Radio România Internațional

Tag: market

  • At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    We’re still early into 2025 and we’re bound to discover initiatives carried for the good of the communities, so we sat down and had a talk about a project highlighting the fact that each donation, each act of charity has contributed to putting a smile back on the faces of the downtrodden and to turning this world into a warmer place, into a place which is full of hope to a greater extent. Such a place has a name: At Pop Lazar’s Charity Shop.

    Inspired by the very popular profile of Bucharest in the late 19th and the early 20th century, Pop Lazar, a Jew who was into flea stuff trading, also drawing inspiration from the British concept of Charity Shop, a concept providing elegance to those frequenting its premises, the president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, has initiated this project.

    At Pop Lazar’s is a charity shop and a project of the Medical Association for Public Health. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health and co-founder of the shop, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, told us all what it was all about.

    “It’s about Charity Shop a concept people abroad are all too familiar with. For instance, in England, the Red Cross has such a shop which is more than 100 years old and there also are big charity organizations initiating such projects in a bid to supplement their funds. As you know, streams of funding are provided by donations, fundraisers, abroad, or via shops of this kind.

    We thought of setting up such a shop in 2017, when we realized we received donations, objects we could not use at that time but which were in a very good condition and which, for us, could turn into a form of aid. People could donate brand new products, for us, or things in good condition, for instance clothes, household objects, books, China, jewels.

    They need to be in mint condition since we have not just as yet implemented a recycling system, for example, a tailor’s shop where we should repair things or recondition certain clothes and give then a new life. That is why, as we speak, we can only receive things in very good condition, clean, of course and without stains. “

    Although people want the project to be expanded, perhaps in a bid to set up a partnership with a drycleaners or a tailor’s, our guest today confessed that for the time being they did not have the capacity to set up yet another shop of the same kind, for instance.

    “It is a project requiring the continuous presence of the one who thought it out or who dreamed of it. It is a shop yet it is also a community hub, so there is a whole story behind this shop: it helps us raise the funding by means of which we can exist and carry our projects but it is a meeting place as well, a place where people have the opportunity to be generous, where people can…I don’t know…have a little conversation, it is a true community. And then, in a bid to maintain the spirit, for the time being we haven’t thought of setting up yet another shop with such a theme. “

    During holidays, At Pop Lazar’s reaches communities countrywide with aid, via the Children, Boots and Socks project. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, gave us details on that:

    “It is a project I love and which has become one of our brands. It is a project we implemented in 2019 after a visit we paid to a community and which is strictly carried with the help of the charity shop’s friends. Meaning that people turn up as early as October and express their wish to support us in this project and they simply donate a pair of boots, a couple of pairs of socks as well as other beautiful things they put in a box they wrap nicely. For instance, we have succeeded to have more than 800 children countrywide.

    They are children from various regions, they are children coming from families or they are children from care centers or from village schools, we do not have a certain category in mind. We reach there where we have collaborators of where they call for help or there where we think we can get involved. It is a project I hold most dear!

    There are those months, those days when we meet again with friends of the shop, when we have a chat. For instance, you receive a child you help and that gift box becomes the reason why you meet his family or do some shopping together with the family or create a little cell at your workplace where several colleagues make a box or 10 boxes or 20 boxes. It is an extraordinary moment of human generosity and solidarity, generating a lot of confidence in us, whereby all that we do, we do it nicely and properly. “

    Another project provides donations of coloring pencils and coloring books, to be given away in hospitals. At Pop Lazar’s has grown into a space where people can find inspiration yet they can also feel they are part of a greater cause, a cause where the good has its well-established place.

  • February 20, 2024

    February 20, 2024

    VISIT The Romanian Senate Speaker, Nicolae Ciucă, who is on an official visit to Madrid, has talks scheduled today with the head of the People’s Party in Spain, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, and the secretary general for defence policy, Juan Francisco Martinez Nunez. Mr. Ciucǎ will also have a meeting with the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Spain and Portugal, Timotei. On Monday, after the meeting with his counterpart, Pedro Rollan Ojeda, Nicolae Ciuca announced that the Romanians living in Spain may hold dual citizenship as of this year.

