BusinessMagazin

Tag: romania

  • Romania urca 3 pozitii in topul privind competitivitatea economica

    In calculul indicelui privind competitivitatea economica se iau in considerare 4 indicatori extrem de importanti : accesul la piata interna si externa, administrarea granitelor, infrastructura de comunicatii si transport si climatul de afaceri, potrivit Mediafax care citeaza un raport al FEM.

    Pe primele pozitii in acest clasament se situeaza Singapore (5,97 puncte), Hong Kong (5,57 puncte), Elveţia (5,44 puncte), Danemarca (5,44 puncte), Suedia (5,44 puncte), Canada (5,35 puncte), Norvegia (5,33 puncte), Finlanda (5,33 puncte), Austria (5,29 puncte) şi Olanda (5,27 puncte).

    Pentru accesul la piata interna si externa, Romania a obtinut 3,9 puncte, situandu-se pe pozitia 72 din 121 de tari.

    De asemenea, 5,1 puncte au situat economia romaneasca pe locul 51 in ceea ce priveste transportul si comunicatiile.

    Analistii straini au conchis ca tara noastra ocupă poziţia 44, cu un punctaj de 4,4 puncte la administrarea graniţelor, respectiv locul 65, cu 4,3 puncte, la climatul pentru afaceri.

    Printre punctele forte ale Romaniei se numara datoria in scadere a Guvernului, calitatea educatiei, numarul redus de operatiuni necesare pentru a incepe o afacere, gradul de aglomerare în traficul rutier, conexiunile şi costurile reduse ale transportului naval, accesul ridicat la reţelele de telefonie mobilă şi internet în bandă largă, respectiv impactul scăzut al terorismului asupra costurilor companiilor.

    Printre aspectele la care Romania trebuie sa mai lucreze se afla gradul de incredere in politica, calitatea drumurilor, porturilor si a transporturilor aeriene, gradul de implementare a tehnologiei de către companii, accesul redus la internet, drepturile de proprietate, corupţia, eficienţa guvernamentală, încrederea în serviciile poliţiei, respectiv costurile ridicate pentru companii generate de încălcarea legii.
     

    Cititi mai multe pe www.mediafax.ro.

  • Gap deschide al doilea magazin In Romania

    Impreuna cu partenerii sai din regiunea Europei de Sud-Est, grecii de la Marinopoulos Holding, GAP deschide vineri, 19 iunie, cel de-al doilea magazin din tara noastra. Locatia are o suprafata totala de 800 de metri patrati, 40 de reprezentanti de vanzari si ofera articole de imbracaminte si accesorii prin liniile GAP, GapKids si babyGap.

    Ca si in cazul primul magazin (deschis in Baneasa Shopping City), reprezentantii Marinopoulos au preferat spatiile comerciale de minim 700 mp din mall-uri, in locul celor stradale, pentru a-si asigura astfel un flux constant de clienti. Francizorii iau in calcul si varianta deschiderii unui al treilea magazin, precum si introducerea brandului Banana Republic in acest an, dar nu au facut public inca un plan oficial in acest sens.

  • Cine mai face angajari?

     

    “Pentru noi, numarul mare de someri din economie este o oportunitate, pentru ca avem de unde sa angajam”, spune Theodor Alexandrescu, directorul general al companiei de asigurari AIG Life, intr-o discutie cu BUSINESS Magazin. Pentru asiguratori, recrutarea de personal a fost pana nu de mult o problema complicata, din cauza competitiei stranse din sectorul financiar si a putinilor specialisti disponibili. Anul acesta, AIG vrea sa angajeze agenti noi de vanzare si, spre deosebire de alte perioade, Alexandrescu are de unde alege acum, pentru ca sunt destui cei care si-au pierdut sau isi vor pierde locul de munca. Pentru companiile care nu sunt constranse de criza sa-si reduca personalul, numarul mare de someri este o oportunitate, pentru ca gasesc mai usor oamenii potriviti si la costuri mai reduse decat in trecut. Pentru altele, faptul ca au de unde alege e o buna ocazie de a-si reduce bugetele salariale, inlocuind angajatii cu salarii ridicate cu unii mai modesti.
     
