Romania | News

Bucharest has been the top FDI destination in Romania for more than a decade but investors are showing new interest for other regions, particularly the Western region of Romania, as well as South-Eastern region of Muntenia, according to the EY Romania Attractiveness Survey released Wednesday.

Each euro invested in the medical subscription market generates an additional 3 euros in added value to the Romanian economy, a study by EY Romania concluded.

Mihai Bordeanu, general manager of carmaker Automobile Dacia, was elected president of the association of automotive manufacturers in Romania (ACAROM).

The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic came with a change of leader in Romania’s grocery retail, so discount store chain Lidl took the top spot, overtaking Kaufland after a decade. The change happened ten years after the arrival of Lidl in Romania by buying Plus Discount.

Sphera Franchise Group (SFG.RO), the company operating in franchise system the brands KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Romania, reaches a network of 88 KFC restaurants in Romania, with the opening of a KFC Drive Thru unit in Braila.

eMAG Group, with operations in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and held by investment fund Naspers and Iulian Stanciu, reported revenue of RON8.93 billion in 2020, of which the revenue reported in Romania reached RON5.42 billion.

British American Tobacco (Romania) Trading, the largest company of the BAT group in this country, ended 2020 with RON11.3 billion (EUR2.35 billion) revenue, 5.8% higher than in 2019, ZF has calculated from Finance Ministry data.

Five transactions with logistics centers were concluded in Romania in the first quarter of 2021, four of which had CTP as buyer, the largest developer and administrator of industrial and logistics parks in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) founded by Dutch Remon Vos.

German-owned discount retail chain Penny, which operates a network of almost 280 discount stores in Romania, seeks to extend its local partnerships in order to boost the number of stores with butcheries to 375 units until 2029 from 135 units at present.

Scandinavian furniture and home décor retailer JYSK has opened a new store in Bacau, eastern Romania, its second in the city and 99th in Romania.

The association of financial companies in Romania (ALB), which represents the financial leasing and consumer lending industries, has re-elected Daniela Bodirca to the position of Chairwoman of the Executive Board and President of ALB Romania for a second term.

German retailer Kaufland is opening its fifth hypermarket in Timisoara, western Romania, reaching a national network of 143 units.

German retailer Metro Cash&Carry is expanding its biggest logistics center in Romania, located in Stefanestii de Jos locality, which will exceed 65,000 square meters upon the completion of works.

Germany’s Bosch Group registered consolidated net sales of nearly RON2.2 billion (EUR448 million) in Romania in the fiscal year 2020, up 3% compared with 2019.

The use of digital services in Romania has increased at an accelerated pace, with some 4.1 million Romanians starting to use digital services since 2019, which boosted the total number to 10.8 million digital users, a McKinsey & Company survey found.

Premier Restaurants Romania, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in Romania, is starting a recruitment campaign across the country, offering over 1,000 jobs in 27 cities and towns in which it operates, among which capital Bucharest, Constanta, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Oradea, Sibiu and Iasi, including for the new openings already announced, such as in Zalau.

Romania’s government public procurement in 2020 helped contain Automobile Dacia’s decline in sales on its home market to less than 5% compared with about 30% abroad.

Discount grocery retail chains had their best year in Romania in 2020, posting sales of more than EUR3.5 billion with more than 550 stores, 60 of which newly opened, ZF has found.

American company 3Pillar Global, specialized in providing IT services, wants to employ over 100 experts at its offices in Romania, who will be able to work remotely, full-time, anywhere in the country.

Belgian-held IT solutions provider Cegeka ended 2020 with a turnover of nearly EUR33.2 million in Romania, 15.6% higher than in 2019, and exceeded the threshold of 600 employees locally.