Low level of business confidence companies Bucharest

Companies in the city of Bucharest have a low level of business confidence in the development of their main business indicators in the next three months. According to the Business Barometer of MEYS Emerging Markets Research, an international Duch market research company, more companies in Bucharest expect a decrease in turnover, investments, employment and exports than an increase.

Decrease in production prices and sales volume

With the exception on change in inventories companies in the sectors industry, construction, trade and transport are pessimistic on the development in turnover, profits, sales, capital investments, production prices and the number of employees in the next three months. Almost 30 percent expect a decrease in production prices and one out of five companies expect a decrease in the number of employees and the volume of sales. Building companies are in general more negative than others on the expected changes in the short-term business indicators. The financial service sector is less negative about the development in turnover, profits and employment.

The main obstacles to growth for the companies in Bucharest are high labour costs and contract violations. About 80 percent of the companies experience these two as the main obstacles. Specifically the sectors transport and financial services. High tax rates are for the industrial sector the most important obstacles, followed by relatively low labour productivity. The quality of infrastructure and crime are for the sectors construction and transport the most important obstacles to growth.

The Business Barometer Romania-Bucharest is a quarterly business survey among 120 Romanian companies based in Bucharest. The survey provides detailed information on the development of the business climate in the city-region of Bucharest. The companies are randomly selected from the trade register of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). The Business Barometer is performed by the BCCI for MEYS Emerging Markets Research. The Business Barometer 2^nd Quarter 2010 was carried out during June 2010.

MEYS Emerging Market Research performs market research in the emerging markets of Eastern Europa, Asia, South America and South Africa. Our main clients are Dutch companies operating in industry, trade and transport who are looking for new business opportunities abroad.

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Largest and most modern ship construction hall in Central and Eastern Europe, in Galati

Agerpres, Romanian Economic Highlights, June 7.  SSAB-AG built for Damen Galati Shipyard the largest and most modern ship building hall for repair and construction of ships in Central and Eastern Europe. "The work was made integrally from metallic structures, is unique in this zone of Europe, four ship construction halls of similar dimensions being raised in The Netherlands", Mihai Slic, CEO of Bacau-based construction firm, told AGERPRES. The ship construction hall is 43 m high, 120 m long and 47 m wide and was completed at the cost of 10 million euros for the beneficiary. The works were launched in the autumn of 2009, when the foundation was laid and in December the assembling works were finalized. More than half of the 1,700 tons of metallic structures were made in Romania, by SSAB Bacau, the remainder of the elements being made by Dutch Dekok Co., the designer.

Den Braven Romania sales hit over 9 mln euros in 4 months

Agerpres, Romanian Economic Highlights, May 25. Den Braven Romania, leader on the polyurethane foam and the silicone and acrylic sealant market, projects a 15-percent increase in turnover this year, to over 35 million euros, according to a release of the company. The exports carried out over January – April 2010 hiked by more than twofold to 4.68 million euros compared to 2.28 million euros against the same period of 2009, while the company’s total revenues reached 9.25 million euros, up by 38.4 percent year-on-year. “Ever since the crisis broke out I have said these difficult times offer new business development opportunities and this year’s remarkable results similar to the 2009 figures confirm this aspect. We doubled exports and entered the markets in Vietnam, Argentina and Lithuania over the first 4 months and we currently export to 32 countries. The local sales went up by only 4 percent over the first 4 months, but in April we managed to report a nearly 20-percent rise and we expect to reach some 35 million euros in turnover this year, higher than the 2008 level,” Den Braven Romania general manager Adrian State said. The company budgeted this year a production of 13.5 million polyurethane foam tubes against the nearly 9 million tubes produced last year, which represents an over 50-percent rise in production. “The rigid foam systems are the most modern solution for thermal, sound and water insulation and we expect sales to reach more than 500,000 euros over the next 12 months, after the product is promoted. We have always been aware of the fact that alternative solutions can reduce the effects of the crisis and we even recommended the officials with the Development and Tourism Ministry to use the polyurethane adhesive for polystyrene in the thermal rehabilitation projects, as it is five times cheaper and easier to use than a cement-based adhesive mortar and 100 times lighter on the square meter,” Adrian State pointed out. Exports of polyurethane foam, the main product of the company, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the total exports hiked by 2.4 times over the first 4 months to 4.1 million euros, with Austria, Italy and Poland placing the largest orders. Domestic sales of polyurethane foam advanced by 6 percent over the same period; however, the local market started to show signs of recovery in April, with the sale volume increasing by around 30 percent. Den Braven Romania total sales reached 30.8 million euros in 2009, including the results reported by the branch in Moldova, down 8 percent against 2008, whereas sales of building materials dropped by 30 – 50 percent in Romania and the company halted the delivery to some firms that presented no guarantees they will be able to pay their invoices in due time. Last year’s 15-percent rise in the total sales of polyurethane foam totaling 15.4 million euros have hiked the company’s market share on the business-to-business segment to 56.5 percent (compared to 48.5 percent in 2008), while it increased to 50.5 percent (against 47.5 percent in 2008) on the do-it yourself segment. Exports of polyurethane foam advanced by 54 percent in 2009 in terms of volume and by 43 percent in value, to 10.6 million euros, while the company’s total exports surged by 33 percent, to 12.1 million euros. The Group opened the Romanian branch in October 1997 and it currently employs more than 250 people. The local branch posted 85 million euros in turnover over 2001 – 2007 and determined the group’s management to invest over 12 million euros in 2007 in a domestic polyurethane foam plant, the only one present on the local and Eastern European market, an investment followed by further 7 million euros in 2008 and 2009.