    Anul 2009 se prefigureaza a fi insa foarte greu pentru cei ce isi vor pierde locul de munca din cauza ca firmele unde lucreaza sunt nevoite sa reduca din personal, sa se reorganizeze sau pur si simplu sa-si inchida portile. La fel de multi someri pot veni anul acesta din sectorul de stat, acolo unde autoritatile sunt obligate sa dea afara o parte din oameni, din cauza presiunilor de costuri. La mai mult de jumatate de an de cand s-a declansat primul val de disponibilizari, e clar deja ca problema somajului e numai la inceput. Nu la fel de clara e si strategia autoritatilor, ce promiteau sa ofere solutii celor ce isi pierd locul de munca. In teorie, “avem unde sa-i angajam”, sustine Dumitru Cornoiu, secretar de stat in cadrul Ministerului Muncii, intr-o discutie cu BUSINESS Magazin. Unde, mai exact? Macar putem estima de cati oameni va fi vorba?
     
    Estimarile referitoare la numarul celor ce isi vor pierde slujbele au variat destul de mult. Daca anul trecut Ministerul Muncii anticipa ca vor fi in jur de 525.000 de someri in 2009, cifra a fost reevaluata in primavara, urcand la aproape 800.000, pentru ca saptamana trecuta, Agentia Nationala pentru Ocuparea Fortei de Munca (ANOFM) sa aprecieze ca pana la sfarsitul anului nu vom avea mai mult de 620.000 de persoane fara loc de munca, judecand dupa tendinta recenta de aplatizare a ratei somajului, care a ajuns la 5,8% in mai, cu numai 0,1% mai mult decat in aprilie si cu 2,1% mai mult decat in aprilie 2008. In total, circa jumatate de milion de oameni nu au un loc de munca, arata evidentele autoritatilor.
     
    Problema somajului se complica insa cu faptul ca, fortati de conditiile economice din tarile unde muncesc, pana la o jumatate de milion de romani din Italia si Spania s-ar putea intoarce anul acesta acasa. Nu in ultimul rand, numarul de candidati pentru putinele locuri de munca disponibile va creste si mai mai mult in lunile urmatoare, cand intra pe piata fortei de munca peste 100.000 de absolventi de facultate.
     
    Deocamdata, semne ca economia se va repune pe picioare in curand nu sunt. Prognozele oficiale nu sunt deloc imbucuratoare, indicand o scadere a economiei in jur de 4%. Investitiile straine directe, care au sustinut in ultimii ani crearea de locuri de munca, se vor injumatati in 2009, la aproximativ 4,5 miliarde de euro, aprecia Mugur Isarescu, guvernatorul Bancii Nationale a Romaniei. Cel mai probabil, spun specialistii, recesiunea e doar la inceput, iar semne de revenire s-ar putea vedea, intr-un scenariu optimist, doar spre finele anului sau inceputul lui 2010.

    Mult mai realiste par scenariile potrivit carora primele semne de recuperare se vor simti abia la sfarsitul anului viitor. Pe piata fortei de munca, problemele au inceput sa se simta inca de anul trecut, cand companii precum Dacia, Mittal Steel sau Petrom au facut concedieri importante. Cel mai rapid si mai puternic s-au gripat industria constructiilor, sectorul auto si textilele, insa treptat virusul s-a extins si spre zone ce pareau mai stabile, precum comert, industrie si sistemul financiar-bancar.

    Bogdan Hossu, presedintele Cartel Alfa: “Asteptam sa vina cam jumatate de milion anul acesta”

    Theodor Alexandrescu, directorul general al AIG Life: “Anul acesta vrem sa angajam cateva sute de agenti noi”

    Anca Georgescu, director de resurse umane la Romtelecom: “Pana acum au fost trimisi acasa 2.000 de oameni. Mai sunt 500, dupa care acest proces se va incheia”

     

  • What to do about Romania?

    If, however, the managers and Romanian businessmen who had the chance to experience both the education system and business environment here and abroad say this, their verdicts sound not only realistic, but also more encouraging. Let us see what they have to say.

