Business Review No. 13, April 18 - 24

News: The global head of KPMG’s healthcare practice, Mark Britness, makes the case for a more integrated local health system, with the bundled model and gain sharing two ways to give Romania’s medical services a promising prognosis »page 8

ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY

SURGING PRICES UNPRECEDENTED RISES IN THE COST OF RAW MATERIALS LAST YEAR AND THIS HAVE MADE LOCALLY BOUGHT BREAD COSTLIER THAN IN THE EU. BR ASKS WHY »PAGES 10-11

April 18 - 24, 2011 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 13

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA

3Q

Driving forward Henrik Nenzen, MD of Ford Romania, reveals how the carmaker is trying to accelerate profit and rev up new models » page 4 LINKS

Off the page Audio books are still a niche product locally, but several players hope the market will enter a new chapter » pages 12-13 MUSIC INDUSTRY

Hitting the right note

Romania’s most important religious celebration is nearly upon us. BR takes a look at some of the customs and traditions that will be taking place around the country during the Easter period »page 11

Chainsaw Europe has opened the first local virtual music library » page 13 PLUS

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

RESTAURANT REVIEW Big-bucks ‘bankers’ restaurant’ Heritage is back, with Michelinstarred chef Juan Amador in the kitchen.

But can it stand the heat from our reviewer? » page 18

The big players were out in force at BR’s Energy event, which focused on renewable sources of power » page 14-15 Relax, take it easy, Mika fans – the British artist will play at B’estfest » page 19 They tried to make her go to Romania and she said yes, yes, yes? Amy Winehouse could perform here this summer » page 19

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

NEWS 3

NEWS in brief WEEK in numbers

EVENTS AGENDA April 19 12:00 Michelin launches new tires in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia. The event takes place at the Ark (the former Bucharest Commodities Exchange). By invitation only.

4% rate of inflation the IMF predicts for end-2011 in Romania, according to a report on the world economy published last week

April 19 11:00 Da_Sein organizes a press meeting at Cafepedia. By invitation only.

April 19-20 The seventh Call Center & Customer Care business conference takes place at the JW Marriott Grand Hotel.

By invitation only.

May 4 Part of the Legal Business Series, Business Review organizes the Employment event at Ramada Plaza Bucharest. For more information about registration and future Business Review events, please visit www.business-review.ro/events.

May 10 19:30 Elite Art Club UNESCO (Jeunesses Musicales Romania) in partnership with the Bucharest National Opera and the Romanian Philharmonic George Enescu hold the Grand Opera Gala at the Bucharest National Opera.

May 11 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the second British Business Forum at JW Marriott Grand Hotel Bucharest. For more information about registration and future BR events, please visit www.business-review.ro/events.

May 18-20 The 2011 Romanian Lighting Convention takes place at the JW Marriott Grand Hotel. Guests at this year’s event include architects Paulo Mendes da Rocha, winner of the 2006 Pritzker prize, Gaetano Pesce, and Romanian-born Canadian Dan Sergiu Hanganu. Access is by registration, within available seating.

May 24 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the third German Business Forum at the JW Marriott Grand. More information at www.business-review.ro/events.

June 7 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the third American Business Forum. For more information about registration and other BR events please visit www.business-review.ro/events.

Agerpres

April 20 08:30 PwC organizes a conference on the new Labor Code at the JW Marriott Grand Hotel. By registration only.

IMAGE of the week And now for my next trick...

President Traian Basescu made a two-day visit to Estonia last week at the invitation of his counterpart, Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Basescu’s program, which included meetings with the president of parliament, Ene Ergma, and Estonian prime minister, Andrus Ansip, took in a visit to the IT Demo Center in Tallin, where Basescu is pictured. The two leaders discussed Estonia’s Euro zone accession and Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, Agerpres reports. Romania plans to join the Eurozone in 2015.

EUROPEAN UNION Topoloveni jam receives EU’s protected origin label Locally made Topoloveni plum jam has been awarded European protected origin status.

The jam is one of 1,000 products included in the European quality system, and the first Romanian one to have made it onto the list.

“Romania has local traditions, agricultural and food related, with exceptional potential. European recognition for Topoloveni jam is a first step, a road open to the promotion and protection of quality Romanian products in Europe and outside it,” said Dacian Ciolos, the EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development.

EC to claw back EUR 74.9 million from EU agricultural policy funds misspent by Romania The European Commission will recover EUR 74.9 million from Romania from EU agricultural policy funds for weaknesses relating to administrative crosschecks, provision of inaccurate information to farmers and ineffective on-thespot verification with regard to area aid.

The European Commission is claiming a

total of EUR 530 million from several member states under the so-called clearance of accounts procedure. Following this latest decision, money will be recovered from Bulgaria (EUR 24.54 million), Denmark, Greece (EUR 1259.61 million), Spain (EUR 108.21 million), France, Italy, the Netherlands (EUR 22.69 million), Portugal, Romania and United Kingdom (EUR 26.95 million) while there is a small reimbursement made to Germany.

INSURANCE

3.18 million ron – the fine imposed on Asesoft by the Competition Council (around EUR 775,000) for economic concentration after taking over the distribution of IT products from Flamingo International

37 million euro – the value of EUfunded development projects in Sibiu, according to Martin Bottesch, quoted by ZF

segments, and over 60 goods, liability and car insurance products.

The firm is part of Vienna Insurance Group, which reported consolidated subscribed premiums of EUR 8.6 million for 2010, 7.2 percent up from the previous year.

The group’s consolidated pre-tax profit was EUR 507.8 million for last year, a 15 percent increase on 2009.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

Insurer Asirom reports EUR 4.6 million gross profit for 2010

Immofinanz launches free transport service for tenants in Bucharest office area

Insurance company Asirom has reported a EUR 4.6 million (RON 19.5 million) gross profit for 2010, and expects to double it this year.

Revenues from net re-insurance premiums for general insurance were around EUR 83 million last year. Revenues from net re-insurance premiums for life insurance stood at EUR 20.7 million (RON 87 million).

This year Asirom plans to increase its revenues from subscribed gross premiums by 21.5 percent in all insurance categories.

It has in its portfolio 35 insurance products for the life, accident, and health

Property investor and developer Immofinanz has introduced a free transport service for the employees of its office building tenants in northern Bucharest.

The new transport line connects Victoriei Square to the class A office buildings the developer owns in the north of Bucharest: S-Park, Baneasa, Airport Tower and Victoria Park. The developer estimates that up 400 people will use the service.

Departures will take place every 15 minutes, from Monday to Friday, between 7.30 and 9.30 in the morning and 4.45 to 7 in the evening. Three mini-buses, one mini-couch and two buses will be used.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

4 NEWS

3Q Henrik Nenzen managing director, Ford Romania

What are Ford’s main challenges in Romania?

Last year 214,000 vehicles were imported and 105,000 new ones sold, which is very unusual in Europe. No country wants to have a situation like that; when you sell a new vehicle the government picks up 24 percent. In Hungary and Poland – where we have faced this situation before – the authorities have decreased imports to save the market. This is why I think this big imbalance will disappear in Romania, and now with the new taxation for used vehicles second-hand car imports will decrease. Another challenge in Romania is that the new car industry is so flat. It is really tough for dealers’ profitability and this is what we really have to try to make sure the dealers are profitable.

What new models will Ford launch?

One test for us is the launch of the Ford Focus. This year we plan to sell at least 3,500 units of both the old and new Focus, but long term we want to double our segment share from the current 5 percent.

We want to get to 10 percent in 2014. We are relying for this increase on our new product which beats the competition with regard to technologies and driving qualities like active city stop, park assist, cameras, lasers and sensors. It is a car designed to help the driver to an extent we have never seen.

The main competition for us in Western Europe including Romania is the Astra, Golf, Megan and in Romania always the Dacia. Ford will also come up with two electric and hybrid cars: the Focus electric and Transit Connect electric, one will even be available next year. We will put a lot of resources into electric vehicles. It’s not an easy market to get into because the battery prices are quite high.

The prospects depend on how the infrastructure for these vehicles develops.

How has the crisis affected dealers?

In Romania many dealers built new facilities between 2006 and 2008 and afterwards came the crisis and they were very unlucky as the market went from 350,000 units to some 100,000 units. It is abnormally low in a country that has 22 million inhabitants. Currently, we have 37 dealers and our target is to get to 47 by yearend. The first new one will be opened in Iasi on May 5. In Bucharest we do not plan to add other dealers. The average investment for a dealership is presently at EUR 1 million. dana.verdes@business-review.ro

NEWS in brief Immofinanz’s tenants in the S-Park, Baneasa Airport Tower and Victoria Park buildings include ING, CMS Cameron McKenna, Servier Pharma, Johnson & Johnson Romania, Intesa Sanpaolo, Heineken Romania, Wrigley Romania, SAP Romania, Goodyear, Arabesque, Tetra Pak Romania, Hyundai, Sandoz Pharma, Corporate Office Solutions, Coty Cosmetics Romania and Liebrecht & Wood Romania.The firm has a portfolio of 49 properties in Romania, evaluated at EUR 890 million. The properties consist of either commercial spaces or offices.

The developer will open the Maritimo Shopping Center in Constanta in the fall of this year.

Stefanel closes Calea Victoriei store after 20-year lease contract expires Italian fashion retailer Stefanel is closing its 220-sqm Calea Victoriei store as the 20year lease contract has expired, Mediafax reports. Stefanel was the first fashion brand to open in Romania in 1991. The Calea Victoriei location was the first one opened by the company in Central and Eastern Europe.

Stefanel currently has ten stores on the local market, bringing in estimated total annual sales of EUR 5.5 million.

Trigranit suspends local activity for three years Trigranit Development Romania, which was supposed to develop the Esplanada project in Bucharest, has announced it is suspending its activity for three years.

The Esplanada project was evaluated at EUR 1 billion. Half of the land where the project was due to be built is being claimed by former owners.

This has led to a four-year delay in the start of the project, initially scheduled to begin in 2007. The investment was supposed to include office buildings, retail space, hotels, and residential and cultural spaces.

