2 2.8 3.8 0.6 -0.3 -0.7 -0.7 -0.9 -0.3 0.0 -0.3 0.3 0.0 1.4
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Direct Inflation Targeting 1. bringing the annual inflation rate to single-digit levels; 2. earning and strengthening central bank credibility; 3. strengthening both de jure (via the new NBR Statute effective 30 July 2004) and de facto independence of the NBR; 4. lower fiscal dominance, further fiscal consolidation and improved co-ordination between fiscal and monetary policies; 5. a relatively more flexible exchange rate of the domestic currency and diminishing the Romanian economy's vulnerability to exchange rate movements; 6. the soundness and strengthening of the banking system and a relatively higher degree of banking intermediation; 7. greater transparency and accountability of the central bank and more effective communication with the public and financial markets, including the presentation of various aspects related to the inflation targeting approach and the preparatory steps for its adoption; 8. better insight into macroeconomic behaviour patterns and economic mechanisms in order to identify and enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission channels.
Economic diplomacy
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Attachment 7
www.mae.ro/index.php?unde=doc&id=5090&idlnk=1&cat=3
List of IO memberships
Romania is a part of the following International Organizations: o o o o o o o o o o United Nations Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Council of Europe Japan Bank for International Cooperation JBIC World Bank Group International Monetary Fund IMF European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Asia-Europe Meeting International Organization La Francophonie
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Chapter 3
Attachment 8 Agriculture
109
Attachment 9
Overview
Romania has a large diversity of landscapes and inland waters representing 3% of the total area. There are 40 000 ha of natural lakes and ponds, man-made reservoirs, including the Danube Delta; 84 500 ha of fish farms; 15 000 of fish nursery areas; 66 000 km of rivers of which 18 200 km are in the mountain area; 1 075 km are located in the lower part of Danube. Romania has a coastline along the Black Sea of around 250 km, while the exclusive economic zone covers 25 000 square kilometres. However, most of the fisheries activities are carried out within the 12 mile-zone and in inland waters. The fishery sector makes a marginal contribution to the Gross Domestic Product and is continuously decreasing because of the decline in the distant-water fleet and the decline in fish farming. The demand and consumption of fish have changed significantly since the early 1990s. Fish consumption has fallen, largely because of the reduction in availability of the domestically produced fish and the increase in the price of fish relative to other animal protein products. In 2001, the average consumption of fish and fish products per caput was 3.4 kg, while the yearly average consumption of meat and meat products was 48 kg per caput. There are an estimated 10 600 persons working in the Romanian fisheries sector, of which 46% are subsistence fishers, 18% are involved in fish farming, 27% are active in inland fisheries and 9% in marine fisheries. This estimate does not include those working in the fish processing industry. Fishery has great socio-economic importance in the Danube Delta, where alternative occupations (agriculture or industry) are not feasible. Important gap between imports and exports the main cause is a poor diversity of valuable aquaculture species, as well as a narrow range of processed products. (In 2007, exports valued EUR 1 million, whereas imports valued EUR 13 million). Issues
o Sea fishing
As there are no specialized fishing ports in Romania, the marine fishing vessels have to use the commercial ports of Mangalia, Constana and Sulina for docking. None of these ports has specific facilities for docking, storage and sale of fishery products. Infrastructure such as quays, warehouses and locations for first sale is missing in Romania. An important fishing area is the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, where fishing activities are forbidden for trawlers. In addition, the area near the Black Sea Coast up to the 20 m isobaths is also forbidden for fishing vessels using towed gears. The only fishing activity allowed is fishing by fixed rods and nets. o Inland fishing Fishing is practiced with fixed or towed gears, using small wooden boats. No mechanized fishing is used in inland waters. Inland fishing is an important activity, but the landing sites in the Danube River and in Danube Delta are scarce and not equipped. The total number of landing sites is 83 located as follows: 36 in Danube Delta and 47 along the Danube River. Only 16 landing sites in the Danube Delta and 5 along the Danube River comply with the veterinary standards. All the other 62 need to be modernized and equipped. Fisherman doesnt have facilities to transport their catches. In consequence, these services are performed by those who market the fisheries products. Aquaculture The area used for aquaculture activities in Romania is of 100 000 ha, structured as follows: 84 500 ha of fish farms, 15 500 ha of hatcheries, and 25 ha of trout farms. Currently, there is not marine aquaculture in Romania. One isolated private company is active on mussel culture. 4 areas along the Romanian Black Sea coast were identified by the Romanian Marine Research Institute as being suitable for mussel culture.
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The best area for aquaculture is the one situated between South Agigea and Mangalia. One can find here plots of land on the coast, suitable to build aquaculture facilities with easy access to clean water that can be used in aquaculture. Processing Currently, there are 56 enterprises in the fish processing industry, and 33 supermarkets providing primary fish processing. The main species for processing are imported sea species, especially mackerel, and herring. Imports consist mostly of frozen fish (mackerel, herring, sprat, Alaska cod, whiting, sardines and anchovies). Local species that are processed are carp (90% of the local fish processed), trout, zander, pike, European catfish and perch. Marketing There are no first sale points and the distribution channels are not developed. Fishery products are mainly delivered through producers and importers, and to a lesser extent through specialized intermediaries. Fishery products reach final consumers through supermarkets and specialized shops. Recreational fishing Given the landscape diversity, there are suitable conditions in Romania for performing recreational fishing activities in mountain or plain waters.
