3Q: Emil Delibashev, commercial manager for the Balkans and Hungary at British Airways, says the airline is planning to attract 20 new companies to its corporate miles program, which now encompasses 350 member companies »page 3
ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY
LANDSCAPING
JULY 9 - 15 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 25
LANDSCAPE GARDENING SERVICES ARE A NOVELTY ON THE LOCAL MARKET BUT ARE SLOWLY STARTING TO TAKE ROOT AS THE OFFER DIVERSIFIES »PAGE 12
LUXURY MARKET HOPES FOR HELPING HAND BR looks at the high-end products and services available locally and how they are faring during the crisis »page 8 NEWS
POLITICS
LINKS
PLUS
Size matters
Chaos continues
Digital divide
The market size is an issue for private equity investors looking at the SEE region, but sectors such as healthcare are likely to outperform the market
Traian Basescu was facing an uncertain fate last week as MPs voted on whether to impeach him, while international observers looked on
EU citizens are very open to digital technologies but governments and companies do not always keep up. BR surveys the local situation
Sin Retorno is a gripping thriller about the fallout of an accident » page 14
» page 4
» pages 10
» page 13
Find out what’s on in town with BR’s cultural agenda » page 14
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
NEWS 3
NEWS in brief nia are owned by private capital, including local subsidiaries of foreign banks, which makes the country vulnerable to parent funding losses.
3Q Emil Delibashev British Airways
Unemployment rate rises to 7.7 percent in May
Taking pride: ambassadors march alongside local LGBT community Over 150 people took part in last weekend’s local Diversity March, the annual parade organized by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities around the world. US ambassador Mark Gitenstein and UK ambassador Martin Harris were among members of the diplomatic community who joined the Bucharest event to show their support for the rights of the LGBT community.
ENERGY Serbian NIS to open 120 gas stations in Romania by 2015 Serbian oil and gas producer NIS, controlled by the Russian company Gazprom Neft, will open 120 gas stations in Romania by the end of 2014, as part of EUR 1.5 billion expansion plan in the Balkans region, according to Bloomberg newswire. The company will invest EUR 500 million annually through to 2015 and a 40 percent share of investments will go on expanding operations in Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania.
ENVIRONMENT Environment Ministry bans hunting in Danube Delta The Environment Ministry will forbid hunting in the Romanian Danube Delta, with the exception of pests that can harm the ecosystem, following an order signed by the minister, Rovana Plumb, to be published next week in the Official
Gazette. Species such as the jackal, wolf and fox can still be hunted, but up to limits established by the ministry.
MACRO RON sinks to new historic low The domestic currency, the RON, fell to a new historic low on Thursday with the EUR/RON exchange rate at 4.4796, a 0.18 percent increase from Wednesday, according to the National Bank of Romania. The RON lost 0.6 percent against the dollar, with the RON/USD at 3.5827, one day before MPs were due to vote on suspending the president. Gold gained 0.7 percent, reaching RON 186.2 for one gram.
Foreign banks’ exposure down EUR 2.1 bln in four months The total exposure of the nine largest foreign banks active in Romania fell by EUR 2.1 billion at end-April to 94.8 percent, from 101.3 percent at the end of 2011, says the IMF in its fifth review mission report on Romania. Around 83 percent of the banking assets in Roma-
ONLINE Thinkdigital and Q2M merge Thinkdigital Romania, a member of the Thinkdigital group which is present in six Central and South-East European countries, and Q2M, one of the biggest independent online advertising companies on the local market, are to merge. The new structure will operate under the Thinkdigital brand. Dragos Stanca, the founder and major shareholder of Q2M, will manage the new business entity.
EP vetoes ACTA The European Parliament has voted resoundingly against the controversial Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), with 478 deputies against, 39 for and 165 abstentions. The move means the treaty will no longer go into force. However, the European Commission announced it would send the treaty to the European Court of Justice to see if it breaches European legislation. The rejection comes after months when thousands of people across the EU protested against the bill.
TELECOM Bitdefender considers investments next year Local security solutions provider Bitdefender is pondering a series of investments in 2013. The firm started its offensive on the Japanese market, with a local partner, at the end of last year. “If we manage to achieve what we have proposed, we may need a round of investments. On the enterprise side, there is demand that we might not be able to cope with. So we need money to be able to absorb this demand,” said Florin Talpes, CEO of the company.
Courtesy of British Airway’s
Courtesy of UK Embassy
IMAGE of the week
The local unemployment rate grew 0.3 percent month-on-month to reach 7.7 percent in May, while the Euro zone figure rose to a new historic high of 11.1 percent, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office. The National Statistics Institute (INS) estimates that the local jobless total increased by 3.2 percent to 744,000 people in May, or by 1.5 percent y-o-y. The unemployment rate among men exceeded the rate among women by 1.7 percentage points, at 8.4 percent for males versus 6.7 percent for females.