     

    ELECTIONS The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party in Romania’s ruling coalition are meeting again on Wednesday to decide on whether to merge this year’s elections, after the talks so far have failed. The Liberals want the local elections to take place this summer concurrently with the elections for the European Parliament, while the Social Democrats want the parliamentary elections due this autumn to be held jointly with the second round of the presidential election. Save Romania Union, in opposition, threatened to take any legislation merging the elections to the Constitutional Court. This year all 4 types of elections are scheduled in Romania (local, parliamentary, and presidential ballots, and elections for the EP).

     

    HEALTH Some 3.3 million sick leaves were given in Romania last year, which is significantly below the over 4 million reported in 2022. Most sick leaves were taken by cancer patients and pregnant women. The head of the National Health Insurance Agency, Valeria Herdea, says this is not about the number of sick leave days taken by people, but about the fact that many citizens have health problems. Recently, the government has issued an order introducing a 10% tax on sick leave allowances. The authorities argued this was to discourage the practice of taking sick leaves for minor health problems. But the order triggered discontent especially among cancer patients. The Senate withdrew the provision, and the order is to be discussed next in the Chamber of Deputies.

     

    AUTOMOTIVE The Romanian automotive market will likely see a moderate 5% growth this year, the Romanian Automobile Producers and Importers Association (APIA) announced. The Association expects EV sales to continue to increase, and sales of diesel vehicles to drop in 2024.

     

    MISSION The European Union has launched its own naval mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Romania may also take part in the mission. Greece will provide a commander for its operational headquarters, while Italy will provide the force commander. According to the Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani, since November Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial vessels on this route, allegedly in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza.

     

    TABLE TENNIS Romania’s men’s team have qualified in the round of 32 of the world table tennis championships in Busan, South Korea, after defeating Iran, 3-1 on Tuesday. On Monday, Romania’s women’s team went straight into the eighth-finals. Taking part in the men’s and women’s competition in South Korea are 40 teams. The top 8 teams at the World Championships are qualified in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. (AMP)

  • Record-high stock market capitalisation

    Record-high stock market capitalisation


    The market worth of the over 370 companies listed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) went beyond EUR 60 bln for the first time in history at the end of the first 11 months of this year. Market capitalization has gone up 43% this year alone.



    In fact, in the past 6 years the market value of all the companies listed with BVB has doubled. Since the start of this year, the Romanian stock market has seen two-digit increase rates for all stock exchange indices. The BET, covering the most liquid 20 companies listed with the BVB, rose by 26%. The BVB listed companies have come to account for 21% of the countrys Gross Domestic Product for 2022.



    The positive trend in the stock market was influenced, among other things, by the listing this year of the energy producer Hidroelectrica, in the largest IPO in Europe so far, as well as by the continued Fidelis state bond programme, by the increase in the number of investors to a record 168,000, and by the projects implemented by BVB as a market and system operator.



    On Monday, transactions totaled more than a quarter of a billion euros. In the regulated market, the most traded stocks were Hidroelectrica, OMV Petrom and Romgaz. Also on Monday, the Bucharest Stock Exchange saw another record, with the main index BET up 0.41% in the longest upward trend of the past year.



    The combined worth of all the BVB-listed companies today is the highest in history, and we believe this to indicate as clearly as possible the extent of the countrys economic development, namely that a strong economy can only be based on a strong stock market, the BVB president Radu Hanga said. He explained that in the last 5 years alone, the Romanian stock exchange saw the listing of over 175 financial instruments with a combined worth of EUR 10.8 bln.


    The stock market growth is not accidental. According to iBan First, one of the worlds main payment service providers, Romania had the highest economic growth rate in the EU-roughly 800% in the past 20 years. According to a report of the institution, Central and East European countries have better economic growth rates than Western Europe, and their GDP will go up twice as much as the Euro zone average in 2023-2026.



