33 LOCAL COMPANIES MAKE THE DELOITTE CENTRAL EUROPE TOP 500, SEE PAGE 6 NEWS
TALENT
CITY
Franklin Templeton is appointed admin-
Language training centers are feeling
A swingers’ club and a roof bar are two
istrator of the Property Fund, with a
the pinch as budgets shrink, but many
of the newcomers on Bucharest’s ever
BSE listing expected early in 2011
are finding reasons to be cheerful
more sophisticated nocturnal scene
See page 5
See pages 10-11
See page 14
BUSINESS REVIEW
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ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY
SEPTEMBER 13 - 19, 2010 / VOLUME 14, NUMBER 33
STATE BENEFITS
The days of big, steady gains on the Bucharest Stock Exchange seem long ago, as the market limps on through the crisis. Investors are hoping that state-owned securities, LAURENTIU OBAE
such as energy companies and the Property Fund listing, will prove a good bet see pages 8-9
WEEK IN PICTURES
BUSINESS REVIEW
What we are working on
EVENTS
September 27
Current Economic Climate event at
é
InterContinental Bucharest.
The ICC Young Arbitrators Forum and Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii organize the Competence – Compe-
October 7
tence Principle – Recurring Issues
é
ond edition of the French Business
Bucharest. Attendance is free of
Forum at InterContinental
charge.
Bucharest.
September 28
October 21
é
é
Business Review organizes the
ond edition of the Austrian Busi-
Turkish Business Forum at Inter-
ness Forum at Ramada Plaza
Continental Bucharest.
Bucharest. é
is researching an article about the evolution of the oil price on the local market.
Business Review organizes the sec-
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OTILIA HARAGA Senior Journalist... is working on an analysis on the latest developments in the healthcare industry. CORINA DUMITRESCU Journalist... is writing about the increasing popularity of independent theater in Romania.
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WIND OF CHANGE FOR VANTU
Week in NUMBERS 29 The number of Carrefour supermarket stores in Romania
33 Romanian companies have been included in the Top 500 companies in Central Europe put together by Deloitte
EUR 5.36 billion Media mogul Sorin Ovidiu Vantu is facing a month in preventive custody, while police investigate his role in helping Nicolae Popa abscond to Indonesia, avoiding a 15-year prison sentence handed to him following the collapse of the FNI, a Ponzi scheme in which thousands of investors lost money in the 1990s. BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
The trade deficit in the first seven months of the year as reported by the National Institute for Statistics
11 The percentage by which beer consumption went down in the first semester of the year
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B USINESS R EVIEW SEPTEMBER 13 - 19, 2010 / VOLUME 14, NUMBER 33
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3
NEWS
Media mogul Vantu placed under RBS Romania reshuffles arrest for one month management, moves to new HQ
Vantu faces a month in police custody
Media mogul Sorin Ovidiu Vantu was facing 29 days in police custody last week along with Octavian Turcan and Alexandru Stoian, after a decision by the Bucharest Court. Vantu had been held for 24 hours by prosecutors of the High Court of Justice, as investigations were carried out in relation to the flight abroad of Nicolae Popa, former manager of Gelsor. Vantu is charged with helping Popa escape after he was sentenced to
4
15 years in prison for his involvement in the FNI Ponzi scheme scandal, one of the major scams in Romania, in which 300,000 people lost their money in the 1990s. Vantu was one of several individuals investigated in relation to the case, alongside Liviu Luca, president of the Petrom Free Unions Federation, Stoian, Vantu's driver, and Turcan, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova. Vantu, 54, is accused of asking Turcan, said to be one of his most trusted lieutenants, to transfer money to Indonesia for Popa, 45. The former manager of Gelsor fled the country in 2000 and has been captured in Indonesia. He is currently in detention while the Romanian authorities seek his extradition. While he was being transferred from the court building into the police van, Vantu commented that he would like to see President Traian Basescu in his shoes when he finally loses a battle.