ISDC launches their online magazine with insights into nearshoring, IT, and business solutions

April 2010. ISDC, a European IT Services company with a sales office in Hilversum (The Netherlands) and a technology centre in Cluj (Romania), has recently launched a brand new quarterly electronic magazine that informs readers about their successful and long-term nearshore business in Romania and gives interesting and relevant insights into IT market trends and current business needs and solutions thereof. In an easy to access, interactive, and attractive format, the magazine is a source of information for businesses looking for IT solutions and services, technology supporters, and decision making parties that look for inspiration when doing business. The magazine offers also rich knowledge on specific IT topics, backing them up with video materials on client cases. Overall, it allows ISDC to share best practices with interested parties and stay true to their customer-centric attitude. First edition tackles the subject of Competitive Intelligence and highlights drivers for competitiveness in current tough economic times. Next editions will bring forward hot topics like application modernisation, migration and integration, Scrum and Agile methodologies, all illustrated by challenging client cases from market segments like banking and finance, healthcare, and education. To access the ISDC magazine online, please go to: http://april2010.isdcezine.eu/. To find out more about ISDC and their nearshore business, feel free to visit their website: www.isdc.eu. Source: ISDC, Contact person: Alina Marginean, PR Manager

Brewer Heineken Romania reports 9% rise in 2009 turnover

Heineken Romania has reported a 9-percent rise in its 2009 business turnover compared with the year before, grossing RON 1.048 billion (nearly 0.246 billion euros) and netting RON 896 million (nearly 210.82 million euros), the company reports in a press release. “The 2009 performance proves that our strategy, which entails focusing on value, is giving fruit. This performance is all the more valuable as the year was difficult, sales volumes were down in the market and even our sales were also down. Foreign investment in our focus brands as well as our strategy of focusing on the main assets of our company have contributed to a 9-percent rise in the 2009 business turnover, from 2008. Throughout 2009, we improved our ability to generate liquidity trough a careful revision of investment, through cost management programmes and working capital management programmes. As far as the sales volumes are concerned, they followed the same development as the overall beer market in 2009,” says Heineken Romania General Manager Jan Derck van Karenbeek. In 2009, Romania’s beer market declined 13 percent, according to data with the Association of Romanian Beer Brewers, as a result of falling local purchasing power. Price brackets were almost the same in 2009 as in 2008, with the exception of the mainstream segment, where a slight price rise was noticed. In 2009, the super premium segment accounted for 9 percent of the sales, the premium segment 11.3 percent, the mainstream segment 38.1 percent, the economic segment 38.9 percent and the alcohol-free segment 2.7 percent. Van Karenbeek says it is hard to predict the 2010 developments in the beer industry, given the current economic state both nationally and internationally. The future developments depend on several factors, such as the Romanians’ purchasing power, their consumption habits and the development in the national economy, he says. He adds that the company is in Romania to stay, to continue its investment in itself and its trademarks. The company’s objective in 2010, says van Karenbeek, remains the same, namely to build valuable trademarks and provide excellent beer to the Romanian consumers.  Heineken Romania’s portfolio – Heineken, Ciuc Premium, Golden Brau, Neumarkt, Bucegi, Edelweiss, Zipfer, Gosser, Schlossgold, Silva, Gambrinus, Harghita and Hategana - covers all the market segments. Heineken Romania owns breweries in Miercurea Ciuc, Targu Mures, Craiova and Constanta, employing 1,100 staff. Source: Agerpres.