    The strengths of Central and East European countries include the young, educated, highly skilled workforce and the around 30% smaller salary costs. At the same time, the region is a significantly large market, with rising purchasing power and a developing middle class, which generates high demand for Western products, the report also reads. (AMP)


  • June 23, 2023 UPDATE

    June 23, 2023 UPDATE

    SECURITY We are under an obligation to provide
    security to the Republic of Moldova, because Romanians also live there, PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday.
    The previous day the Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned the statements
    made by the Russian-installed
    governor in occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo. The Romanian diplomacy says in a
    Twitter post that such statements addressed to the Republic of Moldova, but
    which also refer to a part of the territory of Romania, a member of NATO, are
    unacceptable and that targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime. The
    reaction comes after Saldo threatened that the Russian army could attack a
    bridge over Prut River, in response to an alleged Ukrainian attack on one of
    the bridges connecting Kherson to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea annexed by
    Moscow 9 years ago. Chisinau has summoned the Russian ambassador to the
    Republic of Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, for explanations. Created on some of
    the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Stalin’s Soviet Union in 1940, the
    Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991.


    STOCK MARKET In Romania, the Association of Fund Administrators
    welcomed the historic decision to list Hidroelectrica, through the sale of the
    stake held by Proprietatea Fund. The Association chief, Horia Gustă, says the
    listing is a huge development opportunity for the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which
    thus consolidates its entry in the big league of European financial markets. Moreover,
    the company’s presence will attract significant sums of money and major
    international investment funds into Romania. In turn, Hidroelectrica’s CEO
    Bogdan Badea says he expects nearly EUR 10 bln in capitalisation.
    Hidroelectrica is the country’s largest electricity producer and it recently
    became one of the most important energy suppliers for households.


    IMMIGRANTS 43 foreign citizens were caught, Friday morning, trying
    to cross Romania’s western border illegally. They were hidden in a truck driven
    by a Romanian national, which was carrying parcels on the Romania-Hungary
    route. The authorities found that the people hidden among the goods are from
    Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. The foreigners are being
    investigated for attempted fraudulent crossing of the state border, and the truck
    driver for migrant trafficking.


    FOOD The large chain stores in Romania have agreed, in the framework
    of the dialogue started with the Government, that they could voluntarily reduce
    the shelf prices of 10 basic food categories. The announcement was made by
    Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, but talks will continue. In order for the
    reduction to be implemented, either a voluntary agreement of the sellers or an
    emergency ordinance is being considered, but in both cases, the prime minister promised
    that the government does not want to put pressure on Romanian producers.


    THEATRE The Sibiu International Theatre Festival began on Friday in
    central Romania. The event, which has a 30-year long tradition, brings to
    Romania 5,000 artists from 75 countries, in hundreds of events to be held until
    2 July.




    FOOTBALL On Saturday in Bucharest Romania takes on Ukraine,
    in Group B of the European Under-21 Football Championship, which it hosts
    together with Georgia. In the same group, Spain will play against Croatia. In
    the debut matches, the Under-21 national team was beaten 3-0 by Spain, while
    Ukraine defeated Croatia 2-0. The final tournament takes place between 21 June and
    8 July, and it brings together 16 teams, divided into four groups. Two are
    hosted by Romania, in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca (north-west), and two by
    Georgia. Two quarter-finals and a semi-final will also take place in Romania.
    The top three finishers qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. Romania
    is at its 3rd consecutive participation in the competition, with a total
    of 4 final tournament presences, starting with 1998, when it hosted the final
    tournament for the first time. The country’s best performance was in 2019, when
    it reached the semi-finals, which secured the national team’s qualification in
    the Tokyo Olympics. (AMP)

  • Romanians will pay less for some staples

    Romanians will pay less for some staples

    The new PSD-PNL government in Bucharest has started to put in place a series of measures aimed at keeping inflation at bay, and reducing its effect on the population as well as trade imbalances. Among the measures announced are those meant to lower the shelf price in some staple foods and bolster the domestic output.



    In order to achieve these goals the Executive intends to put a cap on the trade markup, which means, at least in theory, that suppliers would give up part of the profit they make. Major retailers have agreed in their talks with the government to apply a price cap in 10 staple categories. Weve got their response to our intention to put a cap on the trade markup, which is not going to put pressure on the local producers though, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said.



    Marcel Ciolacu: “We thus have all the necessary conditions to conclude an agreement or a normative act in the next period. And that would mean a guaranteed reduction in the price of some staples such as bread, milk, cheese, meat, eggs, flour, oil, fresh vegetables and fruits. And I would like to make it very clear that this price drop would not put pressure on the Romanian producers.”