The new board of directors of RBS Bank Romania now has four executive members, Johan Gabriels, Magdalena Manea, Robert Hadley and Robert Karreman, and five nonexecutive members, Roxana Moldovan, Adrian Manaicu, Phil McDuell, Jeroen Kremers and Gianni Piolini. Gabriels, CEO of RBS Romania, said the management team now relies more on local expertise. Six RBS employees with over eight years of experience in the company have taken up management positions: Radu Ropota, newly appointed director of corporate clients; Adina Enescu, director of financial institutions and public sector clients; Liudmila Drozdea, director of banking transactions; Cosmin Bucur, director of financial markets; Raluca Ionescu, legal director; as well the recently announced Marijana Vasilescu, marketing and communication director. Dutchman Robert Karreman becomes risk manage-
ment director and American John Bell is the director of individual customers. Roxana Moldovan will no longer be vice-president, but will continue to work with the bank as a non-executive member on the board of directors. Magdalena Manea will take Moldovan’s position as VP. Present on the Romanian market since 1995 and initially known as ABN AMRO (which RBS took over in 2008), RBS operates in 15 towns across Romania and has 31 branches, of which three are dedicated to Royal Preferred Banking. In other news, the bank has announced that it is changing its HQ by mid-December and will be moving to 8,700 sqm in the Lake View office building on Barbu Vacarescu. The Royal Preferred Banking lounge will however remain in the World Trade Center, on Montreal Square, as will the office dedicated to corporate and retail clients. Corina Dumitrescu
BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
NEWS
Franklin Templeton appointed administrator of Property Fund, BSE listing expected in early 2011
BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
LAURENTIU OBAE
Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited was officially appointed investment manager and administrator of the EUR 2.7 billion Property Fund, at the fund’s extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. Launched in December 2005, the Property Fund was established to compensate Romanians whose properties were confiscated by the former communist government. It was also decided that the fund would be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange within 90 business days of its registration with the National Securities Commission. Mark Mobius, executive chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said, “The decision today paves the way for the fund’s listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange which will benefit its shareholders and the broader Romanian capital market in addition to attracting foreign institutional investors to the country. We also applaud the de-
Mark Mobius, Templeton executive chairman
cision to approve the distribution of a dividend to shareholders, bringing us a step closer to long-awaited restitution which should be fully realized on completion of the fund’s listing in early 2011.” A body of nominees for the fund was also appointed. They include:
Sorin Mindrutescu, CEO, Oracle Romania; Corin Trandafir, attorney to several minority shareholders; Bogdan Dragoi, Ministry of Finance secretary of state coordinating the Treasury Department; Monika Maurer, adviser, international relations and finance to the Ministry of Economy; and Cristian Busu, Property Fund finance director. The fund’s supervisory board and directorate was formalized, and Deloitte appointed as the fund’s auditor. From October, the fund will distribute a dividend to shareholders representing its net profit for 2008 and 2009, the proposed amount being 0.0816 RON /share. Franklin Templeton recently established an office in Bucharest, with a team of 17 employees, including six local investment analysts, who are further supported by the 35 portfolio managers and analysts of the wider Templeton emerging markets team. Staff
eMAG opens new showroom in Constanta Online retailer eMAG has opened a new showroom in central Constanta, on 1 Decembrie Blvd. This is the second largest showroom opened by the firm after the one in Bucharest. “Constanta is a strategic area for us, with a high growth potential in online commerce, being the most urbanized county in the country. It is not by chance that we are opening our biggest showroom here after the one in Bucharest. By year-end, we estimate the new showroom will generate revenues of EUR 1 million, while next year it will post revenues of EUR 3.5 million,” said Iulian Stanciu, eMAG manager. The showroom in Constanta will have a team of seven consultants who will offer pre- and post-sale purchase services to customers interested in IT, electronic gadgets and home appliances. “With the showroom in Constanta, we aim to boost people’s confidence in online commerce and, implicitly, in our offers and services,” added Stanciu. Of those who visit the eMAG site, only 1.5 percent order from it at local level. The aim is to triple this rate of conversion, by boosting the confidence of Constanta shoppers in online commerce.
5
WHO’S / NEWS
WHO’S
LOREDANA BANICA has been promoted to client service director at Odyssey. She has been with the company since its founding in 2004 and has nine years of experience in advertising. Since this June Banica has been managing the agency’s client service department. ED VAN WILLEGEN is the new supply chain manager of Heineken Romania. He has over 20 years of experience in supply chain in the Heineken group, having worked as technical director for Heineken Ireland, production manager/technical controller for the Mila Brewery in Shanghai, and training manager and technological controller for Cambodian Breweries. Before joining Heineken, he worked for five years as supply chain director for Nigerian Breweries. SIMONA POPOVICI, HR Director of CocaCola HBC Romania and Moldova, will take up the position of rewards director of Coca-Cola Hellenic, coordinating from Athens the communication, incentives and compensation policies for the 28 countries where the company is present. With over ten years of experience in the field, she has coordinated the HR department of Coca-Cola HBC Romania and Moldova for the past four years. She
is a graduate of the Polytechnics University in Bucharest, and holds an MBA from the Ottawa University in partnership with the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. VICTOR ARMASELU, 39, is the new VP for sales and distribution at Ursus Breweries. He previously worked as trade marketing director, and project marketing manager for the group’s Stejar brand. In between 2007 and 2009 he was modern trade director. He joined the company in 2005 as national accounts manager. He previously worked for seven years in the commercial marine industry, and later moved to work for various multinationals. He is a graduate of the Commercial Marine Institute in Constanta. PIETRO DI FLURI has joined KPMG in Romania as a senior manager in audit, financial services. Pietro is a Swiss Certified Public Accountant and holds a diploma in International Financial Reporting from ACCA. In 1999 Pietro started his career with KPMG in Zurich. In 2007 he transferred to KPMG in Hong Kong for a two year secondment. His main responsibilities have included the audit of IFRS and US GAAP financial statements and Swiss regulatory audits, with focus sectors being corporate banking, investment banking, leasing, funds and treasury operations. Pietro is fluent in German and Italian. ION CAPDEFIER has joined KPMG as a manager in the tax department. Ion has worked since 1990 in the National Tax Administration Authority (ANAF), becoming head of the Tax Appeal Directorate in 1993. In this position, he was responsible for settlement of tax appeals filed by taxpayers against assessments made by inspectors. At KPMG, he will work mainly on tax litigation, and will also give general tax advice to clients as well as assistance with compliance.