Opportunities o With the help of The European Fisheries Fund which is designed to promote the sustainable development of fisheries in the European Union, Romania adopted a National Strategic Plan so as to define the objectives. For the period running from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013, total aid for Romania is estimated at EUR 231 million; o Modernisation of fishing vessels; o Development of inland water fishing; o Modernisation of existing aquaculture and processing units; o Encouraging intensive aquaculture; o Organize fishery ports; o Organize first-sale centres; o The Black Sea fishing a modern fishing port is needed, endowed with the necessary facilities for product storage, processing, marketing, loading. Taking into account the marine resources potential in the Black Sea that has been estimated by the Romanian Marine Research Institute at about 20 000 tons, it is important to upgrade the existing fishing vessels; Coastal fishing has a long tradition in Romania. It includes small-scale fishing. The support to smallscale fishing will contribute to maintaining employment in coastal areas and to reconvert the fishery activities into activities in other sectors (for example tourism). Farming http://rbd.doingbusiness.ro/ro/1/articole-recente/1/226/raport-agricultura-2009-potential-oportunitatisupravietuire http://rbd.doingbusiness.ro/ro/1/articole-recente/1/102/romanian-agriculture-potential-vs-reality
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Attachment 10
Overview o Less than 27% of Romanias territory is covered by forests, which is under the European average and well below what researchers consider, given the countrys natural conditions, the optimal threshold estimated between 32-35% from the total countrys territory. o Significant part of the Romanian forests are located in the mountains, 51.9%, while in hilly areas there are located 37.2% of forests and 10.9% of forest are located in plain areas. Standing wood volume of 3 3 forests from the national forest fund is 1 341 million m . The average wood volume is 218 m /ha. The 3 unitary average growth of forests is 5.6 m /year/ha. 3 o The total volume of wood exploited was 15.671 thousand m for the year 2005 and this wood volume had two destinations, for economic operators having forestry activity (11.783 thousand m3) and for 3 population supplying (3 888 thousand m ). The wood harvested from the state forests is being sold by public auctions, while the forest owners could commercialize independently their wood. In both cases the wood logging is fulfilled by authorized economic operators. 3 o Regarding illegal logging Romania is facing this phenomenon, estimated at 100 000 m /year. o Romania is one of few European countries that still have virgin forests approx. 300 000 ha, mainly located in the mountain areas. All forests have multiple environmental and social values, e.g. wild life habitats, assuring the protection of torrential hydrographic basins, fulfilling the most diverse protection functions and assuring, also important social nature services for human communities. In the cases were these values are considered to be of high or critical importance, the forests may be classified as forests with high conservation value. Until the end of the year 2005, 1119.7 thousand ha of Romanian forest have been certified. o According to national legislation, Romanian forests are divided in two functional groups, as follows: o 53.3% forest with special protection functions (water protection, soil protection, climatic protection, wildlife and recreation) o 46.7% forest with both production and protection functions. o Forestry industries in Romania (exploitation, woodworking and furniture) accounted in 2005 for 3.5% of GDP and for about 7% of the manufacturing sector output produced by 10% from the total employees in industry. Opportunities The Rural Development Programme for Romania 2007-13 includes the following objectives: o facilitate the transformation and modernisation of the forestry production and processing sectors, improving competitiveness and ensuring environmental sustainability o development of scientific research and education with purpose on forest sustainable management, economical changes of forestry sector and amelioration of the environment on the national, regional and global level. Other high potential areas within the furniture industry: o Clustering o Further general specialization within the industry o Introducing and using design in furniture, at product and process level o Information, training and consulting services for the furniture sector have very high growth potential
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Attachment 11
2006 68,7
2)
Inclusiv produsele energetice obinute i consumate n gospodriile populaiei. / Including energy products obtained and consumed in households. 2) Date rectificate fa de cele publicate anterior. / Rectified data as against those previously published.
3)
Exclusiv gazolina i etanul din schelele de extracie care sunt cuprinse la iei. / Excluding gasoline and ethane from extraction oilwells which are included in crude oil.
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Attachment 12
Production of Main Agro-Food Products, 2000-2004 Products Wheat and rye Barley and tworow barley Maize Sunflower Sugar beet Potatoes Edible vegetables Edible fruit Grapes Meat M.U. thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones thou tones live-weight 2000 4456.2 867.0 4897.6 720.9 666.9 3469.8 2527.8 1301.0 1295.3 1414 2001 7763.8 1580.0 9119.2 823.5 875.5 3997.1 2877.4 1352.8 1121.7 1415 2002 4441.1 1160.4 8399.8 1002.8 954.6 4077.6 2863.5 952.0 1076.7 1604 2003 2496.4 540.8 9577.0 1506.4 764.4 3947.2 3358.3 2088.5 1078.0 1699 2004 7644.0 1553.0 14891.0 1727.0 568.0 4655.0 3679.0 1444.0 1153.0 1550
Source: National Institute of Statistics - Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2004, Crop Production in 2004
Attachment 13
Foreign Trade with Main Agro-Food Products, 2000 2004 HS Code and Chapter 2000 2001 02 Meat and edible meat offal 04 Dairy produce; birds eggs, natural honey 07 Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers 08 Edible fruit and nuts, peel of citrus or melons 10 Cereals 15 Animal or vegetable fats and oils 17 Sugar beet and sugar confectionery 22 Beverages, spirits and vinegar Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import 3.2 75.3 15.1 26.3 17.8 20.6 21.1 60.4 33.8 57.5 21.0 34.6 3.1 113.5 21.1 16.9 5.4 165.8 17.0 29.1 35.7 22.9 25.5 55.9 67.5 115.1 24.8 33.8 3.4 151.3 24.0 20.3
14.3 187.5 37.4 34.1 37.7 47.9 35.6 89.3 19.7 351.1 31.8 62.1 3.3 133.6 32.2 38.5
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Attachment 14
Attachment 15
Railway: The railway system as a whole is affected by long term bad management from the state in: Maintaining the infrastructure in a good condition (10 981 km of rail, very dense network). Maintaining the clients portfolio of CFR Marfa freight transport company Ensuring the populations demands in passenger traffic are met. Keeping the competitive advantage high, from the former state owned national railway company
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Passengers transport is assured by one state-owned company CFR Calatori, and a handful of private operators. Romania has significant flows of traffic suitable for movement in trainloads and many of these flows continue despite the poor economic situation, albeit subject to some reduction in overall size. These flows are likely to continue at least into the medium term; in the longer term, issues such as problems with extraction and climate change may affect coal traffic. Other flows seem likely to continue, but it is unlikely to be a significant growth above the traffic levels of 2007, a boom year. By contrast, flows of consumer goods, (and motor vehicles in particular), are likely to build up and become a very promising traffic for rail once the Romanian economy improves. Flows of containers moving by sea have also increased rapidly because of the strength of Asian manufacturing; although it may be that much of this has run its course and there will not be so much growth in the future. By contrast, whilst smaller domestic flows are still available for movement, the growth of road competition, offering flexibility, door-to-door services and attractive transit times has taken a lot of this traffic. Whilst the state of Romanian roads and the size of the country have meant this process has not been rapid so far, it is likely to continue, representing a direct threat to the Marfa wagon load service. Market share (%) Rail Road River Pipeline 2005 17.0 75.6 4.1 3.3 2006 15.8 77.7 3.5 2.9 2007 15.2 78.8 3.3 2.7 2008 14.5 79.5 3.3 2.7 H1 2009 17.2 70.9 8.6 3.3