    The Council of Competition is to monitor the prices situation and in the following period, the government will be carrying on talks with food producers and suppliers on the aforementioned cap scheme. Possible drawbacks or technical challenges are being analyzed, George Badescu, executive director of the Romanian Association of Big Retailers, told Radio Romania. According to him, we are speaking about a free market, competition, multiple aspects, so that this measure is not supposed to cause imbalances or turmoil on this market. It must yield the desired result, even if it is taking place on a limited period of time.



    “I am glad about this openness of the business environment, which, following our dialogue, has agreed upon a viable, simple and clear mechanism, which together with government measures can lead to a curbed inflation and increase the Romanians purchasing power. The firm commitment assumed is to bringing inflation down to single digits by the end of the year. I believe we can achieve this goal together with the business environment,” Marcel Ciolacu says.



    A similar scheme has already been applied in France, where a major retailer, which has branches in Romania as well, a couple of days ago announced a roughly 10% price cap in 500 staples and other non-food products. Other major French retailers are expected to follow suit.


    (bill)


  • Romanian stock market, on the rise

    Romanian stock market, on the rise

    Romania’s capital market went up 7.1%
    in the first 5 months of the year, as the number of investors hit a new record,
    the Bucharest Stock Exchange announced. The context is highly favourable for
    the upcoming listing of the country’s largest electricity producer, Hidroelectrica,
    which is expected to draw substantial capital as of July.


    Eight million Romanians will be
    able to benefit from the listing, thanks to the stock to be purchased by
    private pension funds, and a large number of business people will be able to invest
    directly in the company, the Bucharest Stock Exchange president Radu Hanga
    said.


    According to Hanga, Hidroelectrica’s
    standing and the size of the transaction, expected to reach some EUR 2 bln,
    indicates that the local stock market has grown to maturity, and the success of
    the operation will contribute significantly to strengthening the confidence of
    local entrepreneurs and investors in the potential of the Romanian capital
    market.


    The Hidroelectrica IPO (Initial
    Public Offering) will be the most important event in the forthcoming period
    for Romania, in economic terms as well as in terms of image, and one of the biggest
    in the world at the moment, the Bucharest Stock Exchange chief also said.


    Hanga explained that the transaction
    is critical for Romania, with significant implications for the country’s
    inclusion in the MSCI emerging markets index. At present, MSCI rates Romania as
    a frontier market, whereas the second-largest relevant company, the FTSE, upgraded
    Romania to secondary emerging market status in 2020.


    The sale by the Proprietatea Fund of
    its 20% share in Hidroelectrica takes place in a positive context. The number
    of investors in the Romanian stock market was over 141,000 at the end of the
    first quarter of 2023, compared to nearly 54,000 in 2019. This accounts for a 160%
    rise in the past 5 years.


    Also, overall listings with the
    Bucharest Stock Exchange amounted to over EUR 1.8 bln in the first 5 months of
    this year, in spite of international market volatility. As many as 7 corporate
    bond issues for a combined EUR 1 bln, and 5 Fidelis state bond issues totalling
    EUR 618 mln. were listed. Over the past 5 years, the Bucharest Stock Exchange
    has listed 163 financial instruments amounting to a combined EUR 8 bln,
    offering investors returns of over 100%. (AMP)

  • November 9, 2022

    November 9, 2022

    ENERGY Romania’s ruling coalition
    convenes today in an attempt to reach consensus with respect to regulating
    energy prices and increasing pensions. The Social Democratic Party and the
    National Liberal Party are struggling to reach common ground on these major
    issues. While the Social Democrats plead for a regulated energy market, the
    Liberals favour a semi regulated market. As for public pensions, the Liberals
    want a 15% increase, whereas the Social Democrats would like smaller pension
    benefits to be increased by a higher percentage. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the
    Chamber of Deputies passed a law on the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
    Also on Tuesday, Deputies approved the sale of the country’s uranium
    concentrate reserve to the Nuclearelectrica national corporation. Both
    laws will be forwarded to president Klaus Iohanis for promulgation.