Emil Delibashev, commercial manager for the Balkans and Hungary What are the top five destinations for British Airways’ Romanian passengers? New York is definitely there, as is Miami, while Los Angeles is number three. Interestingly enough, Houston and Dallas are very popular here and nowhere else. Las Vegas is also very successful. People go there for big events, such as IT fairs and things of that sort. Probably 70 percent of passengers are individuals travelling there for leisure purposes. With long-haul flights, leisure is always the dominant reason for travelling. With London, for instance, it is an equal mix between business and leisure. What kinds of companies have joined your On Business program? We saw 35 percent more registrations for the On Business program in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, so we now have 350 members. They are companies in pharma, IT, some banks, mobile operators and some fuel companies. We set a target with this new campaign to attract 20 new companies to fly with us. What are the main months for promotions for British Airways? Usually, when you do BA promotions in my region, it is traditionally in the flop months when it can’t get any worse. That is February. Occasionally, November is a flop, but it varies from year to year. February is by far the most challenging month for us, which is when we usually do the drastic promotions. The only exception, in my region, is Bulgaria, because skiing there is so popular with British tourists who come in large numbers to four resorts, so Sofia does very well in February. But in Romania’s case, we usually struggle. otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
4 NEWS FUNDING
CONSTRUCTION
Private equity seeks SEE growth
Holcim Romania announces EUR 25 million of investments
T
he market size in South Eastern Europe (SEE) remains an issue for private equity investors, and some US and UK investors are switching interest towards other regions, but there are still some growth opportunities in the region, according to specialists gathered last week at the fifth annual SEE Private Equity Forum organized in Bucharest. The sectors that are likely to outperform the market include food processing, healthcare, services to municipalities and manufacturing, according to Doina Popescu, managing director at PineBridge Investments Romania. She added that the energy sector has attracted a lot of private equity in Turkey, but Romania is also on investors’ radar. PineBridge has USD 67 billion under management worldwide and is majority owned by a subsidiary of Pacific Century Group, an Asia-based private investment group. Popescu said that almost half of the transactions sealed in CEE since 2011 have been growth capital deals, which offer limited initial exposure and follow-on investment potential as well as more space for value creation. PineBridge has invested in 22 companies in the SEE/CEE region since 1998 and has an active fund of EUR 522.5
million called New Europe Partners 2 that was launched five years ago for late stage growth capital and opportunistic buyout in the CEE. It has made nine investments so far including the TV operator Digital Cable Systems (DCS) and MKB Nextebank. It has also fully exited a USD 320 million fund called New Europe Partners 1 and fully invested the Global Emerging Markets 2 fund of USD 259 million. The fund invested in UTI, a Romanian provider of technology services, in 2006. The company has made three acquisitions in Romania since then and is in negotiations with six targets in CEE. “Right now the company has three major projects in traffic management systems in cities in Poland. We have five additional targets in Poland and in the region,” said Popescu. In terms of exit strategies, the managing director said there were fewer exits through strategic buyers and more replacement of capital. She added that listing in Warsaw was an interesting option for companies in the SEE region, adding that 19 initial public offerings had been carried out here in 2010 and 2011. The liquidity generated here exceeds that of the Vienna Stock Exchange. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
A
fter investing EUR 700 million locally between 1997 and 2011, Holcim Romania has an investment budget of about EUR 25 million this year which will mainly be directed towards the company’s two cement factories. The Romanian cement market had a rough start to 2012, due to bad weather and the overall market conditions, said Daniel Bach, general director of Holcim Romania. Last year the market is estimated to have grown by about 5 percent against 2010. “I would be happy if we close 2012 with the same results as last year,” he said during a press visit to Holcim’s cement factory near Campulung. Bach disclosed that in the first quarter of this year the company saw volumes go down by 6.7 percent. After the cement producer managed to grow its business by about 13 percent last year, to reach EUR 222 million, Bach says the best case scenario for this year would be an increase of about 2 to 3 percent. This mostly depends on the government resuming infrastructure projects, as the residential sector is not expected to recover in the next two years. Presently about 40 percent of the company’s sales are to infrastructure projects, another 40 percent go to commercial projects (office, retail and logistics) and the remaining 20 percent are made to the residential sector. “We hope that the government will
focus on the infrastructure sector and that big projects that were started last year like Corridor 4 will continue. If infrastructure plans continue I think we will match last year’s results,” he said. As for the worst case scenario, Bach said it was hard to make any forecasts given both the international economic instability and the evolution of the domestic market. Despite the 13 percent growth reported in 2011, the company’s turnover remains well below the EUR 372 million peak reported in 2008. Referring to the current turmoil on the local political scene and its effects on the business environment, Bach said he hopes the government will focus on what is important for investors, be they local or foreign. He stressed the need for law enforcement in the fiscal area and legal predictability. “When you make investments decisions you want to be sure that your assumptions with regard to the legal environment and its development will hold water and that they will apply for some time,” he said. Holcim has a total production capacity of 6.1 million tons per year in Romania. Given the economic context, Bach said plans to invest in a new site have had to be postponed. “A new factory is not going to happen over the next five years, that is for sure,” said Bach. ∫ Simona Bazavan
INDUSTRY
Walter Tosto to put EUR 30 million into Romania
I
talian producer of industrial equipment Walter Tosto (WT) will invest EUR 30 million in the FECNE nuclear components plant it acquired earlier this year for EUR 7 million and has already opened the order book with a delivery of reactors for the Chinese market. WT has started to revamp equipment and install a new roof at its FECNE plant, which is based in Berceni, southern Bucharest, as part of a larger investment plan. The company will invest EUR 11 million in new installations and equipment and EUR 5 million in energy efficiency. Another EUR 5 million will go on servicing the current equipment, while EUR 6 million will be put into training employees and EUR 3 million into R&D investments. “Despite the fact that it was designed 40 years ago, FECNE is a modern plant, a structure with potential, among the best in Europe in the production of equipment in the nuclear sector, with a strategic geographical
position for Europe,” said Luca Tosto, managing director of WT. The company is considering two financing scenarios for these investments, which involve a mix of its own financing, bank loans and EU funds, but it has also applied for state aid. WT manufactures critical components for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power and energy sectors and is in talks with the Romanian authorities regarding the transportation rights of heavy freight between Bucharest and the Danube port city Oltenita. “The right road link between Berceni and Oltenita for heavy freight transportation is a vital element for the future development of FECNE,” said Tosto. The Romanian plant has already signed its first contract and will manufacture eight reactors of 260 tons each for the Chinese market. In addition, around 1,200 components of a fusion reactor will be manufactured locally. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
NEWS 5 PARTNER CONTENT
BUSINESS AGENDA July 9 11:30 The European Commission Representation in Romania organizes an event to launch an appeal for projects in the research and innovation fields for 2013 at its headquarters in Bucharest. By invitation only.
July 9 - 10 The Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry organizes an event entitled China’s Contribution to the Development of the Danube Region at the Intercontinental Hotel. By invitation only.
July 10 -11 Euroconvention Conferences organizes the Romania & Bulgaria
Healthcare Summit 2012 at Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest. Find out more at http://www.euroconvention.com/
July 12
More than 120 MW of Photovoltaic Energy to be commissioned in 2012. What comes next? by Ilias Papageorgiadis, CEO MORE Green Energy
09:00 The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) organizes a roundtable on the financing of photo-voltaic projects at the Intercontinental Hotel. By invitation only.
tained financing and many more are getting into serious discussions. This is due to the fact that they are able to deliver PPA and GCPA contracts, plus banks start to feel more comfortable with this kind of investments. We don’t expect… miracles to happen, but there will certainly be many more projects financed this year.
October 18 Linked Events and Renaud organize the Leaders in Marketing event in Bucharest. Marketing expert Tim McChesney, managing director of Innuvia Partners, will be a guest speaker. Find out more at http://leadersinmarketing
WHO’S NEWS BR welcomes information for Who’s News. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. Get in touch at simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
Claudia Stanciu Stanciulescu has been promoted to tax partner by TPA Horwath Romania. She has been with the tax and audit company since 2006 and previously worked as consultant in the insolvency and recovery department of BDO. Stanciu is a graduate of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. She is a member of the Romanian Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (CECCAR), the Chamber of Fiscal Consultants in Romania, the National Union of Insolvency Practitioners (UNPIR) and the National Association of Romanian Appraisals (ANEVAR).