Business Review welcomes information for Who’s News from readers. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. Feel free to contact us at editorial@business-review.ro
6
New British Ambassador to Romania takes over
COURTESY OF UK EMBASSY
IOANA DUMITRU, 34, is the new national manager for broker relations of Groupama Asigurari. In this position she will manage the company’s broker network at a national level. Previously, she has held positions such as account manager (brokers) at Gras Savoye Romania, manager for brokers and large clients at Astra Uniqa and manager for brokers at Generali Asigurari. Dumitru is a graduate of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest.
NEWS
Martin Harris has extensive diplomatic experience in the region
The newly appointed British Ambassador to Romania, Martin Harris, has met President Traian Basescu and presented his accreditation letters. Harris has previously held posts throughout Central and Eastern Europe in Vienna, Moscow and Kiev. He is married and has
three daughters. He holds a Master’s in History from Cambridge University, and one in Public Administration from the Open University. Harris started his professional career in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and worked from 1991 to 1992 as an assistant diplomat in the East Africa Department. Until 1996 he worked in Vienna as a secretary with the UK delegation at the OSCE, and moved on to do two years with the British Foreign Affairs Ministry as director for the Pakistan/Afghanistan region. Between 1999 and 2003 he was posted to the British Embassy in Moscow as secretary for development issues. From 2003 to 2008 he served with the British Embassy in Kiev as deputy head of mission and general consul, and from 2008 to 2010 he was deputy head of the Cabinet Office, working as counselor on security policies.
33 local companies make Deloitte Central Europe Top 500 Romania ranks fifth in Deloitte’s Central Europe Top 500, with 33 companies among the top 500 in the region. Among its biggest are names like Petrom, Automobile Dacia, Rompetrol and Orange. The largest companies in Romania are still dominated by the energy & resources industry, with 13 companies, followed by consumer business and transportation (10), manufacturing (4), telecommunication (5) and, for the first time for the Romanian economy, one company from the pharmaceutical distribution industry, Mediplus Exim. “The consequences of an extreme-
ly difficult year have significantly impacted the final results in 2009, all over the region,” said George Mucibabici, chairman of Deloitte Romania. “After three years of sustained growth, the combined revenues of the top 500 companies in Central Europe fell more than 21 percent, from EUR 665.72 billion to EUR 525.6 billion. However, the first quarter of 2010 brought the first signs of recovery, with 70 percent of the companies seeing their revenues grow in this period. This appears to be taking place in most countries and sectors, with some exceptions.”
State clears EUR 233 mln of healthcare debts The state has paid EUR 233 million (RON 1 billion) of debt to private healthcare suppliers, to secure further funds from the IMF. It will shortly pay off the outstanding debt, said minister of finance, Gheorghe Ialomitianu. There payment of debt is one of the conditions for the Romanian state to get a new installment, of EUR 914 million, from the loan granted by the IMF. These other is the approval of the Pensions’ Law. “We have the money and we have paid EUR 1 billion. The Ministry of Finance and
the Ministry of Health will also pay the rest. The money is there,” he said. The Ministry of Finance has approved loans from the National Health Insurance Fund budget of EUR 233 million (RON 1 billion), EUR 143.7 million (RON 616.5 million) of which was for hospitals and the rest for medicines. The ministry was granted, during the budget adjustment in mid-August, nearly EUR 690 million (RON 2.96 billion) for the National Health Insurance Fund. Otilia Haraga BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
CALENDAR / NEWS
EVENTS, BUSINESS AND POLITICAL AGENDA SEPTEMBER 15-17
é 18.30 The Norwegian Embassy and the National Peasant Museum hold
the opening of the exhibition entitled “Constructions. Contemporary Norwegian Art and Crafts.” At the National Peasant Museum in Bucharest.
Biogenis opens new stem cell bank in Romania
SEPTEMBER 16
é Drees & Sommer celebrates 40 years of activity.
SEPTEMBER 17
é Mastercard organizes Mastercard Press Academy at Club Cortina in
Corbeanca. By invitation only.
SEPTEMBER 21
é 9.30 Softline Group organizes a press conference occasioned by the of-
ficial opening of its office in Romania. By invitation only.
SEPTEMBER 28
é Romanian Manufacturing Summit takes place at JW Marriott, Constan-
ta Hall.