    ELECTIONS The Republicans are set to
    win the US House of Representatives majority following Tuesday’s midterm
    elections. In the Senate, the race is still tight, with voting on-going in the
    western states. According to CBS News, the Republicans won 198 seats and
    the Democrats 167 seats in the House of Representatives, but ballot counting
    continues. The shift in the House majority will significantly affect president
    Joe Biden’s agenda in the second half of his term in office, including the US
    approach of the situation in Ukraine, Radio Romania’s correspondent in
    Washington reports. Final election results may still take days or even weeks to
    be announced, given the differences in ballot counting systems and possible
    court proceedings in the states with more competitive races.


    AWARD The European Parliament last
    night awarded its 2022 European Citizen’s prizes. The 30 winners include the
    Save the Children Romania organisation, for its assistance to the children in
    Ukraine. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Save the Children
    organisation has provided basic food products, hygiene, clothing, footwear,
    children’s products, blankets and other immediate assistance products.It has responded to the acute needs
    of immediate humanitarian assistance, information and emotional support, both
    at the border and in the centres where refugee mothers and children are housed.
    Awarded every year, the European Citizen’s prize goes to projects organised by
    people or organisations that encourage mutual understanding between people in
    the EU, cross-border cooperation that builds a stronger European spirit and EU
    values and fundamental rights.


    NATO The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in
    Bucharest on November 29th and 30th confirms Romania’s
    role in the current security context and reflects the Allies’ interest in the
    region. The statement was made by Romania’s permanent representative to NATO,
    Dan Neculăescu. He mentioned that Romania hosted a summit in 2008, a
    meeting of NATO defence ministers and a meeting of the NATO Military Committee,
    the organisation’s highest military authority. The meeting of foreign ministers
    in late November will be the first of this kind ever hosted by Romania. It will
    include 4 sessions focusing on the implementation of the Madrid Summit
    decisions, the war in Ukraine, energy security and partners. Invited to attend
    the meeting are also Ukraine, the R. of Moldova, Georgia, Finland, Sweden and
    Bosnia.


    MILITARY The French Army is sending
    13 Leclerc tanks to the Cincu military base in Romania. The equipment is
    scheduled to reach the military base in central Romania by rail in about a week.
    The Leclerc is one of the most
    expensive tanks in the world, able to hit targets 4 km away while moving at 50
    kmph. France will send to Cincu a total of nearly 150 combat vehicles with
    complete equipment and ammunition, in order to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank
    in the context of the war in Ukraine. The NATO battle group in Romania was
    created in May and is spearheaded by France. (AMP)

  • Romania and R. Moldova strengthen cooperation

    Romania and R. Moldova strengthen cooperation

    Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova intend
    to step up their common efforts to mitigate the negative effects of the current
    context created by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, disruptions in
    international trade circuits and the steep global inflation. This is the
    announcement made by PM Nicolae Ciucă, after taking part in a forum focused on
    cooperation in the capital market, held in Bucharest and also attended by Moldova’s
    PM Natalia Gavriliţa.


    On this occasion, the two officials analysed the
    progress in implementing projects intended to support Moldova in areas like the
    energy and gas sector, ensuring funding under the EUR 100 mln assistance
    package provided by Romania and the EUR 10 mln direct budget assistance. According
    to Nicolae Ciucă, developing trade and supporting investments are critical to
    both the consolidation of the bilateral strategic partnership, and Moldova’s EU
    accession.


    Nicolae Ciucă: In the first 5 months of this year, bilateral
    trade already went over EUR 1.2 bln, thus confirming the accelerated increase
    in trade between our countries. This is good, but it’s not enough. We must make
    joint efforts and send messages to the business communities in both Romania and
    Moldova, so as to best put to use the potential of the 2 economies.


    In turn, Natalia Gavriliţa emphasised that Moldova needs
    a more active capital market and international investments. The Moldovan PM
    said professionals are needed in Chișinău, such as insurance and pension fund
    managers. Moreover, Natalia Gavriliţa explained that an investment in the R. of
    Moldova should be seen as an opportunity to also access the Romanian market. As she put it, We know that for some
    companies, the Moldovan market may seem too small to justify an investment. However,
    given the linguistic and cultural proximity, many Moldovan companies tread the
    Romanian market as an extension of the domestic one. This is why Romania is by
    far the largest export market for our businesses, so when you assess Moldova, you
    shouldn’t see it just as a small market of less than 3 million people, but rather
    as an access point to a combined market of over 20 million potential consumers.