From the above overview, it is our belief that there are two concurrent trends affecting Marfa carryings. The first is a long-term and irreversible decline in wagonload traffics mainly caused by road competition being able to offer more appropriate services. This decline must call the provision of an everywhere-toeverywhere wagonload freight service into question. The second trend is the movement in the economy away from a producer-centric one with its emphasis on production and movement of basic (bulk) goods towards a lighter service-based economy. A new restructuring of the sector involves high unemployment rates within the sector, especially with CFR Marfa. It is a high potential for sector specific training and consulting services. Infrastructure (tourism perspective) Roads o Romania faces a number of major gaps between the rural areas and urban ones in terms of the social and physical infrastructure o In rural areas, the roads are the most important transportation routes, but the development of rural roads and traffic is far from the European standards. Only half of the communes have direct access to the road network, meaning that the current road network only serves 3/5 of the total rural population. More than 25% of the communes cannot use the roads in case of snow or rain. o Public roads in Romania cover 73 435 km, and 80% of these are country and commune roads o In 2007, the urban streets length was 26 168 km of which 15 757 km have been modernized Airports o Availability of low-cost flights: Blue Air, Wizz Air, Germanwings, Jet Tran Air, MyAir, Nouvelair, SkyEurope o Currently there are 16 commercial airports (13 international airports and 4 national airports as classified by the Government) o The development of regional airports should be prioritised, so that visitors do not have to connect via Bucharest. Railway: 10,981 kilometres of rail
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Attachment 16
Overview There is an increase in domestic tourism, more travel within the same region, more travel by road and rail, more direct booking and an increased use of low-cost airlines. Accommodation: poor quality standards regarding services & accommodation o Seaside (excluding the city of Constana): 117 864 places o Mountain resorts: 31 448 places o Spas: 38 404 places o Danube Delta (including Tulcea Municipality): 3 266 places o County residence towns: 53 987 places o Other localities: 38 741 places There are more than 20 five stars hotels (9 in Bucharest only) Economic impact th o According to Global Economic Forum Travel and Tourism rankings, Romania was the 69 th country in 2008 and the 66 in 2009. o The contribution of travel & tourism to GDP is expected to be 5.7% in 2009. Directly, the tourism industry is expected to contribute 2.1% to GDP in 2009 o The contribution of travel & tourism economy to employment is expected to be 582 000 jobs in 2009, 6.8% of total employment. o Real GDP growth for the Travel & Tourism Economy is expected to be -2.4% in 2009 o Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 4.6% of total exports in 2009 o Government Travel & Tourism operating expenditures in Romania in 2009 are expected to total RON 1.4 billion (USD 479.5 million), or 4.4% of total government spending. Telecommunications o The rural infrastructure in telecommunications is poor by all standards. o Internet access in rural areas is very modest, because of poor development and income of the population. o For more details, please see chapter 3.4.G Promotion & marketing: In 2009, the Ministry of Tourism launched an international promotion campaign entitled Romania Land of Choice). o 550 video commercials will be broadcast on Eurosport, 475 on Eurosport 2, 529 on CNN o 9 000 000 banners on the internet. o there is also a sponsorship campaign on Eurosport TV for 325 billboards of 6 seconds. o the advertising campaign Romania Land of Choice will run on two TV stations, CNN and Eurosport, between August December 2009. o the main characters of the video clips are three Romanian champions: Nadia Comaneci, Ilie Nastase and Gheorghe Hagi. o New country logo project was launched at the end of 2009. o Government funds for promotion and marketing were entirely cut by the Prime Minister through a decision taken in February 2010. Opportunities: o Rural and agro-tourism development is a priority o Sustainable development (product diversification): Romanias travel & tourism is characterized by a high level of seasonality. A focus on new types of tourism will encourage the development of an industry diverse in opportunities as well as seasons. o There is much potential for Romania to break away from its traditional tourism on the Black Sea and the following sectors should be prioritized: o meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions o mountain tourism skiing in winter and hiking in summer
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o o o
heritage tourism using gateway sites such as Braov, Sibiu and Sighioara Rural tourism development of wine/monasteries routes and promotion of festivals Spa/wellness tourism
Potential touristic resources o Mountains Eco & agro tourism - mountain areas are mostly suitable for mixed economic activities: agriculture with cattle raising and orchards, forestry and lumber production, various small companies in industry and crafts, agro-tourism and ecotourism. - products which are mostly organic, game and flora resources, as well as the picturesque natural landscape are elements of support for the development of agro and ecotourism in the mountains The Carpathians - due to their width, easy access, rich mineral waters and many possibilities for winter sports, they represent the largest and most complex tourism area of the country - numerous mountain resorts: Poiana Brasov, Sinaia, Predeal, Busteni, Borsa, Stana de Vale, Balea (for more information, please visit www.romaniatourism.ro) Culture and heritage - encouraging rural tourism and agro tourism (beautiful and original ethnographical and folklore elements) wine tours and monasteries - There is an important potential which is not exploited because there are no tourist centres to inform and promote it at the local level - Physical and access infrastructure is poor and this is a major drawback for the development of tourism activities in rural areas - The development of rural tourism in pensions depends on the specific traits of each region, folklore, ethnographic regions and agricultural or wine products - The specific tourism for Bucovina (North East) is religious tourism, in Maramure (North West) is the architecture or ethnography tourism, in Transylvania (Centre) recreational and cultural tourism, food and wine, and in the Carpathian foothills fishing - Probably the best indicator that shows the growing interest in rural tourists is the expand of rural pensions stimulated in a certain manner by the availability of SAPARD funds UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Sighioara Historic Centre, Dacian Fortresses, Monastery of Horezu, Danube Delta, Maramure Churches, Moldavian Monasteries, Transylvania Fortified Churches Danube Delta - A high natural value due to biodiversity which allows for many types of tourism to be developed (recreational, fishing, food). - It is the richest fauna park in Europe, with over 300 species, 60 fish species of great economic value Spa/wellness tourism - There are approximately 1 300 registered sources of mineral water in Romania a third of all mineral spas in Europe, both potable and curative. - There are already between 2 500 and 8 500 spas which cater mainly to domestic tourists but currently only two (Bile Felix and Eforie Nord) have been modernized to international standard - High potential in Bile Herculane, other sulphurous water spas: lovrin in Timi, Cciulata, etc. - Development of further spas for higher-spending international and domestic visitors would not only increase income and create jobs but would also help to conserve an important aspect of the countrys heritage. MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions): Bucharest, the capital of Romania Sun & beach - the Romanian seaside at the Black Sea stretches on 245 km, with the Danube Delta and the lagoon complex Razim-Sinoe in the North and about 70 km of beach to the South.