SEPTEMBER 29
é Procter&Gamble (P&G) organizes the official opening of the P&G pro-
duction unit in Urlati, Prahova county. By invitation only.
OCTOBER 15
é TEDxBucharest2010 takes place in Bucharest. Attendance is by admis-
sion process only.
BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
Biogenis joins two other stem cell banks on the local market
Biogenis has opened a new bank for storing stem cells. The new unit has already been approved by the National Agency of Transplant in Romania. Until now, Biogenis has stored stem cells in its bank in Poland. The laboratory is equipped for all necessary operations involved in processing and storing umbilical blood
from the time the blood is received through to its conservation at temperatures of minus 196 degrees Celsius. Biogenis can store up to 8,000 units. The services offered cost RON 3,590 and include harvesting, transportation and storage. The annual fee for storing the cells is RON 190. The first payment is made after birth when the procedures are completed. “In our domain, Romania is a very dynamic market and has had a constant growth in the three years since Biogenis has been operational on this market. We hope in two-three years to bring in further investments of approximately RON 2 million and over the same period we want to increase our personnel by approximately 20 people,” said Jakub Baran, president of the Polish Bank of Stem Cells. Biogenis is the third unit for stocking cells in Romania, after Eurocord and Unirea Medical Center. Otilia Haraga
7
MONEY
Investors pin hopes on state-owned securities Energy companies, the five financial investment firms and the Property Fund’s listing are seen by some as the last throw of the dice to attract newcomers onto the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). Market specialists say investors are STOCKEXCHANGE
seeing opportunities in stateowned securities. Dicing with death: the BSE has struggled recently, with the large gains of recent years long gone
Dana Ciuraru Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) investors won’t see the consistent returns of a few years back for some time, experts have warned. The pool of companies to which investors can turn is growing ever smaller. “Recommended for investments during this period are energy companies such as Petrom, the five financial investment companies (SIFs), and smaller companies that enjoyed good results despite the recession such as Compa, Dafora, and so on,” Andreea Gheorghe, analysis department director at SSIF Intercapital Invest, tells Business Review. Moreover, Claudiu Simulescu, GM of Fairwind Securities, a brokerage house owned by businessman Dinu Patriciu, told BR that, “In 8
this period, people should seek to benefit from the corrections to those securities such as Transgaz, which – with or without the construction of the Nabucco project – has a key position in the Romanian economy and gas transportation to Western Europe.” He adds, “Also we expect solid dividends for next year, as the BSE has announced new listings, from SIF 2 Moldova and even Transelectrica, which is currently being affected by the exchange rate fluctuations.”
PROPERTY FUND, GOLDEN GOOSE
THE
BSE’S
According to the Fairwind Securities GM, the capital market is currently seeing an increasing appetite from major players, the investment banks, for investments in state companies. The announced IPOs and the
Property Fund listing will be able to make the BSE into a regional leader, an investment hub, says Simulescu. The Property Fund’s listing is set for the beginning of 2011. Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited was recently officially appointed investment manager and administrator of the multi-billion euro Romanian restitution fund. “The decision paves the way for the fund’s listing on the BSE which will benefit its shareholders and the broader Romanian capital market in addition to attracting foreign institutional investors to the country. We also applaud the decision to approve the distribution of a dividend to shareholders, bringing us a step closer to long-awaited restitution which should be fully realized on completion of the fund’s listing in
early 2011,” said Mark Mobius, executive chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. In other developments, the stateowned gas transportation company Transgaz Medias recently announced that the government ordinance which approved the sale of a share package through a public offering had been published. According to company information, the public offering will involve 15 percent of Transgaz's share capital, representing a total of just under RON 17.7 million (about EUR 4.2 million). “The recently announced IPOs involve companies that have a monopoly position in the Romanian economy today. It is not clear how these IPOs suit the energy strategy on which the government has been working for the last two years, but we will find out more details in the coming weeks,” Andrei Ciubotaru, head of brokers at Tradeville, tells BR. “Investors will be interested in investing in any company that enjoys a monopoly position. But everything has its price and the Romanian state could have unpleasant surprises when setting a sale price which corresponds to a large financial multiple, a financial multiple related to financial results which vary too much in relation to the privileged monopoly position.”