MACRO March annual inflation hits highest level since August 2008 Romanian consumer prices increased by 0.6 percent in March against the previous month, raising annual inflation to 8.01 percent, the highest level since August 2008, according to data released by the Romanian Institute of Statistics. Overall, food prices went up by 1.2 percent on the month before in March, while non-food prices increased by 0.5 percent and services posted a 0.3 percent price decrease compared to the previous month.

The price increase of potatoes (+6.59 percent compared to the previous month), fresh fruit (+5.26 percent) and fuel (+2.25 percent) were mostly responsible for the March inflation hike.

For 2011 the National Bank of Romania targets an annual inflation of 3 percent at the end of 2011, plus/minus one percentage point. The BNR has recently raised the target on the year-end inflation to 3.6 percent. Central bank governor Mugur Isarescu announced last week

that a second upward revision will most likely soon follow on the back of increasing international prices for food and fuels.

The International Monetary Fund has announced that it estimates Romania’s inflation will reach 4 percent at the end of 2011, according to the fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report. This is the upper limit of the central bank’s target for 2011.

Trade deficit narrows by 48 percent in first two months of 2011 Romania’s trade deficit narrowed by 48.2 percent in the first two months of 2011 against the same period of 2010, from EUR 1.123 billion to EUR 582.4 million, according to the Romanian National Institute of Statistics. Exports surged by 41.9 percent on the year before to EUR 6.9 billion (FOB) in January to February, while imports (CIF) rose 25 percent to EUR 7.5 billion. Vehicles made up the bulk of exports and imports, amounting to 42.2 percent of overall exports and 34.6 percent of imports in the first two months, according to the same source.

In February, Romania's trade deficit amounted to EUR 391.5 million, almost 40 percent less than in February 2010. Exports were at EUR 3.5 billion in February, up 36.4 percent on a year before, while imports hiked 20.9 percent to EUR 3.8 billion. Romania’s trade deficit narrowed to EUR 9.46 billion in 2010, from EUR 9.86 billion a year earlier, with exports rising faster than imports.

IMF: Comeback will be slow in emerging states with unsustainable boom, like Romania The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that economic recovery will be slow in some emerging European states which had unsustainable economic booms, such as Romania, according to the report World Economic Outlook.

The IMF maintained its estimation of Romania’s economic growth for this year at 1.5 percent, while in 2012 it is forecast to reach 4.4 percent. Last year, GDP decreased by 1.3 percent in Romania.

Inflation will be 6.1 percent this year, the same as in 2010, but is estimated to fall to 3.4 percent in 2012. The IMF also estimates that the economy in emerging Europe will grow only from 3.7 percent this year to 4 percent in 2012.

ACQUISITIONS GED buys Prestige Tours Private equity fund GED has bought travel agency Prestige Tours, controlled by businessman Mircea Vladu.

GED has been present on the local market for the past ten years and owns stakes in tourism agency Happy Tour, Diamediz, the largest distributor in Romania of Siemens Diagnostic, Total Energy Business, the co-generation energy producer, Rosegur, the security company, and Fonomat, the distributor of mobile phones.

The fund recently bought printer Infopress and Paravion.ro, the tourism services site.

INVESTMENTS FDI in January-February rises to EUR 294 million Foreign direct investment in Romania more than doubled in the first two months of this year to EUR 294 million, from EUR 140 million in the same period of 2010, the Central Bank reports.

Out of this total, EUR 267 million took the form of loans from mother companies, and EUR 27 million consolidated capital participations. Last year, foreign direct investment totaled EUR 2.5 billion, down 25.5 percent compared to 2009, when it stood at EUR 3.4 billion. Foreign direct investment made up to the largest extent of capital participation totaling EUR 2.04 billion and loans from mother companies amounting to EUR 556 million.

Flanco invests EUR 1.2 mln in four new stores IT&C retailer Flanco invested RON 5 million (EUR 1.2 million) over the last month into opening four new stores. The stores are located in Bucharest (in Bucur Obor), Suceava (Iulius Mall), Drobeta TurnuSeverin (Cora commercial center) and Buzau (Galleria Mall).

The new locations have a cumulated sale room of 2,300 sqm. Currently, the Flanco network of stores comprises a total of 75. The four stores inaugurated over the past month are estimated to bring total sales of RON 30 million (approximately EUR 7.3 million) in the first year since the opening, according to Adrian Olteanu, CEO of Flanco.

The retailer hopes to boost its sales by taking advantage of the Easter sales peak. Flanco targets to increase its market share up to 10 percent this year. In the second part of the year, Flanco aims to open between up to 8 locations. The retailer announced previously estimations of EUR 110 million in turnover for this year.

AIRLINES Wizz Air cuts back on Cluj operations, moves flights to Targu Mures Low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced it will cut back its transport capacity at Cluj Napoca airport by 26 percent, and will move these operations to the Targu Mures hub.

The decision was made after new airport taxes were introduced and existing ones increased. Wizz Air will reduce its fleet of three planes at its Cluj operational base by an Airbus A320 and move the plane to the Targu Mures airport.

The Cluj flights to Dusseldorf, Roma and Dortmund will be moved to Targu Mures and the frequency of flights to Milan and London will also be reduced.

6 NEWS

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

SOFT DRINKS

Romaqua Group reports EUR 142.5 mln turnover for 2010

Over 200 years old: Borsec water

T

he Romaqua Group, bottler of the Borsec mineral water brand, has reported a EUR 142.5 million turnover for 2010, about 17 percent up on the previous year. For 2011 the company has an investment budget of roughly EUR 20 million.

However, Nicolae Palfi, vice-president of the group, stressed that this year, for the first time, the company is working

with a draft budget which changes on a weekly basis due to the unpredictable economic environment.

The EUR 20 million could be invested in the Borsec brand, doubling the capacity of the company’s beer factory, various environmental projects and increasing the firm’s logistics capacity. The projects could start after August. In addition to this, Palfi also confirmed that Romaqua is looking into investing in a spa center in the Borsec locality.

In 2010 Romaqua’s sales volumes fell 4 percent compared to 2009, but the decline is below that of the market according to Palfi. The Borsec brand generated 52 percent of the company’s turnover last year while the Albacher and Dorfer beers brought another 28 percent. This year Borsec has celebrated its 205th anniversary. The mineral water has been bottled in the eponymous spa resort in Harghita county since 1806. Today the brand has a 26 percent market share by volume of the local market.

In 2011 the bottler plans to reach a EUR 160 million turnover. The company’s portfolio also includes two more bottled water brands, Aquatique and Stanceni, the Giusto, Quick Cola, Lamaita and Cico soft drinks, the Metropolitan Caffe coffee brand and the Giusto Elektrik energizing drink. ∫ Simona Bazavan

ADVERTISING

BRAT: Local print ad market reaches EUR 30 mln at rate card value in March

T

Dreamstime

he local print ad market totaled EUR 30 million at rate card value this March, according to estimates by the Romanian Print Circulation Bureau BRAT. The sum is 22 percent higher than in February of this year.

Of this amount, 38 percent was spent on promoting media products or cultural events, while 11 percent went on classified ads.

Most of the advertising went to paidfor publications (80 percent of the total), according to the same source. General interest and sports newspapers attracted the largest slice of ad spending (20 percent of the total), followed by women’s magazines and tabloids.

Gazeta Sporturilor is the only publication with over EUR 1 million in ad spending at rate card value in March of 2011. Other top newspapers in terms of advertising attracted were Adevarul de Seara Bucuresti, Ziarul Financiar, Adevarul and Romania Libera. The magazines securing the biggest advertising spending were Cosmopolitan, Elle, The One, Sapte Seri Bucuresti, Business Magazin and Ciao!.

Mobile communication services were the largest ad spenders, with 9 percent of the total sum invested in print advertising.

They are followed by the car segment with 7 percent, alcoholic beverages

A EUR 30 million industry: print ads with 5 percent, banking services on 5 percent, and facial care products at 3 percent.

Vodafone, Orange, Heineken Romania, L’Oreal and Beiersdorf were among the highest ad spenders for the local print media.

BRAT’s survey of investments in print advertising (MIPPS) was started in January 2011. In March, 202 print publications were surveyed. ∫

NEWS 7

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

TELECOM

ENERGY

Romtelecom launches online mall Renewable energy law to come into force in July, ANRE officials say

A

Courtesy of Romtelecom

Romtelecom is diversifying its sales channels with an online mall

R

omtelecom has launched Clickshop.ro, an online mall that sells IT&C items, equipment for the home and garden, and sports and lifestyle products from international brands.

“The online environment is in permanent evolution and the company has developed significantly in this direction in past years. The Romtelecom mall is just another step we are taking in this direction,” company officials told Business Review.

At the moment, all the products are brought from Germany. However, the telecom operator is not ruling out partnerships with local distributors. Most brands are international but the portfolio also includes exclusively German brands. “An important category for us is lifestyle and at the moment we are negotiating to bring an important player from the German market with products that will feature in this category,” said Romtelecom officials.

Clickshop.ro is an online platform

administered by Romtelecom and developed by Deutsche Telekom designed to a similar model as others opened by the German company. Deutsche Telekom has launched via T-online websites of this type in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. “The business model is the same in all countries,” Romtelecom officials said. The products will come with electronic manuals that can be downloaded from the website. Delivery for orders in excess of RON 300 is free of charge. Clickshop.ro will have a dedicated call center where customers can gather information on products, payment and delivery conditions. Romtelecom officials told BR that the operator was considering opening a showroom in the future.

Romtelecom posted revenues of EUR 716.9 million last year, a decrease of 8.4 percent, according to a report by the Greek company OTE. The operator’s EBITDA fell by 38.7 percent, to EUR 154.7 million. ∫ Otilia Haraga

INVESTMENT

Foreign Investors Council proposes priority investment projects

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

FIC president Mariana Gheorghe

T

he Foreign Investors Council has presented a list of top priority investment projects which could

boost Romania’s GDP. “Romania is dealing with a lack of prioritization of resources and not a lack of resources per se,” said Mariana Gheorghe, president of FIC. The lack of prioritize The top five projects presented by the FIC would require a combined EUR 10 billion to kick off, out of which the state budget could provide EUR 2.4 billion.

