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The worsening of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict could create serious problems for Romania and the Eurozone, said the specialists present at the "Romania Trade & Export Finance Conference", which was held yesterday for the first time in Romania.
The international experts have emphasized the potential that the Romanian market has when it comes to attracting foreign investors, due to its strategic position and the projects for the development of infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, logistics etc.
The problem which arises concerns financing, the quoted sources said, which went on to say that investors expect a serious advertising effort from the government, which should create programs for promoting Romanian brands and companies.
Economic and fiscal predictability and legislation regulating exports are some of the problems which the multinationals that have opened businesses in Romania have to deal with, said the representatives of the international business sector, who added that Romania should develop its intermodal transport, industrial parks, logistical capabilities etc.
Just like the other countries in the EU, Romania is trying to reorient itself towards countries outside the EU, the quoted sources further said.
• Musneci: "The political disputes in Romania are far too frequent and violent and they create a negative feeling among investors"
In an interview, Roberto Musneci, the vice-president of the Aspen România told us, that the halting of the Russian imports on the European market, a measure passed amid the conflict in Ukraine, has led to monthly losses of tens of millions of Euros, for exporters in the EU.
"I think that Italy, which is where I come from, has lost approximately 2 billion Euros on exports, in the last three months. Generally, we are talking about sectors where products have to be sold within a certain time frame, as they are perishable. The situation that has been created needs to be resolved, because no one benefits from this aspect, neither in the short term, or in the long term".
According to Mr. Musneci, the solutions for resolving this problem are political: "A sustainable solution has to be found, because, in terms of the foreign trade, every EU country has something to lose. For the coming period, the situation must be resolved, at least from a tactical point of view. In the long run, the solution is 100% political. This is my personal opinion".
Roberto Musneci said he was optimistic concerning the economic growth predictions, saying that the pressure generated by needs is extremely high, both in terms of the infrastructure, services, the financing system etc.
"In my experience, needs win. A solution for meeting needs can be found in any situation. I think that Romania will have a period when its economic growth will be higher than that of the EU".
The representative of Aspen Romania says that even though some new taxes have been introduced lately, the Romanian fiscal system is "very attractive": "The issue concerning predictability must be resolved very quickly, by developing a legislative environment as clear as possible and interpreted unequivocally. Otherwise, room is created for arbitrariness".
Drawing a parallel between Romania and Italy, Roberto Musneci told us that even through the Italian economy is developed, and we have an emerging market, the domestic fiscal environment is "more sustainable": "Their sizes are different and the comparison is difficult to make. But I for one have preferred opening a business here, rather than in Italy, because the barriers to entry on the Italian market are far higher. For example, in the UK it is even worse".
He said that the political disputes in Romania are too frequent and violent, which makes them "worse than in Italy", and they create a negative mood among businesspeople.
• Pandelică, of the Ministry of the Economy: "China and the Middle East - target markets for the Romanian trade"
In the first months of this year, Romania has conducted exports of almost 34 billion Euros, according to Bogdan Marcel Pandelică, secretary of state in the Ministry of the Economy, who estimates that by the end of the year, we will exceed the turnover we had last year, of 50 billion Euros.
"Our hope is to reach the growth target of 7% in the 2015-2017 period as well", he told us.
The official told us that 70% of Romania's exports currently go to the European market, and almost 30% go to non-EU countries, an area where Romania intends to sell increasingly more.
The target markets that we are focusing on are China and the Middle East, where we have a great potential for opening Romanian trade, and Africa is a potential partner for the near future. "In the near future, we will be discussing expanding our exports in the US and South America", Mr. Pandelică further told us.
He acknowledged that the program of the Ministry of the Economy through which the state supports exporters was downsized compared to 2013, and further said that the projects referring to fairs and economic missions "go on": "It is true that we need to be a little more effective compared to last year, but if exports increase, then the amounts allocated for promotion will be a bit larger".
The representative of the Ministry of the Economy mentioned some elements that would contribute to creating an environment more auspicious for investors: keeping the flat tax rate at 16%, reducing the social security contributions, exempting reinvested profits from taxation, specialized workforce.
"The strong points of the Romanian economy are indisputably agriculture, the energy sector, infrastructure, tourism and the mining industry. We have many projects and a number of opportunities and we hope that we will succeed in finding potential investors in the near future", said Bogdan Pandelică. He also said that investors coming to Romania are interested in areas such as energy, agriculture, the mining sector, tourism etc. In his opinion, Romania has a significant advantage because it is strategically positioned to serve as a gateway to Europe for companies located outside the EU.
"I am convinced that Romania is on a positive trend in terms of the economic growth", the ministry official said in closing.
• Traian Halalai, EximBank: "The crisis has forced countries in Central and Eastern Europe to seek new trade partners"
The diversification of the structure of exports and of the export markets - which would favor an economic growth that is sustainable in the long run - depends to an equal extent on Romanian companies and on their ability to identify and exploit the opportunities provided by the current economic context, as well as on the authorities, which have to identify the most effective tools for supporting the exporters' efforts, according to Traian Halalai, the president of EximBank.
He stated the following yesterday, during the event: "Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have heavily tied their trade exchanges to Western Europe - mostly due to the accession in the European Union, and the crisis has forced them to diversify their export destinations and to seek other trade partners. Just like those in other countries in the region, Romanian exporters have begun focusing their attention on formerly traditional markets, such as the Middle East, the former Soviet-space, Africa or China. It is a legitimate approach, but also difficult".
The head of EximBank said that reorienting towards the former traditional markets is justified and possible because of two reasons: on one hand, the growth prospects for these markets are far higher than in the case of developed countries, and on the other hand, there is a good history of the trade relations with them, which could represent an advantage for the development of the trade relations.
According to Traian Halalai, EximBank financed Romanian projects both in Russia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan or Afghanistan, as well as in Africa, (Angola) or South America - Brazil.
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