Romania's Poor Infrastructure Ousts Czech Investors - Ambassador

Romania's poor infrastructure is the main obstacle for Czech investments in Romania, followed by tax policy and justice reform, the Czech Ambassador to Bucharest, Petr Dokladal, stated Wednesday during a press conference in Arad city.

Dokladal attended Wednesday "Czech Republic's Days" in Arad city, western Romania, together with 14 Czech companies interested to invest in Arad.

The ambassador said certain Czech investors had to redirect their investments to the western side of the country due to poor infrastructure, although they had initially planned to start a business in certain counties, like Caras-Severin, which includes a community of around 4,000 Czechs.

In this respect, most of the Czech companies which were present Wednesday in Arad operate in infrastructure, constructions and transport sectors.

Dokladal said Czech businessmen "appreciate the flat tax", but disagree with high workforce taxes, such as social insurance expenses.

According to the ambassador, the total turnover between Romania and Czech Republic will be at EUR2 billion. In Romania, the Czech Republic ranks 18th regarding foreign investments, with 420 Czech companies and EUR600 million total investments.

As for the evolution of commercial relations in 2009, the ambassador could not offer a forecast given the international financial crisis which may or may not affect Romania and the Czech Republic as well.

Mediafax