The top project nominated by the FIC is the Nadlac-Sibiu highway, part of the IV corridor connecting Western Europe to the Black Sea, followed by the Bucharest-Brasov highway, the CraiovaConstanta infrastructure projects, and the Tranita hydropower plant. Another priority is receiving government support for a pan-European project Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). The investment in the Nadlac-Sibiu highway is estimated at EUR 3 - 4 billion.

Romania currently has 46,000 investment projects involving public money. ∫

major issue with investors willing to bet their money on renewable energy projects – a clear and stable regulatory framework – seems to be close to a solution. Speaking at the Focus on Renewable Energy event organized by Business Review, Petre Lificiu, vice-president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), said the ANRE would this week send notification to the European Commission on law 220/2008 for the establishment of the system to promote energy production from renewable sources, which will make the law applicable from July.

“We will send to Brussels notification on Law 220, so that by the end of June we will respond to any requests from the European Commission. The law will become applicable from July. It was a difficult process which required thorough calculations,” said Lificiu.

He added that no consistent changes were made to the aid scheme, with the European Commission agreeing with Romania’s proposals.

“Changes could be made for biomass projects, specifically for biogas derived from natural fermentation of waste for which a certificate for MW/h will be given.

Biogas resulting from advanced processes will be given two certificates per MW/h, while for this type of projects with cogeneration two certificates plus one per MW/h will be applied,” said Lificiu.

Petre Lificiu, vice-president of ANRE

The ANRE official also chose the Business Review event to make public new detail about the understanding between the ANRE and the Agriculture Ministry on the benefits investors could obtain by using degrading land. “We will make a compromise in the sense that we will give three green certificates for those who use degrading land, which is unsuited for crops. We have identified some 500,000 hectares,” said Lificiu.

The law on renewable energy should have been enforced two years ago, but applicability norms have yet to be set. ∫ Dana Verdes

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

8 NEWS LAND

Non-profit Urban Land Institute starts local activity The Urban Land Institute ULI, a global non-profit education and research organization in the field of best practices in land use, has started its activity in Romania.

As in other countries where it is present, the organization aims to provide expertise about responsible use of land and creating sustainable communities worldwide through various programs and conferences targeting both the private and public sector.

“Real estate in Romania is very young, eight to ten years old. During this period the market grew too fast, without solid knowledge. Today we have, on one side,

WHO’S NEWS Francois-Melchior de Polignac

sophisticated investors that are considering entering the market and, on the other side, primordial market expertise.

It is necessary to fill this gap, or at least reduce it, to allow the industry to grow again, this time in a solid and organic way,” said Giacinto Oriolo, head of ULI Romania.

The Urban Land Institute was established in 1936 in Washington DC. The Institute has more than 35,000 members in 95 countries worldwide, representing the entire spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines, working in private enterprise and public service. ∫

Business Review welcomes information for Who’s News from readers. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. Get in touch at simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

commercial/real estate development and competition matters. She graduated from the University of Bucharest Law School and holds an LL.M in Private Law. Panca is a member of the Bucharest Bar.

has been appointed executive director of Carrefour Romania, starting this May. He is replacing Patrice Lespganol, who is moving to run Carrefour Greece. De Polignac, who is 38 years old, started his career in L’Oreal Italy. In 2000 he Anca Mihailescu has joined Nestor Nestor joined Carrefour, after having spent Diculescu Kingston Pethree years with Boston Consulting tersen as an associate Group in Paris. He has since occupied lawyer in the firm's several functional positions (mergers & mergers and acquisiacquisitions, project manager) and options practice group. She erational ones (hypermarket director, specializes in commeroperational director, director for supermarkets division) in France and Poland. cial and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiations and Andrea Multari business transfers. Her areas of experthas been appointed ise also cover a wide range of real estate country managing di- transactions and project finance. Mirector at Accenture hailescu graduated from the University of Romania, taking over Bucharest Law School and is a member from Maurizio Barini of the Bucharest Bar. who has led the company’s Romanian op- Irina Coman-Kund has joined Nestor Nestor erations since 2007. Multari joined Diculescu Kingston PeAccenture in 1998 following a nine-year tersen as an associate career in the Italian Navy. Most recently, lawyer in its competition he has served as the technology growth practice group. She asplatform lead in Romania. Over the sists clients on a wide years Multari has acquired experience range of aspects of Euroin multiple service lines. He has led the sales and delivery of IT security projects pean and Romanian competition law, invertical and horizontal in Europe and the Middle East and sev- cluding eral technology projects in Romania. agreements, economic concentration, and He was also involved in the startup and investigations by the Competition Council. growth of the Romanian practice. Mul- She graduated from the University of tari, 41, has a degree in Naval Sciences Bucharest Law School, holds an LL.B in and another in Computer Science. He European and French Law (Université has also studied for a master’s degree Paris I Panthéon- Sorbonne ) and an LL.M. in International and European Law (Uniin International Business. versity of Amsterdam) and is a member of Madalina Panca the Bucharest Bar. has joined Nestor Nestor Diculescu Ilona Ciausoiu Kingston Petersen as will step down from the position of counan associate lawyer in try manager and leader of the consumer the firm's mergers lifestyle branch of Philips Romania startand acquisitions prac- ing May 1. She is one of the longest-standtice group. Panca is ing country managers in the industry, experienced in assisting and advising having joined Philips in 1998. Initially, she major companies acting in the field of worked as leader of the firm’s domestic construction, food, pharmaceuticals, to- appliance & personal care and in 2005 she bacco, IT, telecommunications and was appointed general manager of Philips motor vehicles, on various corporate/ Romania.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

INTERVIEW 9

Healthcare system ‘needs integration’

∫ ANDA SEBESI What does the process of integrating medical services mean?

Integration is defined as coordinating services among healthcare providers through formal or informal means. It ranges from informal coordination among healthcare providers (e.g., among hospitals or between hospitals and primary care physicians) to a structured linkage of several parts of the system, such as through an umbrella organization that encompasses hospitals and other providers. The future shape of healthcare integration depends on where it occurs, because of differences in countries’ health system structures and policies.

What are the main benefits?

Properly managed, integration can bring about a healthier population and save money. It can also help minimize hospitalizations, reduce the need for costly rehospitalizations, and prevent service duplication. While cost and changing demographics are almost universal driv-

Courtesy of KPMG

Properly managed, integration can reduce the need for costly re-hospitalization and prevent service duplication, says Mark Britnell, global head of the healthcare practice at KPMG. He talks to Business Review about the steps Romania has to take in this direction.

Mark Britness of KPMG ers of integration, their significance differs between developed and developing countries. For example, 52 percent of the respondents from developing countries of The Future of Global Healthcare Delivery and Management survey conducted by KPMG, rank rising healthcare costs as a top driver of integration, compared with 43 percent of respondents from developed countries. Alignment among healthcare providers on quality and cost goals is essential for integration to succeed. Bundled payment, where hospitals and doctors share a single fee, is a model designed to encourage alignment. Another is gain sharing, in which savings generated by integrating care are divided among providers.

How do you see the process of implementation working in Romania?

Strong national-level leadership can help reconcile the competing goals and priorities of the individuals and organizations involved in healthcare provision. It is a challenging time for the local healthcare system, because the government needs to address the challenge of high

debt and budget deficits, as well as the aggregating chronic problems of the past.

Because rising costs have an immediate and significant impact on governmentfunded healthcare programs and systems, national governments are generally at the forefront in pushing integrated care. Romania follows the European Union agenda, set in May 2010, which requires a minimum common set of patient data that would make electronic patient records, accessed or exchanged across member states, interoperable. The plan also calls for pilot projects to equip Europeans with secure online access to their health data by 2015.

At international level, according to the KPMG study, significant steps can be made towards the integration of medical services. What is the situation in Romania?

The survey findings reveal that hospital organizations worldwide are purchasing,

Bundled payment, where hospitals and doctors share a single fee, is a model designed to encourage alignment. Another is gain sharing, in which savings generated by integrating care are divided among providers or creating alliances with, physicians’ medical practices and with other providers. Integration efforts in healthcare are at an early stage, yet some pilot projects have used it successfully to reduce costs and improve quality. Although survey respondents are optimistic that change will occur quickly, the feasibility of a five-year time frame for a deep shift is open to question.

What are the main factors that will stimulate the integration of medical services in emerging markets such as Romania?

The challenges facing emerging markets, where large portions of the population are moving into the formal economy for the first time, are different from those of poorer countries that struggle to meet the most basic healthcare needs. I mentioned earlier the respective figures regarding the evaluation of rising healthcare costs as a top driver of integration.

Chronic disease, by contrast, is more likely to be considered important in developed countries: it was cited by 27 percent of those respondents compared with just 6 percent from developing countries.

How will the government be involved in the process?

Governments are intimately involved with healthcare worldwide, although their role differs among countries. They act as regulators in most parts of the world. Governments can also pay for and/or provide healthcare. Survey respondents, however, rank government policies as among the top hindrances to integration today. Still, they expect national, state, and regional governments to lead the way in the next five years.

This is especially true in developing countries, the KPMG survey shows. The government needs to encourage the use of electronic health records (EHRs), which are regarded as an important tool in coordinating care effectively among providers. Also, proponents of integration recognize that governments worldwide already play an important role in their country’s overall healthcare system and argue that they should take the lead in expanding these pilot projects to implement integration more broadly.

What do you think will be the main factors that will improve the performance of the healthcare system in Romania?