BANKS
LOSE THEIR LUSTER
Solid returns from investing in securities in the banking sector no longer look likely, as it is clear that the recent European changes involving the banking sector will affect profitability. Brokers believe that the Romanian central authorities (government, Parliament and central bank) are refusing to recognize the national economic imbalances created by seven years of economic growth. Correcting these imbalances would cost political capital. Banks should be taking the measures required to survive BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
MONEY
COURTESY OF FAIRWIND SECURITIES
LAURENTIU OBAE
Andreea Gheorghe, analysis department director at SSIF Intercapital Invest
Claudiu Simulescu, general manager of Fairwind Securities
this period and make the necessary adjustments rather than hoping that salvation will come from developed economies. “Maintaining these imbalances increases the fiscal and social costs imposed on the real economy. Unfortunately, this cost increases as time passes and the consequences are obvious: the final cost will be higher and the moment of recovery will be delayed,” says Ciubotaru. He adds: “This is reflected in bank stock prices. The vulnerabilities of the financial system in Romania were more obvious than elsewhere. But the Romanian authorities have preferred to play second fiddle to the European authorities rather than intervene to eliminate distortions in the banking system. Therefore, investors that have invested in stocks from the banking sector will have to suffer further because of those decisions by the monetary authority.”
portfolio diversification in different industries. “They have had to focus on those areas where there is liquidity and try to identify average trends of growth in the BSE indices. The result in practice is an increase in index volatility, which makes it easy to identify the different harmful elements coming from the political environment,” said Ciubotaru. The strategy for investing in shares on the BSE is a holding one. According to the Fairwind Securities GM, new players have appeared on the BSE, such as pension funds, which have invested insignificant sums due to the size constraints and liquidity of the Romanian capital market. “In terms of volume the proportion is approximately 70 percent Romanians and the other 30 percent of investors are foreigners – mostly foreign investment funds,” said Simulescu. As the stock exchange is a barometer of the economy, it is natural for it to be affected by political decisions which impact the economic field, but lately there has been more of a correlation with international markets and not with the current economic realities of Romania. Although current estimates foresee global economic growth, this has been revised down from estimates made earlier this year. As Gheorghe says, the Property Fund listing, the increase in the ownership threshold for SIFs and an improvement in the economic context could see enthusiasm return to the local stock market and consequently pique the interest of foreign investors.
POOR
PROGRESS ON THE
BSE
Market specialists say that Romanian companies are currently being traded on the BSE at lower values than the highs of 2007. “The negative domestic context and the difficulty in predicting an economic return worthy of an emerging economy have led to the anemic evolution of the Romanian stock market lately,” says Gheorghe. Moreover, market specialists have said that net revenues of 20 to 30 percent per portfolio per year should satisfy even the most demanding investor during this period. Investors have been forced by the current environment to gradually drop their balancing strategies and BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
9
TALENT
Financial crisis spells difficulty for foreign language centers Training budgets are often the first to go in a recession. On the end of this are private centers that teach foreign languages. Many have seen demand for their courses decline across both sectors: corporate and residential. It seems that individual COURTESY OF INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
clients have been the worst hit, which has meant a shift in strategy and increased focus on attracting companies. Some complain about fiscal constraints while others are
Tough lesson to learn: the economic recession has hit demand for language courses
looking on the bright side, saying it
or study abroad. “However, we’re feeling the crisis at the level of the central budget due to the VAT increase, and we will feel it dramatically if the fiscal regime of collaboration contracts is changed,” she says. Other firms are expressing hope. “Unfortunately, during this period of economic instability, various forms of training are let go, but still some companies – those with vision! – do not neglect training in foreign languages,” Aura Ipate, general manager of A_BEST center, tells Business Review. With individual clients cost cutting, the center has shifted its attention to the corporate sector since the second half of 2009. Recruitment and selection are the silver lining, allowing the firm to recruit very good personnel. Ipate says that for a newer company like A_BEST, the crisis has been a blessing in disguise, because the firm was given room for development. “Since 2008, when companies axed their training budgets, they have also become more flexible and willing to give a chance to newcomers on the market. In this way, we
is now easier to recruit personnel. Otilia Haraga “As is the case across the entire training industry, the recession has affected all types of clients, but particularly the retail sector, or individual clients. Companies have also significantly slashed their budget compared to 2007-2008, and gone back to a similar level to 2006,” Mihai Ganj, managing director of International House, tells Business Review. Bell Bucharest has also suffered. There has been a 20 percent decrease on the corporate side, while business from individual clients is down 10 percent, Carmen Olariu, GM of Bell Bucharest, tells Business Review. Problems go beyond falling demand. Smaranda Elian, manager of FIDES, tells BR that the economic crisis has not hit demand, since people still need foreign languages at their workplace, in order to emigrate 10
managed to build a rich portfolio in a very short time and gained the confidence of our clients,” says Ipate. The recession has also had another effect: some employees now choose to pay for their own training either entirely or partially, while the company covers part of the fee and offers the space so employees do not waste time crossing the city, she says. The HR departments of the companies that still budget for foreign language skills are generally in one of two situations: they employ young graduates with fairly good language skills, but not good enough to meet the requirements of efficient interaction with international partners. “With the exception of graduates who studied foreign languages and those who followed courses that were taught in English or French, in most cases the level of knowledge is rather low in comparison with the real needs and requirements of the employer,” says Ipate. The second case scenario is that the company in question has excellent managers who speak a foreign language but due to lack of practice are rusty, which may be exposed right in the middle of important ne-
gotiations with the foreign counterpart. Among individual customers, many medics are interested in attending English for Medicine classes in order to leave to work abroad. But they are on a rather limited budget, Ipate says. Trainers at A_BEST must have a certain profile: they have to be graduates of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, with international certification, and most of them have graduated from the course Train the Trainer. Also, some of these trainers have worked in the university environment before. Languages like English and German are most in demand. But interest is on the rise for others as well. “We have noticed that during the last year, apart from English and German, the languages most in demand are Dutch and Russian,” says Elian (FIDES).