    The 2 prime ministers also discussed the support
    Bucharest is able to provide in the preparations for the start of Moldova’s EU accession
    negotiations, and looked at the current progress made by Chişinău in this
    respect, particularly in the field of the judiciary. (AMP)

  • Romania’s art market in 2020

    Romania’s art market in 2020


    What were the performances of the art and collectible objects market in Romania in 2020? RRI talked to Alina Panico, PR Manager with the A10 by Artmark, about the most important auction houses and art transactions, about trends in the market and about the most sought-after Romanian fine artists:



    Alina Panico: “Operating in Romanias art market are 5 auction houses: A10 by Artmark, Alice, Quadro, Historic and Vicart. If we were to make an arithmetic means of the top 10 auction sales in 2020, we get an average of 116,250 euro. Compared to the figure for 2019, the difference is not substantial: about negative 2.36%, but in terms of the total market volume, preliminary data point to an approx. 20% increase in 2020 of the number and value of auction sales compared to 2019. Most of the Romanian art auctions involved heritage items, especially works by national “classics. The year 2020 brought a new all-time record for the Romanian art market: the painting “Peasant Woman with Distaff by Nicolae Grigorescu was sold for 220,000 euro. The national painter Nicolae Grigorescu is followed by great masters Ștefan Luchian and Nicolae Tonitza, whose works “Vase with carnations and “Irina sold for 125,000 Euro and 120,000 euro respectively. Heritage art was followed in 2020 by contemporary art, where the record was set by “untitled (memory) by the most sought-after Romanian artist internationally, Adrian Ghenie. His work was sold for 110,000 euro in 27 steps taking 10 minutes and 42 seconds, from an opening price of 20,000 euros.



    We also asked Alina Panico about the art authentication process. How certain can buyers be about a work of art that they purchase?



    Alina Panico: “Several aspects are taken into account in authenticating a painting: the themes, canvas, colour scheme, brush strokes, references in the media of the time or in exhibition catalogues. Collectibles are also certified by experts authorised by the Culture Ministry and qualified in various areas, such as fine art or decorative art. Expert reports look for more information than the artists signature. Subsequently, a qualified appraiser will tell us the financial value of that particular art work in the market. Only after taking all these steps can buyers be 100% certain of the authenticity of the works they intend to purchase.



    Alina Panico also told us about the profile of the art buyer in Romania, about collectors and the Romanian record in last years art market:



    Alina Panico: “We have smart and educated buyers, who continue to purchase art not only for its cultural value, but also as a financial instrument to preserve their savings at a time of great uncertainty. When you keep your savings in art works, you expect at the end of a crisis to get back at least the same amount of money you have invested. We have buyers who prefer an exclusively online platform, and given this years context, which encouraged the transfer of all art sales online, the number of active accounts opened by art collectors or investors tripled in a matter of months. We also have buyers who embrace the charity causes that we promote, and in 2020 we had as many as 6 charity auctions. If we take into account the doubling of the number of charity auctions in a year that has confused and tried all of us, and the 20% increase in transactions involving art works and collectible objects, the conclusion that may surprise many of us is that at difficult times many Romanians made a clear choice to support fundamental and long-standing values like art, cultural identity, national history and charity. There is no official standings of art collectors in Romania, but we could say that over the past few years people have come to understand that keeping art works in ones home is not necessarily conditional on substantial incomes. Romanians have started to purchase collectible objects, art works with medium financial costs. But in 2020 the record was set by the internationally acclaimed Romanian contemporary artist Adrian Ghenie, whose work in the “Lidless Eye series, deconstructing Van Goghs portrait, was sold by Sothebys in Hong Kong for more than 5 million euro. Ghenie also holds the second, third and fourth places in this top, with works sold at Sothebys or Christies for 2 to 4 million euro.