Countries have different funding and payment systems reflecting both cultural and political differences which range from socialized insurance and state-run provision to private cover and supply of healthcare. This diversity makes meaningful comparison of incentives difficult to ascertain on a global scale, but it would appear that clear clinical objectives, when coupled with full professional accountability and linked to well-defined incentives, can deliver high-quality and cost-effective care.

anda.sebesi@business-review.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

10 FOCUS

STOCKEXCHANGE

Rising yeast, rising prices: the cost of raw materials has soared lately, pushing up the price of staple products like bread

Prices of raw materials overcook The prices of wheat, corn, barley, cotton, soybeans, sugar and cocoa have been sprouting like the proverbial beanstalk over the past year, a situation market specialists describe as unprecedented. And although the volatility of these commodities was similar worldwide, Romanians pay much more for their daily bread than other Europeans. Why? ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN, DANA VERDES Unprecedented – this is how specialists characterize the prices of raw materials over the past year. Our daily bread has become more and more expensive as wheat prices have risen two and a half or even three fold over the past seven months, Aurel Popescu, president of the Romanian Employers’ League of the Milling, Bakery and Flour Based Products Industry (Rompan), told Business Review. “It is unprecedented. I have been following the statistics over the past 40 years but I haven’t seen such a sudden and strong

surge. These prices are historical,” he said.

While in July 2010 the price of wheat was about EUR 120-130/ton, it closed the year at EUR 300/ton, then reached EUR 340 in February, before falling back to about EUR 300/ton more recently. The variations are highly atypical, specialists say.

Much of the increase fed through to the final price of bread. Even so, the bakery industry has been working at loss since last October, Popescu added. Cutting costs and increasing prices were a must.

As expected the evolution of wheat prices, low purchasing power and the growth of the black market – by about 60 percent according to Popescu – left their

mark on the local bread industry. Out of Rompan’s 230 member companies, more than 25 either went bankrupt or chose to halt their activity until the first local wheat crops were harvested, reported the association president.

Wheat prices this year depend on the quantity and quality of the local crop and international trends.

Give us this day our daily bread - and charge us more than across the EU Despite the unfavorable international context, Romanians have to pay even more for bread than shoppers in other European countries.

This is due to the unfortunate com-

bination of both internal factors and the wheat price hikes on international stock exchanges, Popescu said. Last year only 70 percent of domestic demand for wheat was covered by local crops while Romania exported about 2.4 million tons for an average price of EUR 150-170 per ton. As stocks are presently running low, local mills and bakeries are being forced to import wheat for no less than EUR 300-320 per ton.

“The reason for this discrepancy is that Romania exports poor quality wheat used mainly as fodder and imports much of the necessary bread wheat,” Popescu added. Subsidizing local farmers and encouraging them to cultivate waste land, investing in technologies and the necessary crop treatments, and the overall better management on behalf of the authorities could well change the situation on the short and medium run.

Commodity markets operate on a global scale and have to be looked at in an international context, Martin Schuldt, Cargill GM, told BR. “Prices are rising due to many factors.

These include increasing global consumption due to population growth and rising prosperity, increasing demand for protein, and the growth of bio-fuels.

Along with this, a poor harvest in Russia, Canada and the Ukraine in 2010, a recent heat wave in Argentina and floods in Australia all contributed to lower agricultural yields,” said Schuldt.

Government decisions also influence price rises. Some countries have chosen to impose bans or restrictions on agricultural exports or to stockpile staple grain.

This aggravates volatility by removing raw materials from markets when a maximum amount of tradable commodities are needed.

Killer cereal prices Higher prices for wheat and cereals in general are a challenge for meat producers and processors. Grigore Horoi, president of Agricola Bacau, told Business Review that more expensive raw material, including fodder, means that local meat producers have to find ways to cut costs even more, something that they have been doing since 2008 when the crisis started.

He noted that last year the shelf price of poultry went down by 13 percent (excluding VAT). So far this year it has increased by 11 percent (excluding VAT), but this doesn’t mean that things are looking good for poultry companies.

“Getting over the sudden plunge in purchasing power last year, which was mainly caused by austerity measures, doesn’t help the business take off,” he said.

Horoi added that so far the acquisition price of cereals has increased by 120 percent on average since 2009, and by 40

25 of the 230 members of Rompan have either gone bankrupt or closed their activity last year

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

percent against last year. Overall, the cost of all the necessary resources in the production cost, including fuels, has increased this year to 27 percent, compared to 12 percent in the past two years.

Horoi thinks that there are only two solutions for the current situation – increasing the shelf price of poultry in line with the international trend and the authorities’ involvement in tempering prices.

Sew tough: cotton price rises pressure textile firms Cotton also saw price increases last year, putting local textile companies in difficulty. The price of cotton threads doubled in 2010, Maria Grapini, member of the board of directors of the Textile, Confections and Leather Manufacturers’ Association (FEPAIUS), told Business Review.

This left local manufacturers with few options. “Companies could not transfer this entirely into price hikes because we already have a real problem with the black market, with counterfeit products being imported at dumping prices,” Grapini said.

A similar view was expressed by Orlando Szasz, Renania GM. “On such a scale, the losses could not be offset in full.

Rising commodity prices were reflected in the finished products. We decided not to transfer the entire cost of these increases to the customers so to support them we reduced operating margins,” Szasz told Business Review.

World cotton prices increased by 105 percent last year compared to 2009 and by another 33 percent from December

FOCUS 11 2010 to February this year.

The evolution of polyester was similar, with rises of 45 percent last year, plus a new climb of 16 percent for early 2011. And latex prices have hiked by 66 percent last year and 6 percent in the first two and a half months of this year. For cotton and latex these developments mainly came in the second half of the year.

And prospects for this year are still gloomy.

The price of cotton has already risen 10 percent, and specialists predict hikes in the prices of latex, PVC and leather, said Szasz. “We only hope that the growth level won’t be the same,’ Grapini added, pointing out that the price increases for raw materials along with higher prices for utilities and fuels will mean lower profits for companies and far less money to invest.

“All this reduces the competitiveness of local manufacturers, especially on the domestic market, and manufacturers already have to deal with tough unfair competition,” Grapini said.

Specialists blame speculators for the soaring prices. The Renania GM told BR that investors have turned their attention to agricultural products in recent years, as funds allocated to them for stock speculation in this area have increased from 1 percent to 5 percent of total investments.

PET price sees cost of water bubble up And it doesn’t stop here. Elsewhere in the FMCG segment, bottling companies are seeing costs surge following the price increase of petrol, not only in the

form of fuels.

The price of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was EUR 1,200 per ton at the beginning of 2010, and closed the year at EUR 1,500 only to hike further to the EUR 2,000 mark now.

The price of polyethylene granules, which are used to make labels for plastic bottles, plastic bottle caps and other plastic packaging, has also skyrocketed to about EUR 2,100 per ton after starting 2010 at only EUR 980, Radu Lazaroiu, general director of Romaqua Group, the company which bottles the Borsec mineral water, told Business Review.

The oil price hike, the closing of several European production companies and speculation are mainly responsible for the situation, in his view.

“For the past four years, the Chinese have been buying large quantities of polyethylene granules, they stock it and later sell it in April or May for the price they choose,” said the Romaqua Group director.

But while the cost of oil is the main factor, prices seem to move only in one way.

“What is interesting is that the price of a ton of polyethylene granules is more expensive now that an oil barrel costs USD 120 than when it reached USD 140,” he went on.

While so far Romaqua Group representatives say that through cost optimizing they have managed to avoid passing the rising prices onto their customers, they think they will have to add 5 percent to the price of Borsec mineral water from next month.

PRICE PEAKS 91.3% 70.2% 64.5% 47.7% 47.0% 40.9% 27.6% 19.6% 14.0% 13.8% 12.2% 11.9% 9.6% 5.9% 4.2%

wheat sunflower potatoes barley mutton maize vegetables oil fuels fruit apples tobacco soy sugar cocoa and coffee

Consumer goods price evolution for January 2011 against January 2010.

SOURCE: National Institute of Statistics (INS) Things aren’t expected to recover easily as today agriculture around the world is in a virtually constant state of flux.

“Small changes in the quantity of production have very dramatic impacts on price. Supply-and-demand issues and external events are both injecting high levels of uncertainty into already nervous global markets,” Schuldt told Business Review.

simona.bazavan@business-review.ro dana.verdes@business-review.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

12 LINKS

Dreamstime

Audiobooks try to make louder noise The voice of a talking book can be as important as the story it tells, which is why the journey of an audiobook from the studio to the book shop shelf differs significantly from regular book production. This makes audiobooks a very specific niche market, which only represents 1 percent of total book sales in Romania. And even with the promise of growth, it will remain distinct from the mass market. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA ”Yes! The voice is essential and decisive in the success of the product. It is in fact the genuine carrier of the literary text,” says Maria Elena Negoescu, editor of Casa Radio publishing house.

If the voice is that of a public figure, in the traditional format, can be achieved when authors read their own books. there are certain advantages. Not only it will spark the interest of the listener, but “Imagine how much of the charm of Eckhart Tolle’s readings would be lost if a the recording process will be much easdouble had been used instead,” Iren Arier, as the narrator is already used to pubsene, managing partner of Curtea Veche lic speaking. publishing house, tells BR. It is very imA ‘special effect,’ which is impossible portant that the right reader is chosen. to obtain during the translation of a book

“Most of the time, the tone matters less and the personality behind the voice matters more,” Mihaela Coman, GM of Humanitas Multimedia, tells BR. But this is only the tip of the iceberg: other important ingredients that go into the success of a talking book are the topic, the content and the editing. In theory, any title can be turned into an audiobook.

The number one deciding factor is the demand, which is for now surpassed by the availability. It is important that the text has a story.

The size of a text also matters, which is why it is short stories that are usually made into audiobooks. A total of 10,000 words will fit onto a CD, and listening to it will take about an hour.

Up to a point, an audiobook will follow the same circuit as any other editorial product.

Production costs are split between the author’s royalties and the expenses of the translation, production and promotion.

To this must also be added the cost of the reading and studio processing.

The production costs of an audiobook differ depending on the number of copies and how many CDs it contains, but on average, it works out at around EUR 23 per copy, according to Arsene.

Shelf prices vary between RON 30 and RON 199, depending on how many CDs go into the audiobook, says Coman.

Publishing houses that attempt to transform a normal book into an audiobook will have to take into account the degree of compatibility of the title’s subject with the target ‘reader’ and his or her interests.

This in turn will decide the types of titles that become audiobooks.