FIDES Founded in 1991. Teaches: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Arabic, Greek. Other languages on demand. Turnover: not disclosed Trainers: at the moment, FIDES has a teaching staff of over 100 collaborators. Corporate clients: last year, FIDES signed 150 contracts with companies. So far this year, the figure is 80. Location: FIDES center or the client’s headquarters. Groups: There are on average 22 groups per day. Over the course of a year, FIDES has eight training series, and the number of trainees per each series varies between 300 and 800. This year the center has had around 3,000 trainees so far while last year the total number of trainees who learned foreign languages at FIDES was 5,000. BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
TALENT Open Bell
International House
Founded in 2005 under the name
Founded in 2002, specializes in English. It is part of the International House network based in London. It also provides Romanian training to foreign managers who work here, including Jonathan Scheele, former head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Romania, and Robin Barnett, former ambassador of Great Britain. Turnover: in 2009, International House had a turnover of EUR 850,000, and a profit of 10 percent. In
Euro Training and Education Center. Since 2008 it has been a franchise of Bell International and operates under the brand Bell Bucharest. Apart from the HQ in Bucharest, Bell Bucharest also has a branch in Ploiesti. Turnover: EUR 1 million in 2009, profit of 10 percent. EUR 500,000
the first half of 2010, the turnover was EUR 400,000. “In the first half of this year, due to legal changes, profitability has fallen below the level during the same period of last year. However, there are good signs this fall and we anticipate that by the end of the year we will reach the same profitability level as last year,” says Ganj. Trainers: over 50, currently. Corporate clients: More than 100 companies last year, and this year goes along the same lines. “One of
our strong points is the degree of retention of corporate clients, which exceeds 90 percent from one year to the next,” says Ganj. Clients such as: Coca Cola HBC (since 2003), BCR (since 2005) and Petrom (since 2006). Groups: approximately 300 ongoing groups, 80 percent for business English. Location: classes take place either at the school headquarters or at the headquarters of the client, both during the week and during the weekend.
turnover in the first half of 2010. Trainers: at the moment, Bell Bucharest has 90 trainers. Individual clients: 100 individual clients last year, 50 so far this year Corporate clients: 52 companies trained their employees with Bell Bucharest last year. So far this year, 31 have taken out these services. Location: classes take place either at the centre or client’s HQ but Bell also organizes classes in schools and kindergartens. Also, courses for corporate clients can be organized anywhere in Romania. Groups: Bell Bucharest has 70 groups a day, 490 people per day.
A_BEST Founded in 2008. Teaches: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russians, Bulgarian, Greek and Hungarian. Turnover: not disclosed. Trainers: 15 trainers who teach English, 7 trainers who teach German, 3 who teach Italian, 2 who teach Portuguese, 3 who teach Spanish, 3 who teach French, 2 who teach Russian, and 1 who teaches Greek. Location: both at the center (only English and German) but mostly at the HQ of the companies. Classes are also scheduled for Saturday. BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
11
PROPERTY New housing development planned near Aviation Museum in Bucharest National Housing Association, half of the homes that are built. The rest of the units will be owned by the ministry. The Aviation Museum is located in the Pipera area of Bucharest. According to Ontanu, the detailed draft of the project will be developed in the next two months, followed by the technical project, which is expected to take a similar period of time.
Carrefour expands network with supermarket in Cluj Carrefour is opening its 29th supermarket in Romania in the Winmarkt commercial center in Cluj. This is the retailer’s second outlet in the city, after the Carrefour Cluj hypermarket located in Polus Center. The new Carrefour Market has an 800-sqm sales surface, and will stock approximately 7,000 products. At the end of August, Carrefour
opened a 7,000-sqm hypermarket in the retail park in Drobeta Turnu Severin, its first new hypermarket in the past year and a half. With this, the French retailer owns 23 hypermarkets locally. Since the beginning of the year Carrefour has focused on expanding its supermarket network, which currently includes around 30 units.
