Romania To Resume Econ Growth In 2010

Romanian President Traian Basescu on Saturday said on private television ProTV that the country will resume the economic growth as of 2010 and sees no perspective on stopping the negative economic growth of the gross domestic product.
Asked about how much longer the crisis will last, Basescu said Romania will resume economic growth as of 2010, adding this is an assessment that has nothing to do with pessimism.

He said the economic crisis "brought us with our feet on the ground".
 
"We must understand we cannot live out of consumption only. The theory that we're developing by increasing consumption has proved to be wrong and development by investments is the one placing you on a development level that prevents regression," he said.
 
Basescu said Romania registered in the past years an increase in GDP based on consumption, adding that the country saw regression after consumption fell. "if it had been based on investments, there would have been a narrower regression," Basescu said.
 
This crisis "illustrates the hardest economic reality, but also the most accurate of what market economy means".
 
Romanian economy is likely to see a slight growth of 0.5%-1% next year, following a gradual recovery expected after mid-2010, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.
 
For 2009, the IMF expects an economic decline of 8%-8.5%, from an initial contraction of 4.1%.

mediafax.ro