    Let us imagine Romania as a castle built from playing cards, in a contest where what matters is to use as many cards in the shortest time possible. We, the creative people that we are, put cards wherever we could, as fast as we could. The other competitors, Germany, France or maybe even Poland, had the advantage of getting into the game early and built solid castles; our only chance was to build fast. But the crisis changed the rules of the game in the meantime. Now, whoever wants to stay in the competition has to have a solid, stable structure, with infrastructure, education and industry, with a simple and consistent fiscal and legal system. And this is where we start with a handicap again.

    Moving beyond figures of speech, we will say again, as many other commentators have, that for Romania, the crisis is an opportunity to take a little break from the rush of the last four or five years and to be forced to think long term. For such an exercise in thinking, we need the people who got an education and worked in other economies, those of the solid castles. They can see Romania objectively and critically but can also contribute to the change of the local business environment and maybe even of the society.

    ”Has anybody said it, that normality in Romania is a luxury?” Anca Podoleanu asked us about a statement of hers. Yes, others did, as well, or at least thought about it. They are very well aware that in the countries where they studied and worked, it is normal to get fair public services and a fiscal regime that does not change every year.

    Anca Podoleanu is the former human resources manager of telecommunications operator Vodafone. Today she has her own HR consultancy, Choice Consulting. She went to elementary school in New York and got an MBA in Canada, where she worked after that. She says that the Romanian economy does not know what its specialities are and this is where many problems stem from. The advantage of Romanians, on the other hand, compared to others, is that they are faster, more dynamic and often have a more developed entrepreneurial spirit, because the economy forced them to. This is what Andrei Caramitru, partner with McKinsey advisory firm, who runs the office in Bucharest, believes. Caramitru went to college in Switzerland and worked there until he returned to the country in 2007, when the local McKinsey office opened.

    Another consultant how knows the difference between our and ”their” managers is Codrut Pascu, managing partner of Roland Berger Romania. He joined the British company after completing his education in economics at the ASE (Academy of Economic Studies) in Bucharest. He then attended a master programme at Fontainebleau, one of the most powerful schools of business in Europe and worked for the company’s offices in France and at the headquarters in London for more than four years, before returning to the Bucharest office. He says managers have changed a lot for the better over the last few years and results will become visible in society in the medium and long run. He too feels that Romania can change for the better with the help of the private sector, where organisations can instil healthy values and value systems in people. ”Education plays an important part here, too, though,” Pascu says. He means the pragmatism instilled by colleges abroad.

  • Fashion GAP in Romania

    Compania care detine franciza la nivelul Europei de Sud-Est, Marinopoulos Holding, are in plan investitii de peste 1 milion de euro in acest an, pentru lansarea pe piata locala a 2-3 magazine in total. Primul magazin, deschis in centrul comercial Baneasa Shopping City din Bucuresti, are o suprafata de 720 de metri patrati.

    Reprezentantii Marinopoulos nu au furnizat date despre asteptarile de business ale companiei pentru acest an. Intrarea pe piata romaneasca a Gap face parte din strategia de extindere a companiei la nivel mondial, care vizeaza incheierea de acorduri de francize pentru marcile Gap si Banana Republic in Asia, Europa de Est si Orientul Mijlociu.

    „Avem incredere deplina in popularitatea marcii si in succesul sau pe plan local”, argumenteaza Stelios Skordalakis, Marketing Manager la Marinopoulos Romania, decizia de lansare a celui de-al doilea magazin Gap in Romania, la inceputul lunii iunie, in Plaza Romania.

    „E posibil sa mai deschidem un al treilea magazin, dar suntem in acelasi timp atenti si la evolutia situatiei economice. De asemenea, vizam si aducerea brandului Banana Republic in viitorul apropiat.” Marketing managerul Marinopoulos spune ca urmareste sa deschida in Romania magazine de minim 700 de metri patrati si care reunesc in format „combo”, marci destinate tuturor categoriilor de clienti (Gap, GapKids, babyGap si GapBody).