o o
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The seaside resorts which are well known at international level Mamaia, Techirghiol, Costineti, Mangalia, Olimp, Neptun, Venus, all have modern accommodation, treatment centres and various entertainment opportunities (for more information, please visit www.romaniatourism.ro); the threat here is the beach condition in Mamaia, the best know resort, because of the works in Constana port Geo-tourism: in September 2005, Romania became only the 3rd country in the world to sign a Geo-tourism Charter with National Geographic.
Attachment 17
Overview o Due to the development of the private sector the number of pharmacies increased so as that, in 2008 there were 7 252 units, 1 429 units more than in 2005 o Medical sanitary staff (population per physician) in 2008: was 428, very low, and the trend is constituted by a decrease in present as well o The private healthcare system has been developing due to the defective public system. There are many medical centres across the country, but only in big cities, not in small towns or rural areas. Issues o Bribing doctors is common in Romania. Patients use bribery to solicit the standard expected level of medical care. o These so-called informal payments are estimated at USD 360 million annually. o When hospitalization is needed, the Romanian patient typically pays 3 or 4 bribes equivalent to 3/4 of a familys monthly income. o The cost of bribes depends on the treatment, ranging from EUR 100 for an uncomplicated appendixremoval operation to up to EUR 5 000 for brain surgery. The suggested bribery rates are passed on by word of mouth, and are publicized on blogs and Internet sites. o The Ministry of Health is trying to root out the practice, and recently set up a free phone line for patients to report abuses. Within an hour, the telephone line was jammed. o Many patients (who can afford) are going to private hospitals or medical centres in order to get treatment, because here they find the proper level of quality and also the respect towards the patient. o The problem is that there are patients who cannot afford state medical services because of the bribe rate, but they cannot afford to go to a private medical centre either, because of the high costs. o There are difficulties in many rural areas in accessing healthcare services. The access of the rural population to basic healthcare services is hindered by the poor transportation services, which mostly impedes on the medical staffs commuting opportunities. o Rural areas have poorer medical services than urban areas. In most communes, only basic medical services are provided. For specialised services, rural inhabitants must go to town to find treatment. o The quality of medical services is also affected by the training of the medical staff, mostly nurses, while the number of doctors is not enough to provide high quality medical services in rural areas. o Limited applicability of the e-health project to the areas with PC machines and internet/ network connection. o Specialists deciding to go for better pay abroad.
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Attachment 18
By boosting economic growth, information and communication technologies present great potential for creating new and better jobs, and generating greater prosperity. Overview Telecommunications The telecommunications market has reached its maturity. The main players in the market are: Romtelecom, Vodafone, Orange, Cosmote, Rcs&Rds, Upc. Romtelecoms market share diminished, mainly because of the aggressive competition of the cable operators that launched integrated service bundles combining television, telephone and Internet access. To counteract the competitors two/ threeservice bundles, Romtelecom launched the satellite TV service (DTH Direct to Home), whose success was proven by the fast increase of the number of subscribers. In the mobile sector, Cosmote significantly improved its position on the market by promoting an aggressive price policy while extending its network coverage, whereas Rcs&Rds has already launched mobile telephony services in one region of Romania and committed to developing the network to reach national coverage within the next 4 years, which will enable this operator to integrate all four main services (TV, fixed telephony, mobile telephony and Internet access) within one bundle. o For the first time in the last years, the fixed telephony experienced an important increase in the number of access lines, which has risen by 18.3% compared to the end of 2007. o The penetration rate of mobile telephony services, calculated upon the number of valid prepaid SIM cards, has risen in 2008 with almost 20.7%, reaching 133%. The mobile telephony generates the largest share of the revenues from electronic communications services in Romania, featuring annual average growth rates of 35.3% over the last 4 years. o The total number of broadband internet connections at fixed points registered at 31 December 2008 was of 2.51 million connections, the penetration rate reaching the value of almost 11,7% o The number of Wi-Fi connections has doubled and that of XDSL has increased by 78% o The biggest increase was that of the mobile internet connections (an increase of 43%, reaching 2.68 million) due to the evolution of the number of the connections provided through GPRS technology. o In 2007, in 255 communities with no access to knowledge have been developed electronic networks of local communities, connected to broadband internet, acting as knowledge centres, information provider o 91% of the Romanian companies are connected to the Internet, but only 59% of these have a connection with a bandwidth larger than 256 kbps) o The volume of foreign direct investment in IT&C represents 22% of the total foreign direct investments. o The contribution of IT&C to the GDP is estimated to represent 10%. o The regulatory measures adopted by the competent Authority concerned the reduction of interconnection tariffs and the implementation of the number portability. These are expected to trigger more competition in the sector. IT Industry today almost everybody agrees on a clear decline in the software and IT services market; the majority of IT suppliers have considerably re-evaluated their annual targets, and for many achieving the same level of turnover as in 2008 seems highly ambitious. the IT suppliers that sell licenses and products are hit the worst, with adoption substantially lower than the previous year. Poor utilisation rates among IT services suppliers move competition in the price arena, with suppliers sometimes bidding on the zero margin or even dumping prices in hope of rebound in profitability in the medium term. The fight on pricing may sharpen towards the third quarter of 2009, as demand tends to shrink seasonally in this quarter, followed by a price relaxation towards the end of the year, when part of the companies will flush pieces of unconsumed budgets. The buy side also exerts price pressure - largely in the commoditized areas, as IT end users are much more careful with the money they have been allocated. During times of economic turmoil, outsourcing finds good premises to get adopted. The externalization of selected IT functions tends to find better resonance because companies are looking
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to cut costs and reduce non-strategic assets from their balance sheets. However, this is valid for mature IT markets. The economic crisis will definitely accelerate the consolidation of the software and IT services sector in Romania.
