Romania Feed

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.

Holcim, HeidelbergCement and Romcim (formerly CRH Ciment) were at the top of the local construction materials market with the Romania subsidiaries, after having posted growth in revenue compared with 2019.

Farmacia Tei and Bebe Tei brands of entrepreneur Roxana Maftei have overshoot the RON1 billion sales mark together in 2020, Finance Ministry data show.

Outsourcing services provider Genpact Romania, the local division of India’s Genpact Group, had a turnover of RON483 million in 2020, down nearly 9% on the year, per finance ministry data.

Heineken Romania, one of the largest brewers on the local beer market, ended 2020 with a turnover of RON1.26 billion, similar to RON1.23 billion reported in 2019, considering that beer sales in the hospitality industry decreased in 2020 and the beer market stagnated.

Romania’s largest lender Banca Transilvania said Wednesday evening in a stock market report that it acquired Idea Bank from Poland’s Getin Holding Group within a transaction worth EUR43 million which also includes the leasing and brokerage operations of Idea Leasing IFN and Idea Broker de Asigurare, respectively.

Prime Minister Florin Citu said Wednesday that Romania’s consolidated budget deficit returning below the European Union’s 3% ceiling in 2024 was accepted as principal strategy by the European Commission.

The One Tower office building, developed by One United Properties in Bucharest’s Floreasca area, will also have an “office hospitality”-type center, the first of its kind on the Romanian market.

Mesopotamia restaurant chain is speeding up its expansion in 2021 in order to reach the 80-unit target in Romania in coming years, from 45 units at present, located in Romania’s main cities.

Cargus, one of the largest parcel delivery companies in Romania, is acquiring the majority stake in QeOPS, one of Romania's leading providers of e-fulfilment services and personalized logistics solutions.

New car registrations in Romania decreased by 9% on the year, to 35,845 units, in January-May 2021, data from the association of automotive manufacturers in Romania (ACAROM) showed Wednesday.

Romania’s Competition Council has approved the transaction whereby retailer Profi acquired ten proximity stores from the company Pronto Mobile SRL in April 2021.

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.

P3 Logistic Parks (P3), a long-term investor, developer and manager of logistics properties in Europe, concluded transactions for over 35,800 square meters of logistics and office space on the Romanian market in the first quarter of 2021, of which over 36% (13,000 sqm) targeted new contracts and nearly 63% (22,500 sqm) targeted extensions of existing contracts.

Romania's credit profile (Baa3 negative) balances a medium-term economic growth potential, moderate institutional and governance strength, and still relatively favorable debt metrics against widening macroeconomic imbalances, Moody's Investors Service said in a report Wednesday.

Romania's foreign exchange reserves fell to EUR37.57 billion at the end of May 2021, lower by EUR738 million than in April 2021, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Ropharma Logistic, a pharmaceutical distributor part of Ropharma Group, one of the largest players on the local, pharmaceutical market, ended 2020 with a turnover of RON561 million in 2020, up 6% on the year, per calculations by Ziarul Financiar based on company data.

Coletaria.ro, a platform specialized in the shipping and delivery of parcels, part of Czech Packeta group, plans to expand its local network by an additional 800 pick-up points until the end of 2021 and to open two new warehouses, of 4,000 square meters each, in capital city Bucharest and the city of Oradea.

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.

Core Timpuri Noi residential compound, developed by real estate developer Prima Development Group, will also include a network of up to 25 electric vehicle charging stations for the owners of its apartments.