Economic
New residential projects may offer discounted prices
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
As construction costs become lower, newly launched residential units may offer discounted prices, while the lack of sales may force some developers to further decrease their asking prices, the latest Jones Lang LaSalle-Reas report.On the other hand, while the lack of sales may force some developers to further decrease their asking prices, another price correction may appear when developers will decide to introduce new, less expensive projects to the market. “As construction costs become ...
Foreign visitor arrivals to Romania almost 4 pct down in Q1
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Arrivals of foreign visitors to Romania registered at the border checkpoints stood at 1.427 million in Q1 2010, down 3.9 percent compared with the same period of 2009, reads a release of the National Statistics Institute (INS).Most foreign visitors came from European countries (96 percent) and 64.2 percent of foreign travelers to Romania came from EU states. The EU countries providing most visitors were Hungary (43 percent), Bulgaria (17.3 percent), Italy (7.7 percent), Germany ...
April creates premises for a positive second quarter for hotel operators
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
April was the first month in 2010 when revenues recorded by Bucharest's Howard Johnson five-star hotel rose 5% in the context where it organised several business events, after the first quarter of the year saw an 11% decline in the hotel's revenues. "We can say April 2010 was a better month than April 2009. The rising trend has been preserved in May, which got off to a good start, and creates the premises for an optimistic second quarter," said Sonia Nastase, the hotel's general ...
Over EUR 4 ml for modernization of Busteni mountain resort
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The local government of the Busteni mountain resort, the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism (MDRT) and the South-Muntenia Regional Development Agency (RDA) on Tuesday signed a EUR 4 ml plus worth of contract for a modernization project called 'Busteni, a reborn resort.' The project has a cultural and a tourism component and is financed under the Regional Operational Program; the investment involves the revamping of the local cultural heritage and the modernization of infrastructure ...
UPC: Some clients can no longer afford cable TV even at 18 RON per month
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Residents of smaller cities, which are experiencing a steep slide in purchasing power amid rising unemployment, have started slashing inclusively expenses related to services seen as indispensable, such as TV ones, say the officials of UPC, a company that in the first quarter lost 31,900 clients on the segment of cable TV. The company ranking second on the TV market cut tariffs several times, coming to be, in some cases, by cumulating some promotions, cheaper than the most aggressive ...
Romtelecom no longer sells Internet at same price in all towns
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Romtelecom has simplified its offer of data services and now sells the same service at different prices, depending on competition, abandoning its strategy to charge the same fees on all 'markets,' irrespective of the local context. A customer in the small town of Petrosani (central Romania) will therefore pay 3.5 euros per month for 2 Mbps fixed Internet, while in other towns the fee for the same service can be 4.2 or 4.9 euros. In addition to this change, Romtelecom has also cut ...
Mazda sales in Romania up 21 pct
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Car maker Mazda reported in April, for the third successive month, growth in its sales on the Romanian market, a company release informs.Thus, the company sold 80 units, 21 percent more compared to last April, while the car maker's sales on the local market totalled 307 units over the first four months of 2010.The best selling model was the new Mazda 3, with 45 cars, a model that is currently subject to a 2,500 euro discount and a five-year extended free warranty. The ...
Dacia announces pricing for Black Line limited edition
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Dacia unveiled today in Bucharest the Black Line limited edition versions of Logan, Sandero and Logan MCV with five and seven seats.The three models come with radio-CD MP3 with steering wheel-mounted fingertip remote control, bew black upholstery, leather trimmed steering wheel, chrome upper grille trim, aluminum rims as standard.Gris Silex Chrome dashboard and black front optical blocks for Sandero Black Line are optional.Logan Sandero and Logan MCV Black Line are available ...
New vehicle registrations up 57 pct in Q1
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The number of new passenger vehicle registrations dropped 57.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010 from the same period of 2009, and the number of freight vehicle registrations dropped 40.6 percent, shows data centralized by the National Statistics Institute (INS).In Q1 2010 registration numbers dropped y-o-y for all categories of passenger vehicles, with cars taking the steepest plunge of -57.7 pct from Q1 2009; the drop for the buses and mini-buses category was 43.8 percent ...
Unirea Shopping Center signs with two important brands
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Spanish-held Inditex has struck a deal with the Adamescu family for a two-storey Bershka store set to open in late summer in the Unirea Shopping Center, Ziarul Financiar daily reports.The Spanish group will be followed by the German retailer New Yorker, which is expected with a new store on the ground floor of Unirea in September.In one year alone, the Adamescu family, owner of the Unirea Shopping Center, significantly altered the image of the shopping centre located at ...