Gabriel Grecu has been appointed at the helm of the National Company of Radiocommunications (Radiocom). He served as chief of the state-owned company between 2000 and 2004 when Dan Nica was minister of communications. Radiocom posted a turnover of RON 338.3 million (approximately EUR 76 million) in 2010 and net losses of RON 43.3 million (EUR 9.7 million), with 1,915 employees, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
Stelios Tsifetakis is the new food and beverage di-
rector at JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. He worked for six years at Hyatt Regency Casino Thessaloniki, where he first held the same position, and then became director of operations. Prior to this assignment Tsifetakis worked at Melia White House as F&B manager and spent four years at Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel, as director of catering operations and director of restaurants. He has 17 years’ experience in the food & beverage segment and operations and is now responsible for all restaurants and bars operated by JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, event management and banqueting services, as well as kitchen operations and room service.
Victor Rusu 28, has been promoted to senior associate at RTPR Allen & Overy. He has experience in advising international companies in relation to mergers and acquisitions, business transactions, privatizations and real estate transactions in Romania. He joined the firm in 2005, and has been a member of the Bucharest Bar since 2009.
As we have already entered the second half of 2012, the Romanian Renewable Sources (RES) market looks more attractive than ever. This has happened due to several different reasons that have all resulted in this outcome. But while the wind sector has contributed more than 1.100 MW of installed and commissioned capacity so far (expected to reach 1.500 by the end of the year), the other energy sectors had remained at very low capacities. Very few projects from the Photovoltaic, Hydro, Biomass and Biogas segments were commissioned so far. But this situation has already started to change. At the moment, Koreans are constructing more than 40 MW, while many more projects are ready to start as well. Talking to their owners, I have calculated more than 60 MW (in 14 projects) which are under construction or are about to start in the following 2 months. As there are also other projects on the market which will be constructed, the total commissioned capacity this year will surpass 120 MW, 60 times more than the 2 MW we have so far. After the latest changes in the legal frame, the market is expected to further develop next year and multiply this year’s capacity. Unless something dramatic happens in the world economy or in the Romanian political world, there are many factors that contribute to this positive prevision: 1. Banks start to show more appetite for projects and they are slowly financing some Several investors have, already, ob-
2. PPA and GCPA contracts are available on the market, even for long periods There are many different options for a PPA, as energy is welcomed by the majority of serious trading companies, at almost any capacity. Green Certificate Purchase Agreements have also become available, for 5 or more years (even 15) and they are a good solution for someone who wishes to secure a fixed income for long term periods. (Still if you don’t need financing, the market offers higher prices nowadays). 3. Many EPC companies are ready to offer the necessary “bridge financing” Many serious accredited companies have studied the market and they are able to offer quality services, plus the necessary “bridge financing”. 4. Many investors seek security through “turn-key” projects Lately we also see many serious investors willing to buy a “turn-key” project, built and commissioned. This advance adds more players in the market with the necessary financial capacity in order to sponsor more investments. Dealing with 6 clients like this, I can confirm that they know what they want and they will also fulfill their plans in the following 12 months. The fact that there is no time pressure allows investors to verify everything with attention and to avoid mistakes and decisions under pressure. Having available financing, PPA and GCPA, construction solutions and several good options for projects to invest in nowadays, the Romanian market looks ready to multiply its size in the following 18 months. And the market for roof tops and small house projects has not been opened yet… Ilias Papageorgiadis CEO MORE Green Energy www.more-group.eu info@more-group.eu
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
6 LUXURY SERVICES
active in the international luxury scene seem to be circumspect about the prospects of this field in the years to come. “The luxury market in Europe is in evident difficulty, especially in Southern Europe. Whoever denies this does not want to face up to the reality,” said Gianluca Brozzetti, CEO at Cavalli, on the sidelines of the Just Cavalli 2012 autumn-winter show, quoted by Reuters. “We must be careful because 2012 will be a difficult year for those who are most exposed to Central and Southern Europe.” Meanwhile Altagamma, Italy’s luxury goods trade association, also quoted by the news service, expects the global sector to grow modestly in 2012 on the back of strong consumption in Asia and better prepared businesses. Reuters adds that an economic slowdown in Europe fuels concerns about a repeat of the 20082009 financial crisis, when the luxury industry suffered a slowdown of a kind unseen in decades.
Luxury learning
All that glitters: expensive shoes are among the products popular with affluent Romanians
Upmarket firms try to stay upbeat in downturn “Luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity.” The famous definition coined by the iconic French fashion designer Coco Chanel neatly sums up how luxury lifestyle choices are used to flag up social status. And local consumers are on the high-end bandwagon too. Specialists told BR about the categories of luxury available in Romania. ∫ ANDA SEBESI Although the economic crisis has laid waste to many fields of activity in Romania since 2008, the local luxury industry appears to be weathering the economic storm, and remains the second largest EU market in Eastern Europe after Poland. According to www.cpp-luxury.com, a portal specialized in upmarket products and services, Alfred Dunhill, Burberry, Valentino, Gucci, Ermanno Scervino, Max Mara and Gerard Darel are among the international high-end brands that made significant steps in
their development on the local market in 2011. The same source reports that German premium brand ESCADA opened a mono-brand store in Bucharest in May, following recent openings within the JW Marriott Bucharest by Valentino and Ermanno Scervino (at the end of last year) and Alfred Dunhill. Last but not least, Burberry, the iconic British brand, was launched officially on the local market in May. The website reports that no other major luxury brands are seeking to enter on the local market in the near future while 2013 will see interest from international brands such as
Parents who want their children to receive a top quality education can choose an exclusive kindergarten or school. Many such institutions have extended their syllabuses in the past few years, offering several new courses in addition to activities stipulated by the official curricula, experienced professionals, healthy dietary alternatives and higher quality furnishings. “Private education in Romania has improved a lot, also in parents’ perceptions. They have become more trusting and consider this alternative as much as state education,” says Anca Biris, administrative manager at private school and kindergarten IOANID. She adds that foreign languages, strict education, good conditions, low student/teacher ratios, safety, the professional experience of teachers, the food and long hours are some of the factors that persuade parents to choose a private kindergarten or school. “In addition, many private educational institutions intend to get both Romanian and international accreditation,” she says. Asked about the market, Biris says that there is plenty of room for growth in the coming years because demand, especially for kindergartens, is still high. As for IOANID’s tariffs, extended hours at kindergarten, which include activities from the curricula, six optional activities, an intensive English program and four meals, cost EUR 6,500 a year. A standard program at school, which includes morning courses, an intensive English program, two optional activities and four meals, costs about EUR 6,800 a year.