As a rule, the ‘usual suspects’ will predictably be men, about 35 years of age, with medium-to-high incomes, who listen to talking books in the car or while working out. The audiobooks that match the tastes of this kind of listener will most likely include financial information, the learning of foreign languages or simply relaxation.

Children of various ages, whether they have not yet learned to read or have just passed the age when their parents read them bedtime stories, are another key target market.

“The target audience of the audiobook falls into very wide and flexible categories: from very young children to the elderly, from blind people to drivers, from teachers to fans of the famous voices of theater and literature,” says Ne-

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

unexplored territory: music in theory and interpretation. We have Grigore Lese (ed. note: Romanian folk singer) in the studio who plays the hora, while at the same time explaining the songs and traditions drawn upon,” says Coman.

Curtea Veche started to publish audiobooks in 2007, being one of the first to release such a product in full format.

The production costs of audiobooks released by Curtea Veche are footed by the house’s agency Griffon and Swans, and are negotiated depending on the number of copies.

So far, Curtea Veche has published six audiobooks, all of which are in Romanian.

The titles in its portfolio cover categories such as financial education, self-help guides and fairytales.

Casa Radio publishing house, meanwhile, produces on average 30 titles a year, all in Romanian, and only draws on the archives of the Public Radio institution, created over eight decades of activity under the consecrated name of the Golden Audio-Collection. This includes the voices of iconic Romanian poets and writers such as Tudor Arghezi, Lucian Blaga, George Bacovia, Mihail Sadoveanu and Nichita Stanescu, and actors from all eras.

“This apparent limitation to the editorial products we put onto the market is in fact an important competitive advantage which makes our offer stand out, a plus that we will continue to value,” says Negoescu.

otilia.haraga@business-review.ro

First local virtual music library opens after USD 10,000 investment

Courtesy of Saatchi & Saatchi

goescu. Be that as it may, audiobooks seem to have lost the race for popularity to e-books, which are currently spearheading the transition to a different kind of reader, the digital bookworm.

Audiobooks make up less than 1 percent of the total book market, because this is essentially a niche.

“There is potential for growth because Romanians are responsive to new platforms such as audiobooks and e-books, but the level will not be significant,” says Madalina Galan, head of concept management for books at Diverta.

Germany and France are roughly on a par with Romania, whereas in England, audiobook sales hold a 5 percent slice of the market, and in the United States it can be as high as 10 percent. Book stores will acquire audiobooks from local suppliers rather than throw foreign titles onto the market.

To test the water, retailer Diverta brought in a few imported titles such as the Da Vinci Code and Sherlock Holmes series, but they did not enjoy positive results. Audiobooks generate approximately 1 percent of the turnover posted by the company on the book segment.

Approximately 160 titles were sold last year.

At the moment, the market of audiobook producers is split between Humanitas Multimedia, which has the highest share, Curtea Veche publishing house and three suppliers of titles for children and personal development Annually, Humanitas Multimedia sells about 100 titles in Romania, and releases on average 40 new ones. “We are tapping now into

LINKS 13

John Florescu, founder of Chainsaw Europe

C

hainsaw Europe, the Romanian post production firm, has launched a web-based, virtual company offering original music composition and library music for films, commercials, games, television and mobiles, after a total investment of USD 10,000. “Thanks to the web, we can now draw on a highly talented base of musical talent in the region,” said John Florescu, the founder of Chainsaw Europe. “And that talent can now service jobs across the world.” He added that the investment in the online project was low as the company is mostly viral.

Chainsaw Audio promoters say they are aiming for wide use of their musical tracks: promos, “stings” for commercials, short films, musical bridges, ring tones, video games, full-length feature films and industrial purposes. Because the music is original, usage clearance worldwide is greatly facilitated.

The newly launched site contains around 700 tracks of originally composed pop, latino, chill out, rock, techno and cinematic music. Users can also order – and can pay via PayPal – custommade music by composers operating in Romania and beyond. The regional composers signed up by Chainsaw Audio have already written original musical tracks for such clients as Toyota, Fiat, Skoda, P&G, Nokia, United Way, Raiffeisen Bank, Enel, Tnuva as well as for TV documentaries and films. The company plans to rapidly expand the number of composers represented by the site, which is currently around half a dozen.

Chainsaw Audio is an offshoot of Chainsaw Europe. Launched in Romania in 2005, it supplies post production facilities in the CEE region. Chainsaw Audio registered annual sales in the USD 2 million range, added Florescu. Its sister company is Chainsaw USA, the post company servicing American shows such as American Idol, The Oscars and The Annual MTV Awards. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

14

Wind farms wind their way along uncertain road With billions of euro worth of investments announced in the renewable energy sector, Romania is seeing investors back off as the lack of grid expansion and the uncertain legislation prove obstacles enough to blow their plans off course. Investors and authorities sat down and debated the main renewable energy issues at the Focus on Renewable Energy event organized by Business Review.

Half a billion euro is the volume of immediate investments the national electricity transport operator Transelectrica must make for the thousands of megawatts worth of renewable energy projects to become reality. The announcement was made by Marian Cernat, director of the operational division at Transelectrica, during the Focus on Renewable Energy event organized by Business Review. According to Cernat, Transelectrica has currently signed contracts for 6,431 MW and has access agreements for the connection of new power plants to the power transmission grid of 5,101 MW. “Most of the signed contracts come from Transelectrica (3,302 MW), Electrica Muntenia Nord (584 MW), Enel Banat (252 MW), Enel Dobrogea (2,196 MW) and E.ON Moldova (98 MW). In addition to these figures, requests for almost 15,000 MW of installed power are still in the study phase,” said Cernat.

He added that if Romania wants to keep pace with investors’ appetite for renewable energy investments, Transelectrica should outrun the grid expansion investments by up to six years.

Wind farm milestones However, from project to reality investors have to travel a tricky road. Paula Corban, counsel with White & Case, outlined the major risks related to wind energy proPetru Lificiu, Vice-president, ANRE “The ANRE will send to Brussels a notification on Law 220, so by the end of June we will respond to EC’s questions. The law will become applicable from July” Calin Vilt, Director - Smart Grids Program, Transelectrica “In February 2010 the authorities decided to implement smart grids. We are now working on the legislation, a process estimated to take two years”

duction. “Risks in seeking the construction permit reside in the fact that electricity generation capacities are treated like other types of construction, and the local authorities have insufficient knowledge about renewable energy source projects. Another important issue is that there is no coordination between local/regional authorities and the National Regulatory Authority,” said Corban. Besides securing the land for a wind energy investment, the White & Case official said that investors must also consider the issues of grid connection.

“The grid has a limited capacity and most of the projects are focused in southeastern Romania. And, bottom line, everything boils down to costs as connection costs are borne exclusively by investors, connectivity solutions proposed by the network operators are usually expensive and investors have to deal Dana Duica, Executive director, Romanian Wind Energy Association “A problem investors have to face is the overlapping of European or environmental grants obtained and the renewable energy support scheme” Silvia Vlasceanu, Counselor in the Romanian Parliament “There are some 380 projects under analysis, projects which are disputing EUR 190 million. The real funding needed is EUR 2 billion ” Robert Ghelasi, Director, energy department, Capital Partners “There is no way to finance renewable energy projects as the market has a liquidity issue.

Some 5 percent of transactions materialize”

to make a proportional calculation, so that investors who use European funds benefit only from a part of the support scheme,” said Duica. The association representative added that in the case of wind farms of more than 125 MW, individual notification of the European Commission will be required.

“No European state has this requirement, but Romania insists on this notification, which we consider unnecessary and which will delay investments in this sector. These are the fears of investors.

Obviously, there is interest in such investments, but we must have clear and transparent legislation, not something that changes from one year to another,” said Duica. The Focus on Renewable Energy event organized by BR gathered some 80 investors and company representatives and was organized with the support of White & Case and UniCredit.

with a lack of transparency about costs and how cost-sharing works,” said Corban.

Wind of discontent chills investors Speaking at the Business Review event, Dana Duica, executive director of the Romanian Association for Wind Energy (AREE), said that investors in the field have certain concerns about the application of Law 220/2008. The first issue raised by the AREE official was production monitoring to eliminate over-compensation, which will be applied from this year until 2013. In 2014 the scheme will be amended for those who invest after that date. Another problem is the overlapping of European or environmental grants obtained by investors and the renewable energy support scheme.

“We have arrived at a solution, namely Paula Corban, Counsel, White&Case

Gabriel Mihai, Head of corporate, UniCredit Leasing

“Everything boils down to costs for investors as connection expenses are borne solely by investors and grid connectivity solutions are expensive for them”

“The unclear legislation of the support scheme for renewable energy projects raises lots of issues for investors in Romania”

Marian Cernat, Deputy director, National Dispatching Center, Transelectrica

Nicolae Olariu, President, Sun-E “The latest photovoltaic project of 10 kW/h was realized at the Transilvania University in Brasov in 2008, while the largest projects of 40kW/h is situated in Bucharest”

“Half a billion euro is the required investment by Transelectrica for the 1,000s of MW wind farm projects to become reality ” Valentin Chiser, CFO, Romenergo “Romenergo has joined the local electricity production by acquiring six micro hydro power plants in Suceava County with a total of 2 MW”

David Clark, Partner, Cundall Engineering

All photos: Laurentiu Obae

∫ DANA VERDES

“As buildings use some 40 percent of the EU’s energy, both in electricity and heat, and with demand for energy increasing, green buildings can be a solution”

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

15

OPINION Valeriu Binig

Time for action on energy is now

The business community and major energy players have again reunited – at the invitation of Business Review – to analyze future investment prospects as well as the opportunities and difficulties of ongoing energy projects.

The “hot” domain of recent years – electricity generation using renewable energy sources – is in fact overheated, as more projects have been announced than Transelectrica’s network could accommodate in a reasonable time, or than the power generation park in Romania could handle without risking the stability of the National Power System.