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o Electronic commerce use is still low in Romania, compared to the European average, but was one of
the few sectors growing in 2009 at a peace of 20%.
o Internet usage level in 2008 was 26% of the population, compared to the European average that is
56% of population (people using the Internet at least once a week).
o With regard to the electronic commerce (e-commerce) in Romania, only 12% of the companies total
o
o o o o
income comes from electronic commerce. Romania has the lowest percentage of businesses with broadband connections in the European Union, with only 44% of enterprises having a broadband connection as compared to a EU27 average of 81%. The above levels reflect in the household area, with only 13% of households (the second lowest level in the EU) having a broadband connection compared to a EU27 average of 48%. Lowest percentage of enterprises owning a website: 27% compared to a EU27 average of 64%. 91% of the population with no coverage live in rural areas. In general, urban users benefit from a greater diversity of the service offer, as compared to the rural users, who face either the problem of limited choice, having only one or few service providers to choose from, or the problem of no access to the means of communications, as they live outside the coverage areas of the electronic communications networks.
IT Industry Acquisition opportunities: According to PAC (Pierre Audoin Consultants)'s research, about 70% of the mid-tier companies in the software and IT services industry in Romania are, potentially, for sale. The most interesting companies for financial investors are those with software products developed in house, but with no financial support for further development and sales & marketing push outside Romania.
Objectives Telecommunications The strategy for 201115 regards the introduction of the BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) systems in the 3.5 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 800 MHz frequency bands and the implementation of the first concrete steps of the digital switchover. Through the Broadband Strategy, the Ministry of Communication and Information Society managed to unlock European funds amounting to EUR 84 million for investments in broadband infrastructure. Raising the percent of households with Internet access to 45% Increasing the number of rural communities with access to broadband networks facilities Raising the percent of companies using the internet as primary communication tool with the public institutions to 60% Promoting e-commerce and offering financial and technical assistance for SMEs to adopt innovative solutions by offering irredeemable financing Since the transition to digital television is likely to accrue, the fixed telephony is expected to decline as a service provided separately. Bundled offers including audio-visual programmes, broadband Internet access and fixed telephony (triple-play) will be the main driver for the growth in the residential segment In the corporate segment, the demand for integrated services of mobile telephony, data transmissions and fixed telephony will gain importance.
o o o o o o o o
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Attachment 19
Overview o The diversification of rural economic activities depends on education, knowledge and skills. o Education and training are essential for rural communities, but there are noticeable gaps in the school infrastructure. Although there are more schools than necessary in rural areas, the quality of education is poor, because of the poor infrastructure and low training level of teachers. o Most schools need new buildings, furniture, utilities and teaching materials o Vocational and primary education is important for the conversion of the agricultural workforce to nonagricultural skills. o Rural school units do not have enough IT equipment. o Generally speaking, the quality of education in rural areas is poorer than that in the cities, because of the difficulties in attracting skilled staff in those areas, and also funding issues. o The higher-educated population in rural areas represent 1.8% of the total population because of poor access and low income. o At university level and professional training areas there are multiple areas of improvement/opportunities: - Introducing new specialisation and new subjects (shoe design, presentation, communication skills, branding, etc) - Adapting curricula to market demands and conditions (e.g. IT, design, textiles, furniture, agriculture) - More collaborations and cluster initiatives in the research field, together with the business environment and the research institutions. Country
Romania Hungary Germany UK France Russia USA Switzerland Bulgaria Moldova China Greece Denmark Turkey
QHC = quality of human condition Data from: Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen (2006) - IQ and Global Inequality
IQ (2002)
94 99 102 100 98 96 98 101 93 95 100 92 98 90
IQ (2006)
94 98 99 100 98 97 98 101 93 96 105 92 98 90
QHC
53 64,1 78 76,7 78,1 64,5 86,6 82,2 59,1 46,2 39,7 76,1 85,4 50,2
Rank
1 10 19 26 31 32 38 39 40 Finland Greece USA Hungary Germany Poland Czech Republic Switzerland Russia
Country
Value
0,993 0,98 0,968 0,96 0,954 0,952 0,938 0,936 0,933
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41 48 55 61 92 105
EU Indicators Regarding Education (Lisbon Agenda) Romania Prematurely leaving education system* Highschool graduate Students under lowest level of performance Adults involvement in permanent education *for 18-24 years of age population 23,60% 66,50% 41% 1,60% EU 14,90% 77,30% 19,40% 10,80% EU Target 10% 85% 15% 12,50%
Data from: PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) for 4 th grade students
500 International Average Lietva Lithuania Hungary Bulgaria 512 Romania 470 480
490
500
510
520
530
540
550
560
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Data from: TIMSS (Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study) - for students in 8th grade
Science
52 48
Mathematic
Attachment 20
o
The Realitatea-Caavencu Group - http://www.gruprc.ro/ - owns, among many others, a news channel (the first one of its type), Realitatea TV, which holds a top position in the Romanian audiences preferences; the group was founded in 2001 and is owned by Sorin Ovidiu Vntu, a controversial Romanian businessman, which makes the groups media products less trustworthy to some viewers; the group also includes more niche-oriented products, such as The Money Channel, addressed to viewers interested in the Romanian business market; the groups products and projects are addressed to well differentiated targets and has recently suffered a very visible tendency towards new media the F5 division - http://www.f5web.ro/ ; The Mediapro Group, also associated with a somewhat controversial businessman, Adrian Srbu; the group owns one of the most famous and watched Romanian TV channels, PRO TV, which was