LAURENTIU OBAE
The National Defense Ministry and the Bucharest District 2 City Hall plan to build 1,400 housing units on a plot located close to the Aviation Museum in Bucharest, said the mayor of Bucharest’s District 2, Nicolae Ontanu, quoted by Mediafax. The plot belonged to the National Defense Ministry before it was taken over by the District 2 City Hall, which will control, through the
Bershka opens fourth Bucharest store in Unirea Shopping Center
This is the fourth Bershka store in Bucharest
Iditex group, which owns brands such as Zara and Pull & Bear, has opening its fourth Bershka store in Bucharest in Unirea Shopping Center. The store consists of 1,200 sqm divided between two levels: the first floor and an 850-sqm space in the Calarasi section of the shopping facility. Part of the shopping center’s façade has been refurbished in a partnership between Unirea Shop-
ping Center and Iditex. A previous announcement placed the value of the works at EUR 1.5 million. Bershka, which appeals to the group’s youngest target market, was created in April 1998 as a new concept in retail and fashion. It now has 665 stores in 47 countries. Bershka’s spacious stores are meant to be a must-see venue for street fashion, music and art. Visitors to Bershka shops can watch videos, listen to CDs and read magazines. Iditex operates over 40 stores in Romania under the following brands: Zara, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti. It is expected to open its first Zara store in Pitesti by the end of this year, in a building which is over 110 years old. Iditex reported EUR 75 million in turnover for 2009, with the largest contribution, EUR 46 million, coming from the Zara brand. In Romania, Zara had a gross profit of close to EUR 11 million in 2009.
The Iditex network in Romania Brand Zara Pull & Bear Massimo Dutti Bershka Stradivarius Oysho Zara Home Uterque Total
Number of Stores 10 8 2 7+1 7 4 3 41
Source: Iditex information from April 2010
BNP Paribas signs exclusive partnership with Brittain Hadley Group for Romanian market BNP Paribas Real Estate Romania has sealed an exclusive partnership with the Brittain Hadley Group which is intended to bring additional project management and building consultancy expertise to clients. The Brittain Hadley Group has worked on several projects on the local market, including a major office fit-out in central Bucharest and an industrial production facility in Timisoara. BNP Paribas Real Estate and Brit12
tain Hadley Europa (Brittain Hadley Group’s subsidiary for Poland) previously made an alliance agreement for the Polish territory. The Brittain Hadley Group is an international service provider active in the field of building consultancy (project and cost management, building design, building surveying and analysis) in the United Kingdom and Channel Islands, Hungary, Poland and Serbia. BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
RESTAURANT REVIEW / CITY
ALL BEEFED UP TIBO’S NO 1 CORVACI (LIPSCANI), TEL 021 312 2177 ast year there was not one real restaurant in Lipscani. How things change. With 100 bars in this tiny area, it desperately needed some quality chophouses, and now it has another, bringing the total to four. So proudly step forward Tibo. It boasts the title “Italian Steak House”, so let’s see how justified this moniker really is. The Italian side is authentic enough as the owner is half Italian and half Scottish. A dreadful provenance I agree, but despite this handicap he has run two successful chophouses in town for the last 12 years. Right, come with me and look over his latest venture. The location is perfect. In case you don’t know this city, Lipscani is the only place to be. It is the hottest, buzziest, sexiest street and meat market in Romania. Tibo is a brand new conversion and thankfully the House wisely made it open plan. Conversely had they chosen the pseudo-communist style of multiple rooms, it would have been a recipe for ruin. I cannot think of one multi-room villa conversion in this city which has not crashed. They have an open kitchen, which is always a sign of a clean, hygienic and confident House. The décor is red and white walls, with matching red and terracotta chairs. Add to this cleverly designed mood lighting, and you have a warm glowing interior. But it is still summer, so we are eating on their terrace. As befits a steak house, the menu contains a superb list of high quality cuts. But what comes as a pleasant surprise is that they have chosen only Italian Tuscan beef and Scottish Aberdeen Angus as their two sources of meat. Bravo House, Tibo is the second quality restaurant (after the Radisson Steak House which uses Irish beef) to reject the dreadful Argentinean crap which has
BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010
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High steaks: Tibo’s uses top quality beef for its meat dishes
dominated the local restaurant scene for the last five years. The Aberdeen Angus comes in two varieties, namely: T bone and rib eye. At 500 grams and 400 grams respectively you would be well advised to share it amongst two persons. This would help to ease the bill, for it is not cheap. But to be fair to the House, you would be paying for one of the world’s finest types of beef, and Angus is expensive everywhere on the planet. Far easier on your wallet is the Italian beef selection. They have the same huge sized T bone and rib eye cuts, but at half the price of the Angus. So I dived into a sirloin which was superb. There is not much you can say about a steak house presentation, other than it comes with two dips. What you are paying for is quality meat with no frills. We passed on their fillet and fillet mignon and tried their fish offering. Yes, steak houses invariably have fish as it is too much of a temptation for the chef to ignore his huge grill, which could equally cook fish. So we gorged on their grilled tiger prawns which were
simple, unpretentious and good. Other offerings were those which predictably lend themselves to a grill, such as salmon, tuna and calamari. Happy with what we ate, we extended our meal with a home-doggie bag for my doggie Annamaria. So we took home an excellent antipasto of: sliced beef Carpaccio, two mussels wrapped in bacon, two slices of pear topped with Gorgonzola, Parma ham with melon and on a mean tiny slice of Caprese lettuce. A great starter at RON 35. There were three pasta dishes, which I have no doubt would be good, but I came for meat instead, and I am glad that I did. There were veggie spring rolls on offer, and tomato and gorgonzola soup, There was a House salad and Waldorf salad as I am told that Waldorfs are in season now!!! Lipscani is here to stay, and so is Tibo’s. If you have not been to Lipscani lately, you should go now to catch the buzz, as I am sure that winter will not be so much fun. Michael Barclay mab.media@dnt.ro
MUZEUL TARANULUI ROMAN (the Romanian Peasant’s Museum) is celebrating the notion of time in various ways between September 10 and 19. Exhibits, fairs, films, book launches, traditional music and a festival of film and culinary art are part of the ten-day fiesta. The fair will feature ten time-related themes. The first, between September 10 and 14, is “a time for celebration”, which consists of a presentation of traditional Romanian religious artifacts created by artists from across the country. The festival of film and culinary art (September 17-19) will feature some of the best recent Balkan films, accompanied by a selection of farm-grown foods and wines. More information about the event is available at the museum or on its website, http://www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro.