Unilever merges distribution of Algida and Napoca

Unilever starts this year's battle on the ice cream market by merging distribution of domestic Napoca brand, taken over in 2009, with that of Algida products imported from other markets. Macromex remains the biggest distributor of products of the company's ice cream unit, but in Cluj, a key county for Napoca, Unilever will have direct ice cream distribution this summer. "Unilever South Central Europe's ice cream distribution system includes both direct distribution, for Cluj and Satu Mare counties, as well as indirect one, through distributors. Unilever's biggest distributor domestically is Macromex," specified Albert Davidoglu, a customer development director with Unilever South Central Europe. The move to unify distribution systems will boost Macromex' business with Unilever in 2010. The partnership between the two companies was sealed in early 2009 for Algida brands, most of which are premium brands. Napoca, taken over last year from Friesland Foods, is a medium price brand, a segment on which the Anglo-Dutch company last summer launched a product created in Poland especially for the Romanian market, Big Milk. Source: Agerpres.

Dutch funding for Bucharest-based psychiatric training center

The Mental Health Training and Intervention Center was inaugurated on February 15 at the Dr. Constantin Gorgos Psychiatric Hospital in the Bucharest district of Titan, a facility built under the funding agreement between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Health Ministry. The Dutch Foreign Ministry provided 300,000 euros in support for this project that was also co-financed with 580,000 lei by the Romanian Ministry of Health. The 879 sq m-wide center was built according to the top European quality standards between September 2009 - January 2010. Hospital manager Dr. Violeta Manasi said that the center is equipped with a conference hall with a capacity of 100 seats and last generation audio-video systems plus two simultaneous translation booths, classrooms and offices for specific medical activities. In her turn, director of the National Mental Health and Anti-Drug Center Dr. Ileana Botezat Antonescu told Agerpres that the center already hosted twinning courses with Dutch experts on mental health management issues. "A recent study conducted by the National Health School shows an incidence of mental disorders of 13.2%, anxiety and depression being the most frequent. Anxiety disorders in the adult active population are becoming increasingly frequent," said Dr. Ileana Botezat. The representative of the Embassy of Netherlands in Bucharest, Hans Sandee stressed in his intervention that the goal of this project is to support mental health in Romania. He also reminded that the Netherlands got involved in mental health-related projects in Romania as early as 1990, alongside NGOs. Hospital manager Dr. Violeta Manasi also referred to another financing that will be ensured through a partnership with Norway and which will lay the groundwork for setting up a care center for children with psychomotor development disorders, autism in particular, the construction of which should start this year. Source: Agerpres.

Two companies qualify for Constanta Port breakwater works

Two companies, Mace Management Services and Royal Haskoning Netherlands have submitted bids for monitoring the completion works of the breakwater offshore the Constanta Port (southeastern Romania, to the Black Sea), contested by two companies, the Transport Ministry informs. On Monday, January 11, 2010 the headquarters of the National Maritime Ports Administration Company hosted the opening of the bids for the tender relating to the acquisition of the supervisory consultancy services for the performance of the works corresponding to the project “Completion of the breakwater offshore the Constanta Port.” Eight local and foreign companies have acquired the free documentation required for tender participation, with three firms having submitted their bids: Blizzard Design SRL Bucharest, Mace Management Services and Royal Haskoning Netherlands. The tender committee consisted of representatives of the National Maritime Ports Administration Company Constanta and the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. An observer appointed by the Unit for the Control and Verification of the Public Acquisitions attended the tender. The committee rejected upon opening the bid of the Mace company, as the submitted letter of guarantee did not comply with the requirements of the tender documentation. Under these circumstances, the company’s representatives have withdrawn their bid and made no objections. Two companies placed bids that observed all the conditions required for taking part in the tender: Blizzard Design – 1.99 million euros for a 29-month performance and Royal Haskoning – 1.88 million euros, also for the same period. The committee may assess the two bids within 20 to 40 working days. The completion of the breakwater offshore the Constanta Port targets the improvement of the exploitation conditions and of the safety of navigation, and aims at capping the destructive effect of the waves on the infrastructure available in the port basin. The project includes the expansion by 1,050 meters of the current breakwater to reach the initially designed length of 5,900 meters. Source: Agerpres.