    „Vom deschide magazine separate (destinate unei singure marci din cele patru ale Gap –n.r.) doar in orasele in care nu vom gasi suficient spatiu pentru un magazin combo de peste 700 m.p.” Gap Inc., retailerul american cu o istorie de 40 de ani, detine o retea de peste 3.100 de magazine la nivel mondial, prin care vinde marcile Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy si Piperlime. Compania a finalizat anul 2007 cu incasari de 15,8 miliarde de dolari la nivel mondial. Marinopoulos Holding, partenerul Gap pe Europa de Sud-Est, mai detine in Romania francizele Starbucks, Sephora, Marks&Spencer.
     

    Cititi aici mai multe despre cum a ajuns GAP intr-un fir de ata.
     

  • Who will remain on top?

    Hopes of volumes and profit of the top companies in Romania have significantly dimmed not only compared with last year but also compared with the estimates of the first few months of 2009. The hardest hit are the companies in the industrial sector. First quarter results confirm declines for all the top ten companies by turnover, which could lose more than 4 billion euros this year, as well as their position among the biggest businesses in Romania.

    In Galati, 12,000 employees are expecting options to keep their jobs this year from Augustine Kochurampil, chief executive of Arcelor Mittal Galati. The manager decided after Easter to move to crisis Plan B, and took a few steps to keep things afloat. ”We do not expect things to go back to where they were last year any sooner than two or three years, but we hope for an improvement in demand in the second half of this year and for the time being, even though we did not need 11,700 people to work at 40% capacity, we are looking for options to cope,” Augustine Kochurampil says. The manager’s plan, to work exclusively to order (instead of building stocks), to close the coke and chemical plant, to request employees to take ten days of leave and five days of technical unemployment in rotation, complemented the European strategy of Arcelor Mittal, which decided to close 14 furnaces of the 25 it had in Europe, as well as to completely shut down the plants in Florange (France) and Liege (Belgium).

    ”I’ve been in the steel business for thirty years and I have never seen such a decline in price and demand for steel,” says Kochurampil, who, in his thirty-year career has restructured a bankrupt plant in Germany, another plant that worked based on non-performing barters in Kazakhstan, as well as a plant in Poland where he saw the most difficult strikes, thus going through several crises on the steel market. The current crisis, which reached all economy sectors, has been a hard test for metallurgy in general and for Mittal Galati in particular, with the plant now operating at 40% capacity, without too much of a chance to rebound for the rest of the year.

    The decline of the plant in Galati will probably be the most serious experienced by any major company in Romania this year. The most affected top ten companies this year (which include mostly players from petroleum and telecom industries, as well as from retail, metallurgy, distribution and industry), believes Codrut Pascu, manager of the local office of strategic consultancy Roland Berger, will be ArcelorMittal, Dacia Group, Petrom and Rompetrol, and the least affected will be the retail companies. By ”affected’ the consultant means the decline of the turnover due to the overall decline of the markets, as well as the profitability that will allow them to survive.

    Each company among the biggest in Romania is taking into account significant two-digit declines of its business, with the first quarter results confirming their suppositions: Petrom is talking about 33% lower business in 2009, Rompetrol Rafinare anticipates 50% full-year decline, Rompetrol Downstream could go down by 20%. Mittal has already resigned itself to a potential 60% drop, while Lukoil Romania estimates decreases of 30% (the decline for Petrotel-Lukoil refinery is estimated to be even more serious, around 40-45%). The biggest companies in industry in Romania are now talking about a halving of their business, while the telecom and retail companies are somewhat luckier, as their decline will be less serious this year.

  • Top BM: Cele mai scumpe masini din Romania (GALERIE FOTO)

    Ultimii trei ani au fost ideali pentru dealerii de masini de lux. Vanzarile au crescut permanent, listele de asteptari au fost uriase, cumparatorii nu mai asteptau discounturi, ci erau chiar dispusi sa faca unele compromisuri in personalizarea automobilului, doar pentru a nu fi nevoiti sa astepte pana la un an de zile pentru a avea o masina exact pe gustul lor.

    Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maybach, Rolls-Royce, oricare dintre marcile care aveau in portofoliu modele cu preturi de peste 100.000 de euro erau pe lista de cumparaturi pentru cei care faceau milioane de euro din afaceri imobiliare, consultanta, avocatura sau productie.