Q1 retail turnover down 7.3 pct y-o-y
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
In the first quarter of 2010, retail turnover was 7.5 percent lower compared to same period of 2009 expressed as raw series and 8.3 pct down as series adjusted by the number of working days and seasonality, the National Statistics Institute (INS) announced. Compared with Q1 2009, in the first quarter of this year the retail turnover (except for trade with motor vehicles and motorcycles) fell 7.5 percent as raw series, as a result of the setback in sales of non-food products (minus ...
eMAG prepares to become online hypermarket
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
eMAG, the largest online retailer in Romania, intends to open approximately seven-eight showrooms by the end of this year, Financiarul (www.financiarul.com) reports.'After all, we have an unlimited number of shelves and we can display an unlimited number of products and services,' says Marketing Manager at eMAG Radu Apostolescu. Moreover, the company's officials also take into consideration Amazon's model, the world's greatest online retailer, which offers its partners ...
C&A Plans To Open Three Stores In Romania In 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
German apparel retailer C&A plans to open two or three stores in Romania this year, depending on available space in shopping centers, C&A regional manager for southeast Europe Michael Suare told MEDIAFAX.C&A currently has three stores in Bucharest, one in Buzau and one in Arad. One store will have an average surface between 1,200 and 1,500 square meters, according to Saure.Last year, the group announced its intentions to open family stores in Romania, with surfaces of 1,500-2,000 ...
Drugs market up 21 pct in Q1 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Romanian drugs market advanced 21.4 pct in the first quarter of 2010 to 602.1 million euros, in an evolution supported by prescription and retail products, reports daily Ziarul financiar citing data provided by market research firm IMS Health Romania. By volume, the market inched up 1 pct to 125.7 million units. The same period of 2009 witnessed a 7 pct drop in quantitative terms to 124.4 million units, whereas by value expressed in euros, the market rose 3.3 pct to 496 million ...
TAROM examines flights resumption to U.S.A. in 2011
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Romanian air transport operator TAROM examines the possibility to resume flights to the United States in 2011, depending on demand, Marin Anton, State secretary with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, said.'We can use the two long courier Airbuses A 310 on the route Bucharest - New York, which consume a lot of fuel, and we could cover demand on this segment. I think that, starting 2011, we could launch these flights, if the traffic values are attained', said ...
Romanian Lower Chamber Approves EIB Loan Contract For Subway Line Construction
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Romania’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday adopted a draft law regarding a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) which will finance a project to upgrade Bucharest’s subway system.The project's total cost is EUR883 million, of which EUR395 million will come from the EIB loan. The draft needs to be adopted in the Senate before it will enter force.Romania's Government approved on March 24 the draft law ratifying a loan contract signed between Romania and the EIB for works ...
Transport projects raises EU funds worth bln 1.1 euros
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Romanian Transport and Infrastructure Ministry (MTI) Management Authority contracted 20 projects grossing 1.1 billion euros, so far, MTI informs.After several meetings with the EU Commission officials in Brussels and Bucharest, the Management Authority was heard and lodged 41 projects worth 3.8 billion euros, 20 of which, totaling 1.1 billion euros have been already approved and contracted.Six of the 20 projects are of major importance, namely the Cernavoda-Constanta ...
Dacia exports 80,000 automobiles in Q1 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Romanian Dacia automobile manufacturer exported 80,000 units in the first quarter of 2010, with most of them, 33,000 units, being bound for France, Dacia General Manager Jerome Olive told a news conference .In relation to the latest Dacia model, the Duster SUV, Olive said its production will increase by 75 percent, to 460 units a day, up from a current 260.'The daily output of Dusters is 260 units, but it might go up to 460 in the second half of 2010,' he said.In order ...
Agriculture draws in over 3 billion euros of EU funds
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Romania's agricultural sector drew in over three billion euros of the EU funds over 2007-2009, half of the money representing the subsidies per area, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Mihail Dumitru told a press conference on Tuesday. 'Romania's agriculture collected more than three billion euros of European funds, over 2007-2009, out of which 1.5 billion euros were for subsidies, ie direct payments per area, and another 1.5 billion euros went to projects through which we ...
US Embassy commercial attaché: Viable financing solutions required for Romanian agriculture
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Romanian agriculture needs viable financing solutions in order to become efficient, Keith Kirkham, commercial attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, declared in the opening of the Romania - US Business Forum. 'We are interested in Romanian agriculture operating more efficiently and more profitably. The development of agriculture is a key to the development of Romanian economy overall. We must support both the development of agriculture, and the value added, by boosting agri-food industry. ...