Prada, Bottega Veneta and Tiffany. So what is the profile of the Romanian luxury consumer? Clearly he or she has had a far shorter exposure to luxury than the Western equivalent. And while Romania keeps up with international trends in fashion, the local level of service sophistication is quite low compared with Western countries. Specialists say that the existing Romanian luxury market is Healthy outlook comparable with those in CEE, even Although Romanians are Europe’s though Romania is below the average laggards when it comes to sports, in the region for the number of brands local gyms attract businesspeople, present and the consolidated value of athletic types, artists and other peothe market. ple concerned with their appearance. Representatives of major players “Fitness clubs have become real social
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
Photo: Mihai Constantineanu
hubs. People choose them not just for because some high earning parents their services; they are places where believe that their children need the members can also meet their business right start in fashion just as in any partners,” says Petru Pacuraru, man- other area of their personal developaging director at Sky Wellness. The ment. “There are both luxury stores center was launched in Bucharest in for children in Bucharest and signifiFebruary with an investment of about cant international brands in Romania EUR 600,000 and is equipped with so parents don’t need to travel abroad the latest generation of Technogym to buy these clothes. When purchasing luxury clothes for children you equipment. “Luxury in fitness means the qual- need to consider several elements: ity of the equipment, internationally quality of materials, colors, fit,” says well known brands, exceptional prod- Silvana Berciu, managing partner at ucts and coaches whose perform- Anastasia and the Funky Twins and ances convince people that it is worth www.oggy.ro. She adds that her cusfollowing the programs they recom- tomers make a lot of money and so mend. A fitness center that aims to are sensitive to issues of quality and rank high for its luxury services needs style for their children. In her opinion to convince its customers through its the local luxury kids’ clothing market quality of services, location and the is not very crowded at the moment. quality of customers that come to that “Instead we’re talking about market center,” says Pacuraru. He adds that at niches that have been exploited by present the Romanian fitness market different entrepreneurs who have unis worth about EUR 30 million and is derstood the market and found cusdominated by four players that are tomers who want to buy very high trying to increase their business and quality clothes for their kids. Parents keep their customers through aggres- are very sensitive when it comes to sive marketing strategies. “The clothes shopping for their children growth was about 50 percent a year and I think that this is the main reauntil 2010. Since then it has settled son for this market’s huge potential in Romania,” says Berciu. The online down,” adds Pacuraru. boutique www.oggy.ro was launched No kidding about children’s in September 2009 while the traditional store was opened in March fashion The local luxury kids’ clothing market 2010 when the firm became exclusive is one of the fields with huge invest- representatives of Bonpoint in Romament potential, say players. This is nia. The initial investment was about
LUXURY SERVICES 7
Material world: high earners seek high-end tailoring servicing
EUR 120,000. Bonpoint, Finger in the Nose, Yporque, Little Paul And Joe (clothes), Galluci, Bensimon, Ash, Petite Maloles, Start Rite and Maman et Moi, Falke and Nilai Paris are available in the store or at www.oggy.ro.
Men swear by menswear Men who prefer a tailored suit to something off the rack are the target
of Tudor Personal Tailor, a studio that specializes in made-to-measure menswear (MTM). “This concept is only just gaining awareness and being promoted in Romania. It will take two or three years until men fully understand the features and advantages of MTM. But the trend is increasing visibly and new companies that enter the local market confirm men’s greater interest in this service,” says
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
8 LUXURY SERVICES
Sea-ing is believing: exotic holidays are available from local travel agents
Alin Copindeanu, managing partner at Tudor Personal Tailor. He adds that time-pressed businessmen who don’t have time for a shopping spree are the firm’s demographic. “Being a customized service attached to the product, people are open to the opinions of apparel professionals and agree to a meeting,”
says Copindeanu. He adds that the standard delivery time for a bespoke product is 20 days. “In an emergency we can make a suit in 7-10 days for an additional fee,” he says. Prices start from RON 1,900 (about EUR 400) for a two-piece suit and can exceed EUR 1,000.
High-end holidays
Who hasn’t dreamed of holidaying in an exotic destination and being treated like a king or queen? And the dream can become reality as local travel agencies cover such destinations nowadays. However, specialists say that demand for luxury destinations has been static over the past few years. “Potential customers take several vacations a year, out of which one is for sure a luxury one,” says Madalina Pacuraru, managing partner at HasHas Travel. She adds that the best sold destinations remain Cuba, the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Mexico and Thailand. “In Romania, exotic destinations like Africa or Fiji costs tens of thousands of EUR,” notes Pacuraru. She says that Romanians able to spend a lot of money on a luxury vacation would rather shell out at least US 1,000 per night to stay in a small and stylish hotel. “Such hotels typically guarantee them an extraordinary view, many employees to take care of all their needs, 24-hour room service and a diversity of restaurants that offer them intimacy,” adds the managing partner. The tourism agency has in its portfolio luxury destinations such as Hawaii, Venezuela, Columbia, Bali, Singapore, Kenya and Mauritius. For other destinations including the Maldives, Thailand, the Seychelles, French Polynesia, Bali and Bora Bora
it can customize the vacation according to its customers’ preferences and budget. Elsewhere, Sorin Stoica, CEO at Eturia, says that luxury vacations account for 20 percent of total demand of Eturia. The travel agency offers high-end destinations worldwide because it specializes in tailor-made vacations. “A luxury vacation is a trip to a special place, with sensitive and impeccable service, attention paid to the atmosphere, a complete experience that gives the tourist the privilege of having access to areas that are inaccessible to the general public. A luxury vacation is a trip beyond the ordinary, truly customized and dedicated to those who want to travel the world in style. It is about exclusivity, sometimes eccentricity, regardless of the costs,” says Stoica.
Getting the look To help one look the part, aesthetic consultancy services are also available on the local market. For some people this might be a natural step in their development and success while for others it could be an opportunity to rise up the ranks. “A changing image involves a gradual improvement, based on a specific plan and going through certain stages,” says Mirela Paduraru, personal image advisor, cosmetics trainer and profes-
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012 sional makeup artist. According to her, the plan will be based on factors like the person’s profession, schedule, budget, free time and state of health. “This process may take from two months to two years,” says Paduraru. Image matters in the business world, which is why creating a public image and maintaining it has both a direct and indirect impact on a person’s success. “The right progressive changing of look will see the beneficiary get constant compliments without the changes actually being noticed,” says Paduraru.