    “Pentru ca un dealer Rolls-Royce sa fie profitabil, trebuie sa vanda anual in jur de 25 de automobile. Pe pietele mature, precum Marea Britanie, un dealer poate comercializa pana la 180 de modele Rolls- Royce anual, in timp ce concesionarul din Abu Dhabi vinde anual in jur de 70 de masini”, spunea recent Ian Robertson, presedintele Rolls-Royce, intr-o discutie cu BUSINESS Magazin.

    Nu este de mirare ca prin cele 12 masini noi si 12 second-hand inmatriculate anul trecut, conform datelor Directiei Regim Permise de Conducere si Inmatriculare a Vehiculelor, piata romaneasca a devenit interesanta, asa cum recunoaste oficialul Rolls-Royce, marca detinuta de grupul german BMW. Spre comparatie, adauga el, dealerul din Moscova a vandut anul trecut 37 de masini.

    Dintre cele 24 de Rolls-Royce inmatriculate anul trecut s-a detasat insa o varianta cu ampatament marit a modelului Phantom cu o valoare de 650.000 de euro, potrivit informatiilor disponibile, ceea ce reprezinta de aproape doua ori mai mult decat pretul de baza al unei astfel de masini.

    Tot anul trecut a marcat o alta premiera, intrarea pe piata a unei masini de colectie cu o valoare de piata estimata intre 450.000 de euro si 600.000 de euro.
    Intre cele mai scumpe trei modele inmatriculate in Romania in 2008 a fost un Bugatti La Chapelle Type 57, asamblat intre anii 1934 si 1939.

    Este, dupa cum spun analistii auto, unul dintre putinele cazuri de pana acum in care se poate vorbi cu adevarat despre un automobil de colectie, cel mai cunoscut colectionar fiind omul de afaceri Ion Tiriac. O buna parte a masinilor detinute de Tiriac, de la modele sport Ferrari si Lamborghini pana la limuzine de lux Maybach sau piese de colectie Mercedes-Benz si Jaguar vechi de zeci de ani, nu sunt insa inmatriculate in Romania.

    Revenind la cele mai scumpe masini de anul trecut, nu putea lipsi din top principalul concurent la nivel mondial al Rolls-Royce, Maybach, o alta marca ale carei modele (57 si 62, denumite astfel dupa lungimea lor, de 5,7 metri si 6,2 metri) au preturi de pornire de peste 300.000 de euro.

    Chiar daca nu este la fel de popular la noi precum Rolls-Royce, Maybach, brand aflat in portofoliul Mercedes-Benz, a avut vanzari in Romania in fiecare an din momentul relansarii sale la nivel mondial in 2002, unul dintre primele modele din lume fiind livrate omului de afaceri Ion Tiriac, conform informatiilor vehiculate la vremea respectiva.

    Cu preturi de pornire cu pana la 100.000 de euro mai mici decat in cazul Rolls-Royce sau Maybach, marca Bentley pare ca a fost pana acum favorita romanilor aflati in cautarea unei masini de lux. Numai anul trecut au fost inmatriculate peste 80 de masini noi si second hand, ceea ce inseamna ca parcul auto de Bentley din Romania ar putea trece de 200 de unitati daca sunt incluse si acelea care circula cu numere straine. Acest parc auto a fost, de altfel, si motivul pentru care Porsche Romania, importatorul marcii de lux britanice aflate in portofoliul Volkswagen, a deschis primul service autorizat al marcii din aceasta zona a Europei.

    Dincolo de limuzine, foarte bine reprezentate in topurile de vanzari de anul trecut au fost si brandurile sportive Ferrari, Lamborghini si Porsche. Forza Rossa, companie controlata de familia ministrului sanatatii, Ion Bazac, ce a devenit anul trecut importatorul Ferrari, a livrat deja mai multe modele Scaglietti 612 “One to One”, o editie limitata, al carei pret porneste de la 225.000 de euro fara TVA, dar care in configuratia cea mai scumpa livrata de companie a ajuns la 320.000 de euro, cu TVA. Printre cele 41 de Ferrari noi si second-hand inmatriculate anul trecut s-a aflat si un F430 Scuderia, cu un pret de aproximativ 260.000 de euro.