Meanwhile, this flow of new projects is dependent on legislative and regulatory clarifications expected from a dialogue with the European Commission, currently in its final phase. While in previous years engineers, wind measurement experts, lawyers and transaction advisors have been busy (and they continue to be busy at present), it is now apparent that financiers are starting to play a much more active role and are hovering with great interest over the sector, waiting for clarifications from the European Commission, the government, The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), Transelectrica… It seems there will be good news, but the exact moment that it comes will be crucial.

Against this background one subject will come to the foreground: the Tarnita-Lapustesti Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant project is becoming a clear priority for the Romanian power sector. On the drawing board since the 70s, it has always been considered as organically linked to the re-

alization of the Cernavoda nuclear units. But given the dynamics of electricity prices in Romania, buying power at night-time low load and reselling it at peak load did not guarantee the profitability indicators to justify the massive investment. In exchange, the prospect of over 4,000 MW installed in wind power plants (uncontrollable production) by 2020 and the need for over 1,000 MW of additional Fast Tertiary Reserve associated with this development, generate exceptional opportunities for such a plant in terms of offering technological system services on the Romanian electricity market. Factor in the role of Romania in the regional electricity market and it is clear why European pumped storage plant operators are interested in taking part in this project, and why the electricity traders with a regional presence wish to trade the plant services.

Some voices have commented recently that the Tarnita-Lapustesti plant is not an immediate priority for Romania. Nothing could be further from the truth. If this plant is to be commissioned by 1 January 2020, we are almost at crisis point.

The construction of such a project could last over seven years, and finalizing the financing can take more than a year. All new power generation projects announced recently (be they nuclear or not) are planned for over 500 MW unit power, which means a serious lack of elasticity for the behavior of overall Romanian power consumption. And given that Transelectrica has already signed Grid Connection Contracts for over 6,000 MW and another 5,000 MW worth have obtained Technical Grid Connection Endorsement (ATR), one could ask why the pressing need for the plant investment was not spotted earlier.

However, strategic investors have spotted it and await the start of the competitive process for selecting the project partners. The Foreign Investors Council has included the plant in its top investment priorities for Romania.

The local community in the targeted investment area impatiently awaits economic recovery and infrastructure modernization. The project is a government priority.

More concrete implementation steps will follow.

Valeriu Binig is director in Financial Advisory Services/Energy Resources/Corporate Finance at Deloitte

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

16 BALANCE

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Celebrating Easter the Romanian way In a country like Romania, the visitor must be prepared for celebrations mixing hundred-year-old traditions, copious traditional food and drinks, a feel-good atmosphere, loud television shows, sometimes open-air spectacles and a lot of family time. To celebrate like a true Romanian or know what to expect when in the country, read on. BR has prepared an Easter guide to help the non-resident understand the celebration and choose from a wide range of activities on the day. ∫ CORINA DUMITRESCU Rural Romania, with Bukovina as its main point of attraction, is perhaps the best place to discover the traditions that give a celebration with strong religious roots its sacred aura. However, many of these can also be observed in an urban context. An estimated 80-90 percent of Romanians are Orthodox and many of the traditions described here are of Orthodox origins.

Easter traditions, in an eggshell The celebration of Easter begins with fasting, which occurs in stages, explains Vlad Manoliu Furnica, ethnologist at the Romanian Peasant Museum, on the museum’s website. At first, people give up dairy products (“Lasata secului de branza”) and (“Lasata secului de carne”), says

Furnica. At the start of Lent, 40 days before Easter, fasting begins, during which adherents eat mostly vegan foods, without no meat or dairy products. A traditional Romanian saying encapsulates the philosophy: “Fasting lengthens a human’s life, when he or she is healthy and at his or her house,” notes Furnica.

One week before Easter, another notable Christian holiday takes place – Palm Sunday or “Floriile” (“Flower Sunday”), a day when people with flower names are celebrated. On this day, continues Furnica, “willow branches are taken to church, in order to be sanctified, and then they are placed in front of icons and above doors.

They are used throughout the year to ward off evil spirits, as well as in adverse circumstances. When hail beats against windows, branches are put on the roof of a house to protect it from damage.” Another interesting belief is connected to the weather – it has been passed on from gen-

eration to generation that the way the weather is on Palm Sunday is the very way it will be at Easter.

A major Easter tradition in Romania is the painting of eggs in a multitude of colors on the Thursday before Easter (also known as the Holy Thursday), although red was previously solely used, since it symbolized Christ’s blood. Decorating eggs is regarded as an art and these eggs, called “oua incondeiate”, especially ones from the Bukovina region, are sold for quite high prices around the world, since they are manually painted with a type of thin and round stick called chisita, made of beech wood.

The Great Saturday precedes Easter Sunday. It is on this night that large numbers of Christians go to local churches to attend the service of the most important Orthodox celebration of the year: Resurrection Night. A little before midnight, all the lights in the Church are

turned off. As soon as midnight strikes, the priest sings “Come receive the light” (“Veniti de luati lumina”). At that point he comes out of the altar with a lit candle and “gives the light” to the whole congregation (one member passes it to the next).

Afterwards, the priest sings “Christ is risen” (“Christos a inviat“), following which the entire congregation begins to sing as well, while making the sign of the cross with their candles.

On Easter Day, eggs are cracked between two people, one saying “Christ is risen”, and the other one answering “Indeed he is risen” (“Adevarat a inviat!”). It is also a tradition in Romania to eat “pasca” or the special Easter cake, baked on Great Thursday, a pie made of yeast dough with a sweet cottage cheese filling.

Lamb meat is also traditionally served on Easter Day, since lambs are usually associated with Christ: the main dishes are roast lamb and “drob de mile” (the Romanian lamb version of the Scottish haggis) made of minced organs (heart, liver, lungs) wrapped and roasted.

This year, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish Easter will be celebrated on the same day (or in the same period, as Jewish Easter this year falls in the 19-26 range. Professor Mihai Dinu of the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest explains: “The date is the same for the Orthodox and Roman Catholics only when no full moon occurs between March 21 (the vernal equinox calculated according to the Gregorian calendar) and April 4 (the spring equinox calculated according to the Julian calendar).”

An American in Romania’s Easter experience Sam R, an American who has lived in Romania for over seven years, speaks of his local experience of Easter, amusingly remarking on the focus put on food and also observing the importance of spending this celebration with the family: “An enormous amount of food (some of it special to the holidays) is cooked and all the family spends the entire day together.

And all the shops and stores are closed and usually it’s just a very peaceful, beautiful holiday in Romania.”

In his home country, Sam says that Christmas is usually the big holiday, and Easter just a pretext for children to receive sweets: “Easter is mostly a holiday for children in America, with lots of candy and toys distributed and of course the Easter egg hunts which are still pretty common.” Sam also mentions the advantage of living in Cluj, a place that is home to many Catholics: “Hungarians and Romanians celebrate Easter on two different weeks, so you sort of get two Easters in a year, and it’s always nice seeing the processions and ceremonies and comparing and contrasting them.”

He also remarks that Easter gives an opportunity for solitary shopping in Romania: “My personal Easter ‘tradition’ in Romania is to go to the local corner store the Monday after Easter Sunday as usually I'm the only customer in there.

This is because all the Romanians have spent literally every penny on all the food beforehand and have no money left.” However, many Romanians choose not to shop on this day because they already have provisions for many days ahead.

corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

Romanians’ top five Easter destinations in the country: Valea Prahovei Maramures Bran Moeciu area Bukovina Marginimea Sibiului

Foreigners’ top destinations in Romania: Valea Prahovei Bukovina Maramures Source: Information from ANAT (the National Agency of Tourism Agencies in Romania)

Romanians’ top five destinations abroad Bulgaria Greece Turkey Spain Israel, a trend observed in recent years Source: A price-quality ratio classification developed by ANAT

BALANCE 17 EASTER IN ROMANIA What to say When cracking Easter eggs, the “cracker” says “Christos a inviat“ (Christ is risen) and the other person “Adevarat a inviat!” (Indeed he is risen!).

At work Reaching Romanians at work around Easter may be difficult: some may not be available from the Friday before (April 22) until the next Wednesday (April 20), since the first and second days of Easter are public holidays Traditional food Besides Easter eggs, other traditional dishes are “pasca” (a pie made of yeast dough with a sweet cottage cheese filling) and “drob de miel” (the Romanian lamb version of the Scottish haggis) On the Friday before Easter, some Orthodox Christians abstain from eating all day, to ward off diseases throughout the year Religious ceremonies On Saturday at midnight, Orthodox Christians go to church to receive the holy light brought from Jerusalem

PLACES OF WORSHIP IN BUCHAREST Catholic churches Baratia Church I.C. Bratianu Bd. 27, Unirii area Italian Church, Nicolae Balcescu Bd. 28, Universitate area Saint Anton Church Magnoliei Str. 113, Colentina area St. Joseph Cathedral General Berthelot Str. 19, Cismigiu Park area Sacré Coeur Romanc-Catholic Church (the French Church) Capitan Demetriade Str. 3, Aviatorilor area Roman-Catholic Church Saints Apostles Peter and Paul Pechea Str. 16, Baneasa area Ortodox churches Alba Church (Biserica Alba/White Church) Victoriei Bd. 110, Victoriei area Curtea Veche Church Franceza Str. 33, Victoriei area Kretzulescu Church Calea Victoriei 47 – Victoriei area Casin Monastery Church Marasti Bd. 16, Arcul de Triumf area Olari Church Olari Str. 8A, Universitate area St. Sylvester Church Silvestru Str, 36, Calea Mosilor area Stravropoleos Church Postei Str. 6, Unirii/Universitate area

Jewish temples Grand Synagogue (Sinagoga Mare), Adamache Str. 11 – Unirii area Esua Tova Synagogue Take Ionescu 9, Piata Amzei area Coral Temple Sf. Vineri Str. 9-11, Unirii area Holy Union Temple Mamulari Str. 3, Uniri area Credinta Temple Vasile Toneanu Str. 48, Vitan area Protestant, neo-protestant and Anglican churches in Bucharest Anglican Church Arthur Verona Str. 2A, Piata Romana area Lutheran Church (services in Romanian and Hungarian), Badea Cartan Str. 10, Stefan cel Mare area Evangelical Church Luterana (services in German) Str. 2, Cismigiu area Reformed Church I Calvineum Luterana Str. 13 bis, Cismigiu area Adventist Church Foisor Vasile Stroescu Str. 13, Foisorul de Foc area Baptist Church Betania Popa Rusu Str. 22, Universitate area Penticostal Church Vestea Buna Popa Nan Str. 106, Calea Calarasilor area

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

18 CITY RESTAURANT REVIEW

The finest in the land?