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launched in 1994; the TV Channel continues to launch popular show formats, such as Dansez pentru th tine / Dancing with the Stars, which has reached its 8 edition; the group also has several niche TV channels and publications, as well as new media products through the Mediapro Interactiv Group; Mediapro also produces its own TV series (some sitcoms and soap operas promoted on Acas TV, a channel dedicated exclusively to the female audience) and movies, under the Mediapro Pictures label with a moderate success; The other important player on the media market is INTACT Group, financed by Dan Voiculescu, another controversial Romanian businessman; Antena 1, the groups most important media product, was the first privately owned national Romanian TV channel; Antena 1 focuses on light entertainment TV shows, just like PRO TV, its long time rating adversary, while the news channel Antena 3 is a direct competitor to Realitatea TV; the group also owns several newspapers among which the daily Jurnalul Naional is one of the most known, along with other niche publications, other TV and radio channels, as well as new media; TVR1 is the national TV channel and the oldest; it is state-owned and it was the only available TV channel during the communist era; it is therefore associated with that period and, being state-owned, is not regarded as equidistant; Other publications on the Romanian media market are the glossy magazines which are shared between Ringier, Sanoma Hearst, Burda, Attica Media, as well as MediaPro or Intact. Some of the glossy magazines are international brands (Elle, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, etc.), while others are local brands, such as Tabu, The One, Bolero, etc.;
Attachment 21
Romanian top companies according to Deloitte CE Top 500 (top 500 companies from Central Europe)
Revenue from Sales in 2008 4551,3 3029,8 2076,5 1841,1 1658,5 1557,2 1528,3 1301,7 1280,1 1255,6 1188,6 1099,9 1032,6 1015,6 999,9 999,9 979,8 891,2 Net Income in 2008 277,8 -196,2 60,3 154,2 N/A N/A -57,7 N/A 437,9 2,8 306,6 N/A 20,1 34,9 N/A N/A N/A 146
Rank Name Petrom Rompetrol Automobile Dacia Arcelor Mittal Metro Electrica Rompetrol Downstream Petrotel LukOil Orange LukOil Vodafone Interagro Carrefour GDF Suez Energy Romania Porche Transilvania General Import-Export British American Tabacco Romgaz
16 39 77 89 100 110 113 139 142 144 157 174 184 189 193 194 201 221
Sector Energy and resources Energy and resources Manufacturing Manufacturing Consumer Business and Transportation Energy and resources Energy and resources Energy and resources Technology, Media and Telecommunication Energy and resources Technology, Media and Telecommunication Consumer Business and Transportation Consumer Business and Transportation Energy and resources Manufacturing Consumer Business and Transportation Consumer Business and Transportation Energy and resources
Subsector Oil and Gas Oil and Gas Automotive Process industry Wholesale and distribution Power and Utilities Oil and Gas Oil and Gas Telecommunication Oil and Gas Telecommunication Consumer Products Companies Retail Oil and Gas Automotive Wholesale and distribution Consumer Products Companies Oil and Gas
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233 237 272 331 367 383 385 393 404 414 418 420 432 492
Selgros Romtelecom Kaufland Hidroelectrica OMV Romania MOL Romania Electrocentrale CFR Calatori Alro Coca Cola Renault Industrie Roumanie Philip Morris Oltchim CFR Marfa
Consumer Business and Transportation Technology, Media and Telecommunication Consumer Business and Transportation Energy and resources Energy and resources Energy and resources Energy and resources Consumer Business and Transportation Manufacturing Consumer Business and Transportation Manufacturing Consumer Business and Transportation Manufacturing Consumer Business and Transportation
Retail Telecommunication Retail Power and Utilities Oil and Gas Oil and Gas Power and Utilities Transportation Process industry Consumer Products Companies Automotive Consumer Products Companies Process industry Transportation
858,5 845 778,5 663,9 612,6 591,9 587,9 579,2 563,8 551,2 546,9 543,4 529 468,2
N/A 1,1 3,7 17,7 16,5 12 -93,9 -70,7 56,2 66,2 0 N/A -63,6 -46
Attachment 22
Country Singapore Switzerland US Japan Germany France China Hungary Czech Republic Greece Russia Poland Bulgaria Turkey
1 3 8 9 19 20 27 31 32 42 49 52 53 58
61
Romania
-0,29
0,22
-0,77
-0,84
64 Ukraine -0,45 -0,13 -0,73 -1,31 72 Brazil -0,59 -0,62 -0,51 -1,72 83 Moldova -0,8 -0,24 -1,28 -2,32 Global Innovation Index 2009 - BCG (Boston Consulting Group) & NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) http://www.nam.org/innovationreport.pdf
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Chapter 4
Attachment 23
o
8. The Procedure: Between the Romanian company (as a purchaser) and the foreign company (as a seller) a share assignment agreement shall be concluded. All the shareholders of the Romanian limited liability companies adopt the Decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders by which the following are approved: the share assignments the modification of the Articles of Association as a result of the assignments. The updated version of the Articles of Association of the Romanian Limited Liability Company (SRL) showing the new shareholding structure and new amendments (if applicable). In the case where the share cession by the Romanian limited liability companys shareholders is concluded at a higher value than the nominal one, it is necessary to pay the investment income tax. This tax amounts to 16% of the income computed as the difference between the assignment price and the nominal value of the assigned shares. The investment income tax in this case entails the following problems: o the investment income tax is withheld (i.e. the seller will pay to the purchaser the assignment price reduced with the investment income tax value); o payment of the income tax depends on the following aspects: if the seller is Romanian legal person (PJ) or natural person (PF) and the purchaser is non-resident PF or PJ (see article 67 of the Fiscal Code) o in the case of the foreign legal entities without permanent office in Romania (without a fiscal registration number), the foreign legal entity must designate a fiscal representative. The foreign legal entity which becomes shareholder in the Romanian limited liability company will need a series of documents for registering the share assignment with the Romanian Trade Registry Office.
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The patrimony of the Foundation must include assets (in kind or monetary) in value of at least 100 x the minimum gross salary in Romania on the date of its incorporation. The founders shall provide the following documents for the registration of the Foundation: Articles of Association and statute, proof of headquarters and initial capital and availability of the chosen name. The organizational bodies of the Foundation are the following: Management Council, formed of at least 3 members appointed by the founder(s) at the moment of its creation; Censor or Censor Committee, formed of an uneven number of members. Foundations can become shareholders in commercial companies in a manner similar to that of an Association (described above). Differences between Romanian Associations and Foundations The Object of the two entities: unlike the Association, the Foundation cannot act in the interest of its founders. The number of founders: whereas for an Association the number of founders must be of at least 3, the Foundation is able to have one or more founders. The minimum social capital: it is one minimum gross salary for an Association and 100 x the minimum gross salary for a Foundation; Organization bodies for an Association: General Assembly, Management Council, Censor or Censor Committee; for a Foundation: Management Council and Censor or Censor Committee. Termination of the entities: unlike the Association, the Foundation cannot be dissolved through the Decision of the General Assembly.