Cashing in on private banking The segmentation of services on the local banking market has persuaded many lenders to include private banking and platinum cards in their portfolios. Both can be considered luxury bank products as they are designed for rich customers who can enjoy having a personal banker or a platinum card in their pocket. BCR, BRD, Raiffeisen Bank, UniCredit, ING, Banca Transilvania, RBS and Citibank are among the lenders that have private banking services in their portfolio. The minimum amount of money to qualify a customer for such services on the local market varies from one bank to another and can be between EUR 40,000 and EUR 200,000, according to current data.
LUXURY SERVICES 9 In addition, a private banking customer gets access to exclusive locations and special conditions for borrowing money from the bank. For example, UniCredit Tiriac Bank launched in March two exclusive products: a credit card for corporate customers, MasterCard Corporate Credit Card, and a new debit card for private banking ones, MasterCard Platinum Debit Card. Holders of the latter get more generous limits on transactions (RON 20,000/day, 20 transactions /day both for POS and ATM transactions) and can attach up to five current accounts in RON, EUR, USD, GBP and CHF. Meanwhile, Visa Platinum from Banca Transilvania is a premium product created especially for the top management of very large companies and public businesspeople. It is a credit card with a RON account attached, issued for a period of three years with a credit limit of up to EUR 30,000 (or the equivalent in RON).
The bling’s the thing For jewelry and watches luxury means more than design and price, say industry players. It is also about uniqueness, high quality materials, technology, the story behind the product, its history, customer service, buying experience and its beauty. All of these combined with the price
Bag it up: upmarket accessories are coveted by wealthy shoppers
make a piece of jewelry or watch a piece of art. Helvetansa is a big name on the local scene, stocking products by Audemars Piguet, Chaumet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin and Longines, Baume& Mercier, Certina, etc (watches); plus Chaumet, Dior, Frieden, Furrer-Jacot, Piaget, Leo Wittwer and Pilgrim (jewelry); and Buben&Zorweg, Cartier,
Jaeger-LeCoultre, Kieninger, Reuge and Swisskubik (accessories). Moreover, Helvetansa announced recently that it would organize a two-session course in watch-making, giving participants the opportunity to create their own mechanical pocket watch, under the tutelage of top professionals. anda.sebesi@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
10 FOCUS
Political chaos continues President Traian Basescu was facing a probable second round of impeachment proceedings in five years, after MPs voted last week on whether to suspend him over allegations he broke the constitution, a move civil society and the opposition saw as part of a larger attack on Romania’s rule of law. ∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA The suspension bid comes amid a political row between the president and the government that has put policymaking on hold, despite the parlous state of the country’s economy and the looming dangers of a spillover effect from the Euro zone debt crisis. Representatives of the US and some EU members said they were paying close attention to the political crisis unfolding in Romania, urging that the country’s fundamental institutions be protected from political abuse. At the time BR went to press the vote was ongoing. “The major objective of this suspension is to bring the justice system under control, to bring the state institutions under the control of the parties forming the USL coalition, and ultimately not to respect the referendum that asked for a single house of Parliament and 300 MPs,” said President Basescu in Parliament last week. Vasile Blaga, president of the rightwing Liberal Democratic Party (PDL), likened his dismissal from the helm of the Senate to a coup, adding that this was part of the USL’s plan to “seize” the country’s institutions. The USL is the coalition set up in 2011 by the left wing Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Liberal Party (PNL) and the center right Conservative Party (PC).
Growing tension The Ponta government came to power in May just a few weeks before the escalation of a political row with the president, despite Ponta’s promise one week before becoming PM that relations with the president would be constitutional and institutional, not personal. Ponta is still mired in a plagiarism scandal that broke out last month after allegations were printed in the British science magazine Nature and the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The National Council for the Acknowledgement of Titles, Diplomas and University Certificates found
President Traian Basescu
PM Victor Ponta
that 85 pages of his 307-page PhD dissertation on the international criminal court had been copy-pasted, without indication of the source. Ponta, who had said he would resign if the plagiarism allegations were substantiated, called the council’s decision a “mafialike execution” by the opposition PDL. The PM was awarded his PhD in 2003 by the University of Bucharest, which will set up an ethics commission to see whether the plagiarism accusations are founded. The Romanian judiciary was in the international headlines again two weeks ago, after the former PM Adrian Nastase was sentenced to two years in prison for corruption. He apparently tried to commit suicide after having his conviction upheld, but ended up with a gunshot wound to the neck after police officers arriving at his house to arrest him seemingly prevented a fatal injury. Nastase was rushed to hospital and a few days later was moved to Rahova prison, where he will serve his sentence. Ponta visited his political mentor in hospital and asked whether President Basescu was happy as a result of the incident. Tensions between the president and the PM erupted again over a trip to the European Council in late June. The ruling coalition voted for Ponta to attend the event, while Basescu appealed to the Constitutional Court (CCR), which ruled that he should represent the country in these meetings. However, Ponta ignored the court ruling and went to Brussels, saying that a PM was more familiar with the economic issues to be discussed. The court’s decision was blocked after the official gazette, now published by the government instead of by Parliament, failed to publish it.
been dragged into the ongoing battle between the president and the government. International news outlets picked up the story and several countries have already said they are keeping a close eye on Romania. The justice minister, Titus Corlatean, announced recently that two judges on the CCR should be disbarred from serving and replaced, although the National Integrity Agency (ANI) said it had no evidence regarding a possible breach of legislation in this case. "Very concerned about the current development in Romania regarding the rule of law & the independence of the judiciary. I'll contact V. Ponta & T. Basescu to discuss this issue," tweeted on Friday Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, hours before the suspension vote. Gianni Buquicchio, president of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law, said the independence of the Constitutional Court had to be respected by other organs of the state, which could not interfere with its independence, even if some of its decisions were not welcomed by the majority of the day. The CCR informed the commission of the political attacks in Bucharest. The US ambassador, Mark Gitenstein, warned that the recent political developments in Romania threatened the independence of the country’s democratic institutions. “Manipulation or threats to your institutions, particularly your courts, will not only be of concern to our government but to the way Romania is viewed by financial markets,” said Gitenstein. He added that Romania was now facing a similar situation to President Franklin Roosevelt’s “court packing plan”. This was a legislative initiative proposed by Roosevelt in 1937 to add more judges to the Supreme Court in order to obtain favorable rulings.