RESTAURANT SELECTION Business Review gives you a selection of top Bucharest restaurants. You can check the full-length versions of all the reviews by our resident restaurant critic, Michael Barclay, on our website www.businessreview.ro.

Divan Cuisine: Turkish Address: Franceza 46 Reservations: 021 312 3034 www.thedivan.ro Expect the usual suspects of hummus, eggplant puree, spiced tomato and so on.

They have a larger selection of kebabs on offer than their competitors and this includes beef, lamb, beef and lamb combo, chicken and marinated meat stuffed in an eggplant. It is vastly superior to other Turkish eateries and has a larger menu.

La Veranda Cuisine: Seafood Address: At the Crowne Plaza, Poligrafiei 1 Reservations: 021 224 0034 www.laveranda.ro Here we have a House that challenges you with a choice of preparations, and for the first time ever, they even offer you a selection of fish sauces. The standards of the House have been raised to a point that the Crowne has well and truly regained its culinary crown.

Heritage’s new three-star Michelin chef, Juan Amador, designing the Gazpacho mango

Heritage, 19 Polona Street, Tel 021 210 8850 MICHAEL BARCLAY After five years of making mistakes along with constant changes of management, chefs and directors, it appears that Heritage has finally got it right!

Their biggest mistake when they opened was to labor under the illusion that if they were good enough (and they probably were) they would be awarded the ultimate culinary prize – a Michelin Star. But beyond belief, they missed the fundamental point that Michelin publish their awards in a country guide. They send their secret investigators to hundreds and hundreds of top restaurants in each country. They will not publish a Romanian book with one award to Heritage followed by empty pages.

So the House got smart and reversed the procedure. This month they brought the mountain to Mohammed by importing a Michelin-starred chef. That was clever. So step forward Juan Amador, a Spanish-Catalan who owns two restaurants in Germany – both of which have been awarded Michelin stars. An incredible achievement, and he is bringing this talent to Bucharest.

For those of you who do not know Heritage, it is in a fabulous location between B-dul Dacia and Parcul Icoanei. The building is utterly spectacular, and I will say no more on that topic, other than to urge you to see for yourselves. For those of you who know the restaurant, it has had a makeover with new pastel shades and the removal of the old bar along with those ghastly crystal chandeliers. OK, let’s eat.

The menu is fixed (rather than a long, tedious, rambling a la carte which so many restaurants choose here) with three variations: ‘Classic’, ‘Evolution’, and ‘Veg-

etarian’. And in a catalogue of surprises you will see that for the first time, Heritage is affordable.

Gone are the crazy prices of the past, and as proof there is the entry level of one main course at EUR 59. That includes a complimentary but small tapas of quail egg topped by a slice of crystallized fresh truffle on a hazelnut base, a slice of ‘Cecina de Leon’ (Spanish air-cured beef based on a 900-year-old recipe), a foie gras terrine wrapped in a mango blanket, a generous helping of spiced bread, and sliced pork belly with cucumber. Yes, you get all of it. nd when you finish your meal (even if you have only one main), you are treated to an amusing four sticks, including passion fruit candy floss and chocolate lollipops.

Now let’s look at the mains. There was a lobster ‘Gazpacho’ (a cold vegetable soup originating from Andalucia) but with the vegetables being substituted by strawberries. Yes, it’s a chilled strawberry soup!

Then there is a ‘Black Cod with Red Pepper, flavored with Pimenton (Spanish powdered pepper) and salad. Black cod is not black, it’s the name of the species. But at this point I have a problem in describing the dishes. Because Chef Amador is from the ‘Molecular’ school of cooking, so when he ‘plates up’ you can hardly recognize the contents of the menu when the dish is in front of you. Each is a work of art.

Off to a ‘Cinnamon Veal’ which is recognizable, and as you would expect it was tender and well flavored with a garlic infusion. We had a ‘Norwegian Lobster, Green apple and Veal Tongue’ which predictably looked like nothing listed. The apple was a beautiful, concentrated, dripped sauce, the veal was a puree and the lobster had been ‘treated’ by Amador so it appeared to be raw. This is one for sushi lovers who will be in heaven with this.

The set menu choices are also priced at EUR 96 for three courses, which is really not expensive (remember the compli-

mentary tapas and chocos) if you have more than one person at your table. Think about it. Thus far we had only eaten from the ‘Classic’ menu. The ‘Evolution’ menu Osho had more surprises in store. But we missed Cuisine: American: steak and grill their ‘John Dory’ (a rare, beautiful sea fish Address: Primaverii 19 which I have never seen in Bucharest beReservations: 021 568 3031 fore this) accompanied by chestnut, truffle www.osho-restaurant.ro and hazelnut. I don’t know how Chef will They modestly call themselves a steakplate this up, but I do know you will not house, but it is much, much more than see any nuts on your plate! that. If you enter it from the front end of There was ‘Scallops, Sweetbread and the building, you will find yourself in a Vanilla.’ I can only speculate as to how shop which sells all of the chophouse’s Amador can twist this combination products, ‘over the counter’ at retail around with all the variations of a Rubik’s prices. This includes not only their exCube, and then come up with something tensive range of meat products, but an that defies the description on the menu. array of up to 20 Italian cheeses and I’m going to munch it to death on my next salamis. visit.

Likewise with his ‘Lamb Loin, Goat’s Taverna La Zavat Milk, Green Beans and Mustard’. I anticCuisine: Fish ipate the only recognizable quantity will Address: Popa Nan 16 be the lamb loin. But will it be so?

Reservations: 021 252 2956 But his crowning glory, which must www.taverna-lazavat.ro qualify as his ‘signature dish’, was the The best fish restaurant in the city, Tavdessert of ‘Catalan Cream Legere with erna will satisfy your fish craving. There Pineapple’. Oh, what an understated deare so very many ways of offering a fish scription this is! He makes his Catalan menu, which you will only find in Europe.

Cream with cream, a vanilla pod, sugar Go now, test the chef by asking him to go and egg yokes and Apricot brandy. Does “off piste” from his menu and alter it for that sound good? But it is only the half of you. I bet he will do so. it. For underneath this treat is a bed of chopped fresh pineapple soaked in rum Tibo’s and gently flavored with saffron. This Cuisine: Italian must be chilled for hours and is both Address: Covaci 1 (Lipscani) time consuming and labor intensive for the Reservations: 021 312 2177 House. But so what! Let’s enjoy it.

As befits a steak house, the menu conSo to summarize the ‘new’ Heritage tains a superb list of high quality cuts. thus: But what comes as a pleasant surprise is A new fixed price menu – good. that they have chosen only Italian A change of décor – good.

Tuscan beef and Scottish Aberdeen AnA new Spanish and German kitchen gus as their two sources of meat. Bravo crew – good.

House! Tibo’s is another quality Affordable prices – good. restaurant to reject the dreadful ArgenOverall, I say it is good. What do you tinean crap which has dominated the think? local restaurant scene for the last five

years. mab.media@dnt.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

CITY 19

CONCERT

CONCERT

Amy Winehouse to say ‘yes, yes, yes’ to local performance?

Mika takes it easy in Bucharest

British singer Amy Winehouse is rumored to be giving a concert in Romania this summer. Media sources say negotiations with organizers are being held to bring Winehouse to Bucharest’s Iolanda Balas stadium or a festival that the Ministry of Tourism might host in Vama Veche.

The singer will perform at the Sziget Festival in Hungary between 10-15 July, and so could be brought to Romania

more easily and cheaply.

She is currently promoting her 2007 Back to Black album, through an eponymous world tour. Her shows also feature new material that will be included on future records. The 27-year-old performer has suffered well documented alcohol and drug issues and a troubled personal life, but is believed to have put these times behind her. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

Courtesy of Emagic

Back to Bucharest – or maybe Vama Veche: singer Amy Winehouse

British artist Mika is the latest confirmed headliner at B’estfest 2011, with a performance scheduled for July 2.

He joins a lineup so far comprising Skunk Anansie, Flogging Molly, Asian Dub Foundation, LAMB, Pendulum (live), House of Pain and Hadouken.

Mika, the British performer born Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, came onto the music scene in 2007, when his single Grace Kelly became an international hit. His first album, Life in Cartoon Motion, sold over 6 million copies worldwide and earned the musician a Brit Award and a Grammy nomination.

In September, he released his most recent album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much.

B’estfest returns this year with a new, green, location, in north Bucharest. The site, “B’estfest Camp”, is located in the Pipera-Tunari area, in northern Bucharest, on a 10-hectare surface.

As has become traditional, the festival will have a main stage and several secondary arenas. Members of the audience will be able to take part in unconventional exhibits, creativity workshops, relaxation spaces, games and craft fairs, as well as get some rest and refreshments at terraces, bars and restaurants. The main stage will function until after midnight and several entertainment areas will operate until morning.

Corina Dumitrescu

Relax: Mika gets on his bike to B’estfest Tickets for the fourth B’estfest cost RON 125 for one day, while a pass for all three days is RON 265. Camping access will be an extra RON 15.

Tickets are available from the Diverta chain and on www.myticket.ro and can also be purchased on the door for RON 150 per day, with a three-day pass costing RON 285, but only on the first day of the festival.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

20 CITY TEST DRIVE

Chevrolet Orlando, the chameleon car What have the European branch of Chevrolet and politics got in common? Both have to deal with a “heavy” heritage. In the carmaker’s case this tradition was represented by models more or less akin to the Daewoo, a tradition which Chevrolet has shaken off rapidly and successfully. So, starting with the new Spark, the Cruze, and recently the Orlando, Chevrolet offers a modern and attractive design line. The Orlando is a very large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), with seven seats. Its design is a twist on the family car theme, being similar to an SUV in certain features, such as for instance high driving position. This certainly represents an advantage, cleverly solving the “status” issue – a big deal in Romania.