Attachment 24
o General partnership A general partnership can involve two or more partners. The partnership relationship is based upon a contract and any person who is capable of entering a binding contract may enter a partnership. Following this agreement, the parties must register their partnership with the National Trade Register Office. In a general partnership, partners are jointly liable for the debts and obligations of the partnership and each partner can be personally liable for the overall debts and liabilities, which are not satisfied by the assets of the partnership. The capital of the partnership is formed of the partners' contributions. These contributions can include cash, real estate, equipment, or other property. Contributions become assets of the partnership and comprise its registered capital. Romanian laws do not set maximum or minimum limits on capital, nor do they indicate how much of the capital must be in cash or other assets. These decisions are left with the partners. o Limited partnership A limited partnership consists of one or more general partners who manage the business of a partnership and one or more limited partners who contribute capital (money or other property) to the partnership but do not participate in its management. Generally, limited partners are not liable for the debts and obligations of the partnership beyond their contributions to the registered capital. The liability of the general partner is the same as the liability of partners in a general partnership. For an investor, therefore, being a limited partner is similar to having an investment in a corporation. Limited partners share the profits or other compensations by way of income in proportion to their partnership contributions. A limited partnership must use in its name the specific words limited partnership. o Joint Stock Company A joint stock company is a corporation with registered capital of a minimum of RON 90 000 and at least two shareholders. When an SA is established, at least 30% of the share capital, or 100% in respect of contributions in kind, must be immediately contributed upon formation of the company and all registered
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share capital must be fully paid up within twelve months of formation. Shares could be nominative shares or bearer shares and can be freely traded or pledged. A joint stock company may be set up privately or by public subscription. The management of a joint stock company is managed by a Council of Administration (Board of Directors), although it is possible to have only one Administrator. The Directors do not necessarily need to be shareholders. The Directors are appointed for a maximum mandate of four years by the General Meeting of Shareholders, which also decides their powers. Directors may be re-elected. A joint stock corporation is normally recognized by the use of the words limited incorporated or corporation in its name. o Limited Joint Stock Company A limited joint stock company is a rare form of limited partnership. It has characteristics of both a joint stock company and a limited partnership. o Similarly to a limited partnership, there are general and limited partners. o Similarly to a joint stock company, the registered capital of the limited joint stock company is represented by shares. o Similarly to a partnership, the general partners may be liable for the debts and obligations of the company beyond the amounts they have contributed. o The limited partners, not active in the management of the company, have their liability limited to their share stake. o A limited joint stock corporation is normally recognized by use of the words SCA in its name. o Limited liability company A limited liability company is a company formed by a limited number of partners (no more than 50). It is based on the constitutive documents. The registered capital of a limited liability company cannot be less than RON 200. The registered share capital of a limited liability company is normally divided into social parts/shares with a registered value of not less than RON 10. Shares cannot be freely traded, making limited liability companies similar to what are known as private companies in other legal systems. Shares of these companies cannot be pledged as collateral for loans. The Articles of Incorporation of the limited liability company will include: - the full name, place and date of birth, residence and citizenship of individuals; - the name, registered office and nationality of the shareholder, as legal person; - the type, name, headquarters and, if any, the company logo; - the object of the company, specifying the main domain of activity; - the subscribed and paid in registered capital, the shareholders contribution in cash or in kind, the value of the contribution in kind and its valuation method as well as the date of the full payment of the subscribed share capital; the number and nominal value of shares as well as the number of shares subscribed to each associate for his/her contribution; - the shareholders in charge with the representation and administration of the company or the nonshareholder administrators, natural or legal persons, and their powers which are to be exercised jointly or separately; - the share of profits and losses for each shareholder; - the secondary offices (branches, agencies, representative offices or other such entities with no legal personality) whether or not established as the same time with the company, or the conditions of their subsequent establishment if such establishment is taken into account; - the duration of the company; - the methods of dissolution and liquidation of the company. Decisions are made by majority vote in the General Meeting of the Shareholders (1 share = 1 vote). Decisions involving changes in the constitutive documents must be agreed by all shareholders, if these documents do not state otherwise. One or more Directors/Managers are appointed in the constitutive documents or by the General Meeting and are put in charge of the management of the company. Limited liability companies may also be formed by a sole associate.
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Currently, the majority of companies registered in Romania whether domestic or foreign-owned, are limited liability companies. A limited liability company is known as a SRL. o Other Types of Companies Branch o Foreign firms are allowed to establish a branch office in Romania; o Branches can operate only in the same activities of their parent company; o Branches must have a general manager, who can be a Romanian or a foreign citizen; o Branches do not have legal personality. Representative Offices o Can be set up by a foreign company in Romania; o Function as first steps for checking future activities in Romania; o Are not allowed to commit in legal engagements, as separate legal entities. Subsidiary o Commercial company with legal personality; o Separate and distinct entity regarded as a Romanian one; o The Romanian subsidiary has its own patrimony and bank account. Nationality of Trade Companies According to Law no. 31 of the Fiscal Code, a company registered in Romania is a Romanian legal person.
Attachment 25
Practical advices
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Duration of protection is 10 years; trademark may be renewed at the end of each period of 10 years, at the request of the proprietor, the tax provided by law. OSIM trademarks are protected only in Romania.
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The Romanian Trade Register Office is an institution organized by the Romanian Ministry of Justice. The Trade Register in Romania has the following responsibilities: keep records on the legal and financial status of all Romanian companies, provide economic and statistical information, provide commercial information, simplify the procedures concerning incorporation and companies, inform and assist business people on issues related to the Trade Register activity. Legal registration operations such as the incorporation of new Romanian companies, change of the social headquarters of the company, amendment of any clause in the Articles of Association, transfer of social shares, require the verification of the file and documents by a clerk and a Trade Registry (see GEO no. 116/2009) Beginning with the date of approval of the registration, the Romanian Trade Register usually requires around 3 - 5 business days to issue the Certificate of Incorporation. Other useful information about the Trade Register and its activities throughout Romania: The Trade Register is a public institution and is obliged under law to issue, on the expense of the person requesting it, official copies of the documents registered in its database as well as information regarding the registered data and to provide information in regards to the existence of certain documents in the records of the Romanian Trade Register. The Romanian Trade Register has branches in 42 counties, representing the National Trade Register which is coordinated by the Ministry of Justice. The activity of Public Notaries in Romania provides the official recognition of the civil or commercial relations as well as the exercise of rights and protection of interests. The Public Notary is invested to perform a service of public interest and has an autonomous statute. Notaries activate through individual offices or associative structures, much like attorneys. Romanian Public Notaries have the following attributions: drafting legal documents, on the request of the parties involved in the proceedings; authentication of documents drafted by the Notary, the party or the attorney (the Notary verifies the identity of the parties, their approval and is present while the parties sign the respective document); inheritance procedures (started by any party with interest in the case); certification of certain facts, according to the Law (e.g. the fact that a person is alive, that is located in a certain place, that a person has shown up at a specific time and date, etc); notarization of signatures, specimen signature as well as seals/stamps; certification of documents presented by the parties; maintaining records of documents presented by the parties (the Notary will have to mention a date, identify the documents with all relevant information, mention the name of the person to whom the records must be released, etc.); notarization of copies; notarization of translations. All Notary procedures are performed upon request. The documents drafted by the parties or their representatives, shall be verified to fulfil the conditions related to form or content, the Public Notary being able to bring modifications or addendums, with the approval of the parties. The documents are drafted in accordance with the disposition of the parties and under the conditions of the law. The services provided by the Romanian Public Notaries are used on much broader scale than in other countries, especially if comparing to Anglo-Saxon or Northern European countries.