    At the end of our talk, Alina Panico drew a few conclusions on the year 2020 in the Romanian art market:



    Alina Panico: “So 2020 stayed on the upward trend that took shape in the Romanian art market a few years ago. With spectacular increases similar to those seen in previous years, 2020 was a year when players in the art market focused on setting new records and unexpected market increases, on finding an alternative market to invest their money, and art was a highly stable option compared to banks, for instance. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Natural gas market to be deregulated

    Natural gas market to be deregulated

    The Romanian energy sector underwent dramatic changes in 2019, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute. In the first 8 months of the year, the country turned from an energy exporter into a net importer, and the natural gas and electricity output nosedived. Specifically, electricity imports went up 72.8%, gas imports rose by 85.7%, while electricity exports fell by 37.5%. The natural gas output saw a 2.4% decline and the electricity output dropped 3.4%.



    These negative changes in the energy sector are the effects of the controversial Government Order no. 114/2018, analysts say, explaining that distortions in the Romanian market pushed the natural gas price above the regional average, both for industrial consumers and for households. Here is the former president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority Niculae Havrilet, currently a secretary of state with the Energy Ministry:



    Niculae Havrilet: “Even for households, the regional average price is lower than in Romania, namely 12 euros per MW, 59-60 lei, which is below the 68 lei per MW, the gas price set for households under Order 114.



    The roughly 14 euro cap on natural gas prices for households, which was below the market price at the time, led to an increase of prices in the open market, pushing the prices charged to industrial consumers up to almost double the regional average. The increase rippled across the national economy throughout 2019, with prices for all products and services going up.



    Two months into its term in office, the Liberal Cabinet repealed in December the provisions in Order 114 concerning energy companies and caps on the prices charged by natural gas and electricity producers. The Government and the National Energy Regulatory Authority also decided that as of July 1 this year the state will fully deregulate the natural gas market.



    Unlike electricity prices, which will be liberalised next year, the decision to immediately deregulate prices in the natural gas sector was prompted by the favourable global context, in which Romania may bring its gas prices down to match international levels.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 19, 2019

    November 19, 2019

    ELECTION In Romania, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election continues. The vote is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th. Competing are the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis, backed by the National Liberal Party in power, and the former Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila. According to data made public by the Central Electoral Bureau and validated on Friday by the Constitutional Court, in the first round Klaus Iohanis got 37.82% of the votes and Viorica Dăncilă 22.26%. The turnout was 51.19%. Abroad, where Romanian citizens were able to vote Friday through Sunday, record-large numbers of voters showed up in polls (over 675,000). In the runoff as well, the Romanians living abroad will have 3 days to cast their ballots, between noon on Friday and Sunday at 9 PM, with a possible extension to midnight.




    AUTOMOTIVE In October Romania was the most dynamic automobile market in Europe, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association announced. Last month, around 11,000 vehicles were registered in Romania, up 58.1% since the same month last year. In the first 10 months of 2019, around 135,000 automobiles were registered in Romania, accounting for an annual growth rate of 18.9%, whereas the European automobile market saw a 0.7% decline. Dacia reported a 7.8% rise in sales in Europe in October, to 40,687 units. The Romanian carmaker Dacia was taken over by Renault in 1999. Relaunched in 2004 with the new Logan model, Dacia turned into a major player in the European automobile market.




    TRAGEDY The owner of the Romanian company that provided pest extermination services for 2 apartment buildings in Timişoara, western Romania, was arrested for 24 hours this morning, under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and trafficking in controlled substances. The court will decide whether he will be kept in pre-trial arrest. Recently, 3 people died following a pest and rodent extermination operation—a 9-day baby, a 3-year old and his mother, while 20 other people, adults and children, are hospitalised. The 2 buildings have been evacuated. Preliminary investigations reveal that the intoxication was caused by neurotoxins. The tragedy caused panic among the locals, with scores of people requesting medical check-ups.




    STATISTICS Over one-quarter (27.7%) of the population of Romania were living in 2018 in households without indoor toilets. The figure is down from the 29.7% reported in 2017, but still more than 10 times above the EU average of 2.1%, according to data made public today by Eurostat, on World Toilet Day. In as many as 19 member states, the percentage of people living in housing without indoor toilets in 2018 was below 1%, including Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden where the figure is very close to zero. At the opposite pole, Romania is preceded by Bulgaria with 15.3%, Lithuania (10.6%), Latvia (9.9%) and Estonia (5.3%). Still, the number of people living without proper sanitation services in the EU dropped from 3.3% in 2010 to 2.1% last year, and in Romania it fell from 40.9% to 27.7%.