    De pe lista celor mai vandute masini de lux nu poate lipsi trioul german Audi- BMW-Mercedes-Benz, ultimul producator fiind prezent cu trei modele cu performante exceptionale, CL65 AMG, SL63 AMG si CL63 AMG, al caror pret de pornire trece de 220.000-240.000 de euro.

    Seful Rolls-Royce: "Da, vanzarile sunt afectate de criza"
     

  • A future for Romania

    Theoreticians and analysts have Michael Porter or Robert Reich, politicians have party programmes, entrepreneurs have their own strategies and visions, while journalists take a little of everything. Many people keep repeating that the current economic crisis should be an opportunity for reflection, for catching up on those reforms not done in time and for plans for what to do after the crisis. Can we hope to get a feasible strategy for Romania’s development after the crisis from theories and programmes, from the expertise thus far and from articles in the press? What fields suit us, who should identify them and what should be done?

    Almost all the businesspeople that BUSINESS Magazin has spoken with are talking about the necessity of a national development strategy, with consistency as the key word. The main development sectors are, as you can probably tell, agriculture, information technology and tourism, supported by a solid infrastructure and a quality education system.

    How one should get to such a winning bet list would make for a long discussion. On one side of the fence, of those who support the role of the free market forces exclusively, sits Dinu Patriciu, chief executive of Rompetrol, a firm believer in liberal policies: ”Were we to free the economic environment from constraints, opportunities would be born naturally,” says Patriciu, a billionaire who is the only Romanian still on the Forbes list of richest people.

    More businesspeople, however, believe in the necessity of the involvement of the state in setting economic directions to be followed, in partnership with the business environment, of course. ”The fate of Romania is in the courage with which the government, whatever colour it might be, undertakes the restructuring of public services and businesses from the ground up,” says Marius Stancescu, chairman of Riff Holding International, a business service company.

    ”There are countless models in developed states, we just need someone to do the research and apply the model,” he feels. Otherwise, unless a change of direction occurs, Romania’s economic future will show its ”incurable impotence” in the next ten years. Even pushed forward by EU’s integration mechanisms, if no government takes the risk of fundamental changes and is able to induce the effective use of public resources, we will always be ”the poor relative on a visit to the city,” Stancescu concludes.

    A cooperation between politics and economy would be ideal, Florin Talpes, chief executive of the BitDefender software developer, believes, as well. Ideal not because it is desirable, but because it has not happened until now. ”Romania’s governments have been showing a great neutrality towards the fields of the future until now. As for the political environment, I don’t think it favours medium to long-term strategy building and consistent application of such strategies,” Talpes says.

    The creator of BitDefender, the antivirus thought to be the best-known Romanian software application, says that a solid economy is a project that takes eight to twelve years and requires vision to begin it. ”However, political changes happen at intervals of less than four years and lead to replacement of all public servants down to school principals.” This means lack of continuity in strategies and renders Romania unable to show consistency in policies other than those imposed the structures we are part of, EU or NATO.
     

    Traducere de Loredana Fratila-Cristescu si Daniela Stoican
     

  • Romania este a noua destinatie IT din lume

    Unul dintre motivele pentru care Romania se afla pe acest loc este dat de forta de munca ieftina si bine calificata din domeniul IT , motiv pentru care unele din marile companii din lume precum Microsdoft au deschis filiale aici, sustine revista australiana.

    Compania care se afla pe primul loc in topul alcatuit de revista este Silicon Valley, locatie unde isi au sediul companii populare din domeniul IT precum HP, Sun, Oracle, Apple, Cisco, Google, Yahoo, Intel, McAfee, Symantec, AMD si eBay.
     

  • Solutie pentru un stat membru in criza severa

    "Dacă se dezvoltă o criză într-una din ţările din zona euro, există o soluţie înainte de a apela la Fondul Monetar Internaţional", a declarat, marţi, Almunia, la un seminar pe teme de politică economică.

    Oficialul nu a dorit să discute public pe această temă.

    Cititi mai multe pe site-ul mediafax.ro

    Aflati aici mai multe despre pachetele de criza ale statelor europene si impactul lor asupra economiei mondiale