Threatened institution The political bickering might have remained in-house if the CCR had not
Eventually, Ponta said last week that any complaint regarding the Constitutional Court would be dropped. However, this did not allay wider fears, as the coalition was still busy replacing civil servants with its own appointees. Late Tuesday MPs ousted the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, who were from the PDL, replacing them with Valeriu Zgonea, PSD member, and Crin Antonescu, PNL president. The Ombudsman was also voted out. Ten Romanian NGOs asked the European Commission in a letter to urge the Romanian government and ruling coalition to stop abusing the rule of law and maintain the separation of powers. The NGOs urged the EC to start infringement procedures against Romania based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Earlier this year the EC launched three separate infringement proceedings against Hungary based on laws it had adopted through a revamped constitution.
Impeachment process Once he is suspended by MPs, Romanians will head back to the polls in a referendum to decide whether President Basescu will be impeached. This previously happened in 2007, when the current president was suspended by 322 MPs out of 430 present, for having breached the constitution. A referendum was held in May of that year and Basescu was voted back into office by 74.4 percent of the voters (around 6 million Romanians). The CCR’s advisory opinion in 2007 was that there was no reason to suspend the president, as he hadn’t violated the constitution. This time, the president is accused of having encroached on the duties of the PM and of informally leading the PDL party which gave him the presidency in 2004. The USL also accused him of meddling in the judiciary after Basescu suggested ways to improve the efficiency of the legal process. The CCR ruled last week that the president had not breached the constitution. At the time of the last impeachment attempt, Romania boasted 6 percent economic growth and the president was popular. At present, the economy is estimated to grow by just 1 percent and Romanians are recovering after two years of austerity. The USL won the local elections in June with around 50 percent, while the PDL bore the brunt of the crisis and got around 15 percent. President Basescu said that he refused to lie to the people and presented the facts regarding the country’s finances and limitations, and this honesty may play a significant role in the referendum results. ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
12 FOCUS
Landscape gardening services bloom on wilting market
Courtesy of : Unique Landscaping
A professionally designed garden can be a rewarding investment on hot summer days, despite coming with an average price tag of between EUR 3,000 and a scorching EUR 30,000, pundits say. BR looks at how rosy the situation is on the local market for landscape planning services and reveals this year’s trends. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN Be it luxuriant gardens with exotic plants and trees, gazebos, ponds, perhaps even lakes, or the more accessible option of a row of plant pots on a balcony or along a narrow alley, the dream garden could set you back between EUR 10 and EUR 150 per square meter, BR discovered. Local companies specialized in landscape design and planning say they can deliver complete garden projects and that any demand, no matter how extravagant, can be turned into reality. With the right budget that is. The Romanian market for such services however, is only just beginning to sprout. And as it is linked to the general fortunes of the real estate sector, demand has wilted over the past few years, pundits told BR. “One can definitely notice a decrease in demand for landscape services compared to previous years, especially this year. So the supply has had to adjust to this. The prices of design and execution projects have also had to be reduced,” landscape designer Elisabeta Vera Dobrescu, PhD and lecturer at the Horticulture Faculty in Bucharest, told BR. Adrian Onaca, landscape engineer and director of Unique Landscaping in Cluj-Napoca, on the other hand, believes the market has remained relatively stable over the past years, with some decreases in 2010.
Economy goes to seed The economic slump is making many of those interested in gardening projects postpone large investments, says Dobrescu. “At present, as we continue to find ourselves in the midst of an economic crisis, the most popular services are design and landscape maintenance. The actual execution of landscape projects is less sought after as many clients
Still waters: ponds and gazebos are among the array of garden features on offer
feel they have to postpone it. Maintenance services, however, must be continued, as an investment already made must be preserved,” she added. Despite the general decrease in purchasing power, local clients are becoming more sophisticated when it comes to gardening projects and are increasingly looking for full-service specialized firms, believes Onaca. The services which are most sought after at present are installing turf, automated irrigation systems, ornamental plants and outdoor art items, he revealed. Prices for a garden project start at EUR 10/sqm and go to EUR 80/sqm depending very much on the garden’s size and the specifics of the features agreed upon with the owner. “For example a 600-sqm garden can cost EUR 13,000, including basics such as alleys, plants, a pond, a gazebo, lighting, irrigation and so on, but with an easy, accessible design. One can also spend the same money on a 300-sqm garden if the design is more complex,” said Onaca. Dobrescu estimates prices start at EUR 1.5-2 per square meter for the most basic services such as planting turf on terrain that doesn’t require alterations and reach EUR 70-150 or even more for the most complex works which include elements such as cascades, decking or various water features. On average, customers spend between EUR 3,000 and EUR 30,000, says Onaca, adding that it all depends on a wide number of variables. “For example a 700-sqm garden with a special design that required landscap-
ing, installing lawn turf, ornamental rocks, irrigation, lighting and drainage systems, large unique plants and outdoor art items cost EUR 34,000 (…) We also had a project of only 60 sqm which cost EUR 14,000,” he said. Clients are individuals as well as companies and institutions. However, at present, the bulk of the demand for professional gardening and landscape services comes from individuals and public institutions, rather than the private sector, as solutions for outdoor spaces are often provided by the building’s general architect or contractor. Any gardening project starts with choosing the concept, setting up the drainage, watering and electric systems, after that moving to the necessary land systematization and construction works (alleys, gazebos, sheds, ponds, lakes, outside walls, cascades and so on), planting, irrigating and finishing with the decorative elements. But this isn’t all there is to it. “A garden doesn’t mean only alleys, structures or flowers as a lot of people tend to believe. A garden must become the sum of all the natural elements involved, presented in a form which is as accessible as possible to the modern person. There is water, vegetation, earth and rock, glass and wood, metal; then comes light and in order to close this ambient chain one must also consider smell and sound,” said Onaca.
nature, and the more formal, symmetrical French style, but there is no Romanian school, say players. On top of that, specialized gardening and landscaping services remain a novelty on the local market, lacking promotion and making it hard to talk about trends, according to Onaca. “In formulating a direction, various creative elements are introduced, tested and assimilated in time. This generates trends which are seasonal, annual or last for even longer periods of time,” he added. One of 2012’s main trends is organic gardening, despite the fact that it is more time consuming, says Onaca. “Organic gardening focuses on nature protection and providing healthy food. It is the perfect solution to get healthy fruit and vegetables. Fertilizers must be natural – either of vegetal or animal origin (manure),” he added. Another trend this year is miniature gardens, a perfect indoor “accessory” which can be included in office spaces or outside in small alleys. Meanwhile, in Europe, an increasingly popular alternative is using plants to decorate entire external or interior walls, or vertical gardens. A square meter of vegetal wall can produce the amount of oxygen consumed by a person in one year and can isolate interiors as effectively as polystyrene but with the advantage that it allows walls to breath, according to Onaca.