    THEATRE The Government of Japan awarded the Order of the Rising Sun to the actor Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu and president of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, in recognition of his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and the cultural exchanges between the 2 countries. The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875, and is one of the most important decorations bestowed by the Japanese government, second to the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and is the highest awarded to foreign citizens, for distinguished achievements in international relations, for the promotion of the Japanese culture and of projects aimed at preserving the environment.




    FOOTBALL Romanias Under-21 football team are playing tonight away from home against Northern Ireland in the 2021 European Championship qualifying Group 8. With 3 wins and a loss in previous matches, the Romanians rank second in the group, after Denmark. The senior team Monday lost to Spain, 0-5 away from home, in Group F of next years European Championship qualifiers, and finished 4th in the group. After the defeat, manager Cosmin Contra announced his resignation. The only chance left for Romania to qualify into the final tournament is the Nations League playoff due in March. The draw for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 3 group matches and an eighth-final.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 17, 2019

    November 17, 2019

    Election campaign – The campaign for the 2nd round of the presidential election due on November 24 continues in Romania. Left in the presidential race after the first round of voting are Romania’s incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, who is supported by the National Liberal Party, and the former Social Democratic PM Viorica Dancila. According to data provided by the Central Electoral Bureau that were validated on Friday by the Constitutional Court, in the first round of voting, when 14 candidates faced off, Klaus Iohannis obtained 37.82% of the votes and Viorica Dancila 22.26%. For the 2nd round of the presidential election, the Romanian citizens living abroad will also have 3 days to cast their ballots, starting on Friday at 12 a.m. local hour until 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The voting program may be extended until midnight.



    Car market – The car market in Romania has grown by almost 10% in the first 10 months of the year. Romanians have bought more than 167,400 new vehicles of which 114 thousand cars, show latest data provided by the Association of Car Producers and Importers. Legal entities have mainly purchased cars in the first 10 months of this year, accounting for 56% of the total car purchases, but the number of cars bought by individuals has also grown by almost a quarter. 70% of the cars registered in the first 10 months of 2019 run on petrol, by 10% more than last year. In the first 10 months of the year Romanians have bought almost 5,300 ecological cars (electric and hybrid) as compared to 3,500 cars in 2018.



    Tourism fair — Romania’s largest tourism fair comes to an end in Bucharest on Sunday. 230 travel agencies from 16 countries have attended the fair. The event gathers travel agencies, tour-operators as well as travel associations and county councils representing certain tourist areas. Visitors can choose holidays for the winter of 2019 as well as for the summer of 2020. Travel agencies provide discounts of up to 45% for travel packages, trips paid by holiday vouchers or paid by credit card in installments. The visitors of the fair could choose packages for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays in Romania and abroad, summer packages on the Romanian or Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, in the Danube Delta, in spa resorts and other traditional tourist areas of Romania. Those with bigger budgets allotted for their holidays could choose a trip to Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, and Lapland in Finland, the land associated with Father Christmas.



    Handball — Two Romanian women’s handball teams CS Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud (northern Romania) and CSM Corona Brasov (central Romania) are meeting today in the second leg of the EHF Cup 3rd round. In the first match CSM Corona Brasov won 27-25 and is close to qualification to the competition’s groups. Also today Măgura Cisnădie will play, on home ground, against the Spanish team Rocasa Gran Canaria in the 2nd leg of the EHF Cup 3rd round. On Saturday, Romania’s women’s handball champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea qualified to the main groups of the Champions League after Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro) defeated SG BBM Bietigheim of Germany 34-28. SCM Ramnicu Valcea was defeated on home turf on Saturday by the French team Brest Bretagne Handball 26-23 in their last match in group C. In the final rankings, Brest Bretagne Handball is on 1st position with 12 points, followed by Buducnost with 8 points, SCM Ramnicu Vlacea with 2 points and Bietigheim also with 2 points. The first 3 teams in the group have qualified to the main groups with points they accumulated in the direct matches. (translation by L. Simion)