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The Court of International Commercial Arbitration The Romanian Arbitration Court has the mission to promote commercial and civil arbitrage both on a nationwide and international level and alternative solutions to litigation. Attributions of the Arbitration Court include the following: - Assists the parties on their request in the Arbitrage procedure; - Elaborates models of Arbitrary Conventions and promotes them in specific business areas; - Collaborates with Arbitrary Commissions of Chambers of Commerce; - Maintains evidence of its specific practice; - Collaborates with international arbitrary institutions.
Attachment 26
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In the case where Romanian laws are applicable to the specific Contract (any litigation between the parties are to be solved by a Romanian Court), entering into contractual relations with a Romanian party requires knowing more about the respective Romanian regulations. The requirements listed below are to be taken into account when concluding commercial contracts as per the Romanian Law such as: sale/purchase pre-contracts and final contracts, rental/lease agreements, mortgage contracts, cession contracts, leasing, services agreements, construction contracts, insurance contracts, commission agreements, transportation contracts, etc. As per the stipulations of the Romanian law, a contract should comprise certain elements: obligations incumbent to each party for the fulfilment of the contract, delivery and quality conditions of goods and/or services, terms, payment methods and payment guarantees, payment instruments and price insurance, contractual risk, as well as the jurisdiction applicable to potential litigations arising out or in relation with the interpretation, execution or breaching of any term or condition within the respective contract. Other required elements include the complete name and identification details of the parties (for legal entities these include headquarters address and registration number with the Trade Register Office) and name of the person signing the contract (when representing a legal entity). In case of partial or total non-fulfilment of any obligation stipulated in the contract, besides the penalties established by the parties in the contract, the party which has fulfilled its obligations can claim damages in an amount already anticipated and set forth in the contract as of the moment of its execution or established by court decision. The following payment methods are acceptable: payment order (bank transfer), check, bills of exchange (in certain conditions expressly mentioned by the Law), factoring. In case of non-fulfilment, the contracting parties are able to begin debt recovery procedure for claiming in court their amounts due by the other party along with all the accrued penalties to the outstanding amounts... The creditor will be able (after a final decision rendered by the court of competent jurisdiction) to enforce the court decision against the debtors assets such as: liquidities (including funds in bank accounts), dues, products, receivables or other patrimonial values. The enforcement procedure is carried out by the services of a receiver having jurisdiction. Romanian Law contains vast legislative dispositions concerning the form of certain contracts in order to be valid and binding. There are an important number of exceptional requirements (e.g. authentic form for sale purchase of real estate properties, written form, accordance with dispositions regarding each separate type of contract, etc.) and important general dispositions that directly influence business relationships with Romanian partners.
Governing Law of Contracts signed with a Romanian party 9. Considering that the Romanian Civil Code allows the parties to establish the content of a contract, it is obvious that in the case of an international contract, they could choose the applicable law of the contract. 10. The Law stipulates that the applicable law must be expressly mentioned or result in a clear manner from its content or circumstances. There are two methods for the parties to express their will: an explicit choice (through the actual mentioning of this information in the contract or annex) or a tacit agreement. The elements used for deducting an eventual tacit agreement of the parties are the following: Using legal notions or institutions specific only to a certain Legal System.
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Reference to a procedure used only in a certain country can place the contract in that Legal System. Signing the Contract in a certain language can indicate a choice of the parties; however this is not regarded as highly relevant. Choosing a specific Court of Law in a state is not regarded as highly relevant. If the parties have not expressly or tacitly designated an applicable jurisdiction governing the contract, the Court will have to make a decision in this sense, based on objective criteria. (see Law no. 105/1992) The main criterion is applying the law of the state which the contract has stronger ties with. This is a more recent solution, an influence of the Anglo-Saxon law (the notion regarded as proper law). For example, a contract is stronger related to the law of the state where the debtor has on the date the contract is enforced his/her/its legal domicile/headquarters. The secondary criteria will be applying the law of the location where the contract is signed. In the case the contract is signed by parties through correspondence, it is considered to be signed in the state of the party which has initiated the offer to contract, offer which was accepted.
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Chapter 6
Attachment 27
Tax / Contribution Social insurance contribution Profit tax Health insurance contribution Unemployment contribution Risk fund contributions Fuel tax Building tax Medical leave Guarantee fund tax Auto vehicle tax Land tax Company tax
Tax payments
Payments / year 12 4 12 12 12 1 2 12 12 2 2 4 Time needed (hours) 110 32 Tax quota 19.50% 16.00% 6.00% 2.00% 0.4% - 3.6% 1.00% 0.90% 0.25% - 0.75% 0.30% Fixed tax(140 lei) 0.3 lei per sq. meter Tax base gross salary Taxable profits gross salary gross salary gross salary Included in fuel price gross salary gross salary gross salary land area Tax is computed in dependency to the area of lighted billboards The surface of the project Depends on the type of contract Weight of the packaging Added value
Urbanism tax Contract stamp duty tax Environment tax VAT TOTAL
1 0 1 12 113
60 202
Source: http://www.capital.ro/articol/romania-pe-al-doilea-loc-din-ue-la-birocratie-pentru-plata-impozitelor-128370.html
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Attachment 28
Rank 1 2 3 3 5 71 71 71 71 176 176 178 179 180
Source: http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table
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Chapter 7
Attachment 29 Tax payments
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