At first sight, the Orlando boasts a bold design, with a modern interior – perhaps in this regard the interior gets more points.

The frontal design of the car, including the exterior illuminating system, has a quiet aspect when compared to the prototype model presented at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The interior features some cheap materials the carmaker has selected in order to save money, such as the plastic used on certain parts, which is of lower quality.

However, the board’s piano black finish compensates for this as it has a nice and modern aspect, and the massive center console clearly separates the driver’s space from the passenger’s seat on the right. Assembly is also a strong point of the model, borrowing German rigor and firmness. The trunk is large enough if the third row of seats is folded down, but if they are used it

Drive your Chevy to the levy,,, is practically nonexistent. With all seven passengers it is clear that there would not be enough space left for the luggage.

In terms of driving behavior, the car shows its heaviness: acceleration is reasonable, while braking requires some accommodation in advance as it is soft. Consumption is at the normal level for the class, the tested car having a petrol engine of 1800cmc and 141 HP. Under normal driving conditions the car uses an average of 9 liters/100km consumption. However, given Romanians’ Latin spirit and the fact that most local drivers accelerate even when they see a red traffic light ahead, a significant increase in consumption is to be expected. The model’s price positioning seems very well chosen, undercutting similar models by the competition – the Renault Grand Scenic and Ford C-Max – but higher than the cheapest alternative with seven seats available on this market, the Dacia Logan MCV. Dana Verdes

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

CONFERENCE

Top speaker Nick Vujicic inspires Bucharest with message of hope

“Men let me hug their wives because they know I’m not going to lay a hand on them,” joked Nick Vujicic at the start of his talk in Bucharest last week. It was one of many moments of humor from the motivational speaker, who was born with Tetra-amelia, a rare disorder that left him with no arms or legs.

But from the witty patter and relaxed Australian delivery emerges a serious message, one about finding your purpose, keeping the faith and not giving up on your goals. At 28, Vujicic has now spoken publically 1,500 times, in 39 countries, to 4 million people including 7 presidents.

He freely admits that his first 200 talks weren’t very good. As a student it took him 53 phone calls to secure his debut speaking gig – a five-minute presentation to ten students a two and a half hour drive away from his home. But it’s not about where you start, says Vujicic.

In his talk he returns to the example of Thomas Edison, whose efforts to make the light bulb were successful on the 10,000th attempt. “I didn’t fail 9,999 times,” said the inventor. “I know 9,999 ways not to make a light bulb.”

Treat failure as education is one of Vujicic’s key pieces of advice. The others include: you don’t know what you can achieve until you try (doctors told him he would never walk; he now not only walks, but swims and even plays golf); when you fail try again; and change obstacles into opportunities.

Things – including important things like peace of mind and happiness – don’t come easy, whether you have limbs or not.

The messages are not revelational or complex, but hearing them from someone who lives so fully and hopefully despite the enormous odds against him gives them new impact.

In short, Vujicic says, we all have a choice: to be angry about what we don’t have, or thankful for what we do have. It’s a philosophy cutely encapsulated in one of his funniest anecdotes.

A child was looking Vujicic up and down, taking in his lack of arms and legs. “Oh well,” concluded the boy, “at least you’ve got a head!” ∫ Nick spoke in Romania through Top Speakers, www.topspeakersagency.ro. His organization is Life Without Limbs, www.lifewithoutlimbs.org.

Debbie Stowe

OPERA

Verdi’s Nabucco comes under spotlight at Bucharest National Opera Opera aficionados will be out in force for the staging of one of Verdi’s best known creations, Nabucco, on April 20 at the Bucharest National Opera (ONB).

Special guests Carlos Almaguer and Cristian Mogosan will play the roles of Nabucco and Ismael (Mogosan’s debut role).

The story of the clash between the Israelites and the Babylonians led by Nabucco, whose daughter falls in love with an Israeli officer, will also feature some of the Bucharest National Opera’s best known artists, Pompeiu Harasteanu, Silvia Sorina Munteanu, Oana Andra, Marius Bolos, Valentin Racoveanu and Dorina Chesei, along with ballet soloists Madalina Slateanu, Vicentiu Popescu

and Raul Oprea.

The choir is under the instruction of Stelian Olariu, while the production was put together by conductor Iurie Florea.

Carlos Almaguer was born in Mexico City and has played numerous Verdi characters throughout the world, including Nabucco, Rigoletto, Don Carlo, De Luna, Amonasro, Simon Boccanegra, Iago and Macbeth. ∫ April 20, 19:00, ONB Tickets can be purchased directly from the Opera House’s box office or online at www.bilet.ro. More information may be found on the Bucharest National Opera’s website, also in English.

Corina Dumitrescu

Courtesy of Bucharest National Opera

Inspirational: speaker Nick Vujicic

CITY 21

The stage is set for top opera

www.business-review.ro Business Review | April 18 - 24, 2011

22 CITY & IN TOUCH ARCHEOLOGY

LITERATURE

WHAT WE ARE Temple of Roman goddess Romanian writer ON Nemesis discovered in Alba Iulia featured in World WORKING Corina Dumitrescu Journalist Literature Today publication

is writing on the major concerts lined up for local music lovers this year. Organizers will talk about their expected crowd numbers and the opportunities created by the reopening of the Lia Manoliu stadium.

And big names are coming next year too. corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro Courtesy of IIC Lisbon

Do as the Romans do: sacred temples were seldom built inside Roman legion camps

A temple built by Roman soldiers at the turn of the third century has been discovered inside the Alba Iulia citadel, reports Mediafax newswire. The discovery is extraordinary as a sacred temple was rarely, if ever, built inside a Roman legion camp.The temple was found during renovations at the archaeological site of the Alba Iulia citadel. It was part of the Gemina Legion 13 camp and is believed to have been built by the soldiers as an of-

fering to their superior.

The temple comprises a votive altar, a marble plaque representing a gladiator and a marble statue of the goddess, reports Mediafax. Several other traces of the Roman legion camps were also discovered at the site.

Nemesis was the Roman goddess of revenge, and the patron of gladiators and soldiers. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

ART AUCTION

Grigorescu painting sells for record-breaking EUR 270,000

Record-breaking Peasant Girl Resting

Peasant Girl Resting by Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu has been sold for EUR 270,000, through the Art Nouveau and Romanticism Auction organized by

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

Artmark. It thereby becomes Romania’s most expensive work of art, the third to change hands for in excess of EUR 200,000 this year.

The four costliest art works are all by the Impressionist Grigorescu.The auction, held on April 13, had an adjudication rate of 100 percent and a total sales volume of EUR 406,450. Other artists whose works went under the hammer at the event included Camil Ressu, Nicolae Vermont, and Nicolae Tonitza. The previous record was set earlier this year by the painting Rucar Inn, which went for EUR 230,000. Last year, the auction house set a record for the most expensive art piece ever sold on the local market, with Nicolae Grigorescu’s Pastorita (The Shepherdess) going for EUR 175,000. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALISTS Otilia Haraga, Dana Verdes JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Corina Dumitrescu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anda Sebesi, Michael Barclay ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu

Writer Virgil Mihaiu

Virgil Mihaiu, a writer, jazz critic, diplomat and current director of the Romanian Cultural Institute Lisbon, has been featured in the March-April issue of the publication World Literature Today.

The magazine publishes some of his jazz-poetry, translated into English by Adam J. Sorkin.

The online version of the magazine also includes three fragments of Mihaiu’s rare jazz-poetry performances. An excerpt from Mihaiu’s Jazzographics project is also available, featuring his poetry and Alan Tomlinson’s trombone performance (a member of the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra), recorded during an interview with BBC Scotland, after a performance in Edinburgh in 1994.

Of his passion for jazz, Mihaiu says: “My introduction to jazz happened gradually. Fortunately, this process is still going on today. From the very beginning, such music sounded to me like a metaphor for liberty, but its ‘deciphering’ would take a lifetime.”

Born in Cluj in 1951, Mihaiu is also a jazz aesthetics professor, polyglot, and minister counselor at the Romanian Embassy of Portugal. He is a member of the Down Beat, Steaua, and Jazz Forum editorial boards.

The author of fifteen books (poetry, essays, monographs), Mihaiu is also a jazz-poetry performer and creator of radio and TV programs, art films, and musical compositions for theater/dance performances. He has won prizes and awards in Romania, Poland and Portugal. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi MARKETING MANAGER Adina Milea SALES & EVENTS Ana-Maria Nedelcu, Claudia Munteanu RESEARCH & SUBSCRIPTION Lili Voineag PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRIBUTION Eugen Musat

Simona Bazavan Journalist is researching fashion retail, which seems to have been less affected by shrinking purchasing power than other retail segments in 2010.

Last year and the first two months of 2011 saw new stores being opened but fiercer competition means that retailers have to fight hard to maintain brand loyalty and retain customers. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

FROM OUR READERS Talking point: The Princess. Image of the Week in BR 12 I enjoyed your review – The Image of the Week – of Alexandru Bunescu's lifesize painting of a steam locomotive that you indicate was of American design, built in Bucharest. The locomotive he depicts is, however, clearly a Prussian design by Robert Garbe, the "P 8" (later the BR 38 in Germany), manufactured after 1906 by diverse manufacturers, also in Romania. Over 4000 were built. Some were also displaced after both World Wars and were adopted where they remained, or became reparations locomotives. The last P 8 remained in service as late as 1974 in Germany, perhaps later elsewhere. One sits preserved in Romanian livery in Sinaia Station. But, alas, they were Prussian, and not a US design.

James Reuland Bucharest, Romania ADDRESS No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3 Bucharest, Romania LANDLINE Editorial: 031.040.09.31 Office: 031.040.09.32 Fax: 031.040.09.34 EMAILS Editorial: editorial@business-review.ro Sales: sales@business-review.ro Events: events@business-review.ro