Archive » February 2009 » 16 February 2009 The english news from 16 February 2009
In Romania, Even Bribery Can't Always Get You Healthcare
"Bucharest: Alina Lungu, 30, says she did everything necessary to ensure a healthy pregnancy in Romania: She ate organic food, swam daily and bribed her gynecologist with an extra E200 in cash, paid in monthly increments of E25 handed over discreetly in white envelopes. Another bribe of E25, or about $32, went to a nurse to guarantee an epidural…
Romanian government in need of Pinoy railway workers
The Romanian government is in need of Filipino workers to maintain their railway network, considered the fourth largest railway system in Europe. "Despite the gloomy forecast of a world recession which has affected thousands of OFWs in Taiwan, Korea, Dubai and other countries in various parts of the world, Romania is placing a job order for Filipino railway workers that will upgrade the existing railway network in that country,"…
Romania to postpone plans to privatize CFR Marfa
CFR Marfa, the Romanian company which had a ROL 13 million profit by the end of 2007 and currently has a ROL 14 million debt, will not be privatized as the ministry of transport & infrastructure has decided to postpone this process for now. Mr Radu Berceanu minister of transport & infrastructure said that privatization of CFR Marfa is no longer a priority…
Romania, economic prospects worse than expected
The economic prospects of Romania are worse than I believed until not long ago, declared the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Thomas Mirow, for Radio Romania Actualitati, quoted by Agerpres. In this context, he recalled that the institution has cut from three to one per cent the prediction of economic growth of Romania in 2009…
Romania could be next to lose EU funds over corruption
Romania is in line to become the second country, after Bulgaria, to have millions of Euro in European Union funds frozen after the bloc's executive issued a critical report suggesting Bucharest was not doing enough to fight corruption. "It is important that the Romanian authorities regain momentum on judicial reform and the fight against corruption so as to reverse certain backward movements of recent months,"…
Raiffeisen: We can do without a liquidity infusion
Raiffeisen Bank Romania, the Austrian player which is one of the top five largest lenders in Romania, with exposure on real estate of less than 15 percent of its portfolio, said it can do without the liquidity injection that Austrian banks are expecting from the European Commission (EC)…
Austria takes a concerned look at Romanian banking system, as a result of worsening loan portfolios
The Eastern European money-searching tour of Austrian Finance minister Josef Proll has been labelled a failure according to the Austrian press. The Austrian media writes that, if 10% of BCR's portfolio were to become bad debt, the bank should receive help from its majority shareholder Erste Bank, or else it would go bankrupt…
The state would better guarantee credits to SMEs than capitalize CEC Bank, pundit says
The state should not have injected money to capitalize Romania's oldest lender CEC Bank, but rather use them to hike the guarantee and counter-guarantee capacity of loans given by commercial banks to small and medium sized companies (SME), financial consultant Bogdan Baltazar declared. He added 90 percent of the loans given to SMEs are assigned by foreign lenders in Romania…
Romanian Dwelling Prices Seen Dn 30% In '09 - Cushman & Wakefield
Romanian dwelling prices are seen down 30% in 2009, according to real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, which recommends investments in high-rent generating properties. The prices of old apartments decreased by 15% in September to December period, while new apartments prices were down 5% or 10% in the same period. Since the beginning of 2009, dwelling prices lost another 10%…