For the green thumbed…
Growing garden trends
Specialized services can be costly, but for those with lower budgets or green thumbs there is always the option of arranging a garden oneself, with which DIY retailers can help. Be it plants, seeds, fertilizers, gardening machinery, tools or irrigation systems, interest in the entire range of garden products, and in furniture in particular, is on an upward trend, Andras Ranky, purchasing director at OBI, told BR. “Demand for gardening products continues to grow and we try to meet our customers’ requests. For example, we have had great success selling seedlings – which goes to show that organic products are more and more popular in Romania too, following the global trend,” he said, adding that the garden department is one of the most important in an OBI store. “Attention to garden maintenance and decoration products is becoming increasingly important for our customers. This shows an evolution in lifestyle and a continuous need for innovation – something we try to anticipate,” he said.
There is the English garden design with its mimicry and often idealized view of
simona.bazavan@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
LINKS 13
EU falls behind with Digital Agenda targets While Europeans are very open to digital technologies, governments and companies in the industry are failing to keep up with them, cautioned Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, upon the publication of the Digital Agenda Scoreboard. So what is the situation in Romania? BR asked some industry pundits for their take on issues such as e-commerce and broadband connection coverage. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA The European economy is still attached to the economic models and political thinking of the 20th century, argued Kroes. “If we do not take action, Europe will lag behind competition at international level,” she warned. Soaring consumption of data and the transition to mobile technologies, such as smartphones, and to mobile services, such as internet 3G, music and webmail, are the most important trends in the ITC domain, which currently represents 6 percent of GDP in the European Union, and provides over 8 million jobs. It’s not all bad news: the European Commission (EC) found that broadband is nearly omnipresent in Europe, with 95 percent of Europeans having access to a fixed broadband connection. In Romania, data obtained by BR from ANCOM show that 732 places around Romania are not currently covered by 3G mobile networks. These are villages and small communities with a total population of 364,000 inhabitants. The telecom operators who win spectrum in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bandwidths following the auction for spectrum that will take place in September will be required to cover these areas as a priority, said Catalin Marinescu, president of ANCOM. Another positive in the Digital Agenda scoreboard is that consumers and companies are rapidly adopting mobile services: mobile internet has posted 62 percent growth, reaching 217 million postpay contracts for mobile broadband services. In Romania, the total number of mobile broadband internet connections reached 4.23 million at the end of last year, 39 percent up on 2010. There were 3.11 million connections via mobile phone and 1.12 million connections via
Digital ready: are Europeans prepared to take on their tech-savvy competitors?
modems/cards/USB used for laptops, tablets and desktops. However, the total number of connections at mobile points, including narrow band, was 7.48 million. The average monthly traffic made by a mobile internet user reached 220 MB. According to the Scoreboard, 15 million Europeans were connected to the internet for the first time in 2011, 68 percent of Europeans go online regularly while 170 million use social networks. Last year, Romanians acquired approximately 130,000 new fixed connections and 700,000 new mobile connections to access the internet, according to ANCOM. Which brings us to the negatives, which players say are truly painful. Scoreboard estimations show that half of the labor force in Europe still does not have good enough ITC skills to find or change jobs. While 43 percent of the EU population has average to high internet literacy, nearly half of the labor force do not think their computer and internet abilities are sufficient to ensure them a job. Nearly 25 percent have no ITC skills at all. Given this situation, filling positions in ITC has become a problem, as the number of available jobs is expected to count 700,000 by 2015. Meanwhile, online purchases continue to be limited in the European Union. While 58 percent of internet users shop online, only one in ten has used an e-commerce website from another member state. What stands in the way are the language barrier and red tape, says the Scoreboard. While the ratio of Romanian internet surfers who use e-payment is lower than in other EU countries, the level of cross-border transactions is at least at the same level, if not higher than elsewhere, Felix Crisan, CTO of Netopia, tells BR. “I will venture to predict that amazon.co.uk is probably the e-commerce website outside Romania that is most
board also suggests that SMEs no longer use e-commerce. Most SMEs have ceased to buy or sell online, setting a limit to exports and revenue generation. “This is also valid in Romania’s case, although it should be expressed like this: SMEs do not use e-commerce, because many SMEs have never used ecommerce. (…) Moreover, I do not know any company that had online activities and then ‘recoiled’ to offline,” says Crisan. He adds that, in the case of SMEs as buyers of online services, there are two obstacles in the way of the development of the e-commerce market in Romania. “Firstly, most websites are built on the B2C model, and cannot easily accommodate B2B. Secondly, there is a small legislative void, meaning an individual consumer can resort to the National Authority for Consumer Protection, but if the buyer is an SME there are terms and conditions (which are often conceived for B2C) which they have to accept wholesale, and potential litigation is solved with difficulty, through the traditional route of commercial litigation,” says Crisan. However, the number of companies that are online is growing, according to PayU data. “In the first half of the year, our portfolio of clients grew by 15 percent, exceeding 2,600. From our observations, large companies are the ones prospecting the online market to identify development opportunities,” says Stavarache. The Scoreboard also shows that investments in research continue to be smaller than those of the competition. The ITC sector in the EU currently sees less than half of the R&D intensity of the ITC sector in the USA. Also, telecom companies continue to impose very high tariffs on consumers for data through roaming. On average, consumers pay tariffs that are three and half times higher than the sum they pay for national calls. Last year, the total data traffic consumed by Romanian users through roaming soared by 56 percent on 2010, mainly based on the 59 percent growth of traffic in roaming within the EU and SEE member states. Data traffic consumed through roaming outside the EU and SEE member states grew by 42 percent. Compared to 2010, the average tariff of data services used in roaming fell by 18 percent, amounting to EUR 2.4 per MB. The drop was more substantial in the case of data used in roaming within the EU and SEE member states, which reached EUR 1.9 per MB, after a 21 percent drop. However, tariffs for data services used through roaming outside the EU and SEE member states fell by 5 percent to EUR 5.1 per MB, says ANCOM.
