Romania | News

Romania is on Polish retailer Answear’s shortlist for the development of a logistic hub in southeast Europe, together with Bulgaria, explained Raluca Radu, country manager at Answear Romania.

A new IFC investment in UniCredit Bank S.A.senior bonds issues, representing a part from the total of $80 million approved amount in relation to UniCredit Bank’s Euro Medium Term Notes Program, will help increase access to finance for green housing in Romania, including green mortgages and green home improvement loans, supporting the country’s climate goals.

Law firm Wolf Theiss has advised AFI Europe on obtaining a EUR450 million credit facility for the purposes of refinancing its three shopping centers in Romania – AFI Cotroceni in Bucharest, AFI Ploiesti and AFI Brasov.

German-owned discount store chain Penny, one of the most active retailers in Romania, continues its expansion plans by opening 13 new stores in December 2022, reaching a total 36 new units in 2022.

The financing for tech startups in Romania reached EUR226 million in the first ten months of 2022, 36% more than in 2021, despite the high inflation and the macroeconomic situation, a report by SeedBlink and Horvath Consulting on the market trends, the main actors and the impact of the platform in Central and Eastern Europe shows.

Automobile Dacia delivered 10,000 Spring electric cars in Romania between October 13, 2021 and December 20, 2022.

Romania’s National Defense Ministry via Compania Nationala Romtehnica has signed a framework agreement with Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd for up to seven UAS Watchkeeper X systems worth a total of about RON1.891 billion, VAT not included.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania signed an agreement in Bucharest to build an underwater electric cable under the Black Sea. The ambitious project could support the EU's diversification efforts by creating a corridor for green energy.

In 2021, among EU member states, the highest average annual adjusted full-time salary was in Luxembourg (EUR72,200), Denmark (EUR63,300) and Ireland (EUR50,300), and the lowest in Bulgaria (EUR10,300), Hungary (EUR12,600) and Romania (EUR13,000), according to a report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU).

Global renewable energy company Low Carbon has announced that it will be constructing two onshore wind farms in Romania with a capacity of up to 600 MW.

Luxoft Romania, a wholly owned subsidiary of DXC Technology and one of Romania’s biggest software development and IT solutions company, has expanded its team in recent years and ends 2022 with 2,500 employees.

French-Belgian retailer Cora, present in Romania with an omnichannel business including 10 hypermarkets, the ecommerce platform www.cora.ro and 8 cora Urban proximity stores, is cementing its online operations by expanding delivery services nationwide.

TBI Bank, with operations in Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and Lithuania, had a net profit of EUR30.2 million in January-September 2022, up 33% on the year, the bank said in a statement.

Romania’s software and services market suddenly slowed down toward yearend, from an average annual increase of 15-17% to 5% in the past two months, as many projects traditionally wind down before yearend and companies are reluctant to start new ones at this moment, reveals an analysis by OVES Enterprise, a software developer of Cluj Napoca.

Irish fashion retailer Primark, famous for its large format stores and low pricing strategy, is opening on Thursday (Dec 15, 2022) its first store in Romania, within Bucharest’s ParkLake shopping center.

Green Genius, one of the main European renewable energy developers, part of Lithuania’s Modus Group, has signed the first solar power development contract in Romania, a EUR8 million project in Ulmi, Dambovita County (south of the country).

Enel X Romania, part of Enel X Global Retail, the advanced energy services division of Italy’s Enel Group, will build a photovoltaic (PV) park with a total installed capacity of 2.5 MW for Romanian pharmaceutical manufacturer Antibiotice Iasi.

Romanians spent EUR261 million in the top ten footwear store chains in Romania last year. The amount is 6.5% lower than in the benchmark year 2019, the last year before the pandemic, according to ZF’s calculations Cushman & Wakefield Echinox data.

Inflation is a top concern for two-thirds of consumers in Romania, followed by the invasion of Ukraine and healthcare costs, according to the “Consumer Sentiment Survey” conducted by McKinsey&Company Romania in November 2022.

Sweden’s Electrolux, which owns a plant in Satu Mare, this autumn opened a new hob production line in Romania. Thus, the production capacity of the local plans has reached 1.3 million units.