used by Romanians. iTunes is probably very high on the list as well,” he adds. The reason why Romanians are more comfortable when it comes to buying from outside the country than from local websites is that they think they are less likely to become victims of fraud that way, Crisan explains. Information from PayU, backed up by a recent study by Daedalus, indicates that approximately 80 percent of online purchases are made from Romanian online stores, while the other 20 percent are made outside the country, especially Amazon, eBay and Asos. “These websites, especially the first two, enjoy fairly high trust from Romanians. Amazon and eBay have a special status. Certainly a similar website, which is not as well known here, would find it quite difficult to attract acquisitions from Romania,” Andreia Stavarache, sales and marketing manager at PayU, tells BR. PayU data also show there is a great deal of cross-border activity for Romanian online stores, mainly because of the Romanian diaspora. “In the first half of the year, 63 percent of the transactions processed by PayU were made in Romania, and the rest from outside of the country, with payments being registered from 192 countries,” says Stavarache. However, some argue that e-commerce websites in Romania need to change their mentality. Crisan says they must understand that the purchasing process has many steps, starting with screening the market, continuing with the order, payment, delivery, and ending with after-sales activities (such as reviews). Thus, by focusing on just one or two steps, they will not create that ‘frictionless commerce’ through which users become confident and comfortable with the e-commerce website in question. “We can sum up this mind-shift as the transition from ‘one e-commerce website’ to the ‘e-commerce service’,” says Crisan. The Digital Agenda Score- otilia.haraga@business-review.ro
www.business-review.ro Business Review | July 9 - 15, 2012
14 CITY FILM REVIEW
Sin Retorno
CULTURAL EVENTS PERFORMANCE As You Like It performed by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre July 12-13, from 19.30 George Enescu Square Director: James Dacre Starring: Tobias Beer, Deirdre Mullins, Will Featherstone, Will Mannering, John O’Mahony, Beth Park, Will Oxborrow, Emma Pallant Heredia, Peter Stormare
He who is without Sin: Argentinian thriller Sin Retorno is a gripping moral tale
DEBBIE STOWE Director: Miguel Cohan Starring: Leonardo Sbaraglia, Martin Slipak, Luis Machin, Federico Luppi On at: Cinema Union (Tues, 18.00) On a normal summer’s night in Buenos Aires, three young men – a high school student, a ventriloquist and a tattoo artist – are making their way across the city. An accident takes place that will irrevocably alter the fates of all three, and their families. This simple yet potent premise sets the scene for a masterful thriller, even more impressive for being Miguel Cohan’s directorial debut. In Hollywood hands, the storyline could have led to sentimentality and implausible coincidence. Not here – Sin Retorno’s power lies in the realism and straightness of the presentation. The film doesn’t need exaggeration or high-octane fripperies to make its point. Aside from the accident , and one other brief scene of violence (fairly low level by movie standards), there is very little action, as such. And yet this slowbuild film is one of the most compelling thrillers I’ve seen in a long time. It’s fun watching Harrison Ford get his wife back from kidnappers or Bruce Willis vanquish a squad of terrorists sin-
ISSN No. 1453 - 729X
glehandedly, but it’s also pure fantasy. In Sin Retorno, every character is believable. The loving parents who lie to the insurance company to protect their son, the equally loving parent who doggedly seeks justice for his, the ordinary Joe who after a minor prang is swept up into a nightmare of false accusations – they could be any of us. The film doesn’t have heroes and villains. It has ordinary people in extraordinary situations, and explores the effects their moral choices have on them, the snowballing of a lie until there is literally no way back. Cohan achieves this partly with the screenplay, which he co-wrote with his sister. It takes its time to establish all the characters as plausible, everyday people. One couple bickers about who does which chores; a high school student’s attempts to chat up a pretty classmate are ruined by a clumsy friend; a father and son reminisce over childhood papers. It is all so tense because we know disaster must be coming. But it’s also achieved by impressive performances from the cast. One actor – I won’t reveal who to avoid a spoiler – is so astonishingly changed by a spell in prison that he looks like a different person. Sophisticated yet simple and gripping throughout, Sin Retorno should be a template for thriller directors.
FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALIST Otilia Haraga JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Corina Dumitrescu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anda Sebesi, Michael Barclay ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu
As part of a summer European tour, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will bring to Bucharest its version of As You Like It, a production staged in the Elizabethan theatrical tradition, as it was performed in Shakespeare’s times. On an open-air stage erected at George Enescu Plaza, the Globe’s troupe of eight actors will perform the pastoral comedy set in the forest of Arden. Children’s theater play Every Saturday, from 11.00 Zorky’s Planet, AFI Palace Controceni Mall The biggest indoor amusement park for children in a Romanian commercial center launches a new weekend program which includes theater plays for kids of all ages. Zorky’s Planet offers free facepainting for the children who come to this cultural event. Folk-Jazz under Square Moon July 13, from 21.30 Peasant’s Club, The Romanian Peasant Museum Alina Manole, Adrian Cristescu, Tudor Olaru, known for their album Square Moon, will perform for jazz lovers.
EXPO Saint Ilie Fair July 20-22 The Romanian Peasant Museum The Saint Ilie Fair will host around 100 craftsmen and traditional artisans in the backyard of the Romanian Peasant Museum where their
PUBLISHER Anca Ionita 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
crafts, culinary traditions and traditional outfits will be on display. Blacksmiths, potters, carvers and icon painters will be among the exhibitors.
FILM PREMIERS Oslo, August 31st Opens July 13 Director: Joachim Trier Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava On at: Elvira Popescu Cinema Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) is a troubled 34-year-old battling drug addiction. As part of his rehabilitation program, he is allowed to go into the city for a job interview, but instead uses the opportunity to drift around and revisit old friends. The movie was the Grand Winner of the Transylvania Trophy from the festival held in Cluj-Napoca from June 1-10. The Amazing Spider-Man Opens July 13
Director: Marc Webb Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans On at: Movieplex Cinema Plaza, The Light Cinema, Hollywood Multiplex, Grand Cinema Digiplex, Samsung IMAX, Glendale Studio, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Cinema City Cotroceni This 3D film is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. A reboot of the film franchise, it traces the character’s origins from high school student outcast, abandoned by his parents and raised by his aunt and uncle, to iconic superhero.
ADDRESS No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3 Bucharest, Romania LANDLINE Editorial: 031.040.09.32 Office: 031.040.09.31 Fax: 031.040.09.34 EMAILS editorial@business-review.ro sales@business-review.ro events@business-review.ro