ABBA tribute band ABBA Generation will hold their debut concert in Bucharest’s Sala Palatului on October 3, preceded by a showing of musical Mamma Mia. Over 20 songs from the Swedish group’s back catalog will be performed by the tribute band, as part of a dance, lights and special effects spectacular. The show is a part of the sixth edition of the International Festival Ro-IFF. Tickets can be purchased from the Eventim chain, or online from www.eventim.ro and www.bilete.ro. Prices range from RON 40 to 130. Proceeds will go to the Coltea Foundation, for the support of Oncology and Surgery wards.
French artist DAVID GUETTA will perform his third concert in Romania on October 15, to promote his new album, One Love. The DJ and producer’s latest work includes collaborations with the Black Eyed Peas, Akon and Kelly Rowland (with whom Guetta performed the hit single, When Love Takes Over). The concert will take place at Romexpo, one of the largest concert halls in Romania, with ticket prices starting at RON 95 for the first 1,000 buyers.
The winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature, HERTA MÜLLER, will be in Bucharest from September 27- 28 to launch an author series for Humanitas publishing house. During her stay in Romania, Müller will take part in a conference, a public reading session and an interview with Gabriel Liiceanu, the Romanian writer and philosopher, as well as founder of the Humanitas publishing house. The events will take place at Ateneul Roman (the Romanian Athenaeum). 13
CITY
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Bucharest bar scene gets cosmopolitan
Inspired by roof bars in Los Angeles, SkyBar Dorobanti brings an innovative concept to Bucharest
Niche or mainstream, fresh or old-school, the HoReCa scene in Bucharest does a lively trade with full-to-the-brim terraces in summertime and overcrowded night clubs on almost any given Friday. Some of these venues may come and go, but right now there seems to be enough room for everybody, from the eccentric to the casual. Business Review casts an eye over some of the more unusual newcomers.
Opened in April, after nine months of preparations, SkyBar has brought a new concept to the Bucharest leisure scene: a roof bar, inspired by similar locations in Los Angeles. Covered with a retractable roof, the bar was the result of an investment of around EUR 250,000, which SkyBar officials hope to recover in three years’ time. Addressing a medium- to high-earning clientele, businesspeople and tourists, the eclectic music menu includes chill-out sessions during the daytime, and cocktail-suitable rhythms later at night. So far, peak times for the bar have been May and June, as well as weekends, when admission was by reservation only. Subsequently, Wednesday and Thursday have also become busy nights. Situated in Bucharest’s poshest neighborhood, Dorobanti, SkyBar uses location and design as its key differentiators. With the latter by Mihnea Ghildus, the venue boasts branded decors and futuristic facilities. The swingers’ club for the sexual elite – this is the motto with which Attraction Club was launched in Bucharest on August 28. In spite of its newness, it is already receiving significant media attention due to its openness towards sex. Are Romanians, still a tradition people, ready for out in the open polygamy? Roxana Ionita, owner and manag14
er of Attraction Club, thinks they are. She is not concerned about her EUR 80,000 investment, made “in a city which is getting more and more cosmopolitan and with an elite consuming sophisticated entertainment”. Budapest, for example, has over five swingers’ clubs, says Ionita. Things are looking up for the new venture – since the opening, over 50 people have participated in every event, a number which Ionita says is increasing week by week. Currently open only on Saturday, Attraction Club will also extend to Fridays. But it is not only the local swingers who attend Attraction Club, Ionita adds; many customers come for the intimate atmosphere, completed by the seductive music and the sophisticated design created by a team led by scenographer Adriana Raicu. Espace Nunu is a mixture of wine, slow food bar and object gallery, “for sophisticated snobs!”, as the location’s description has it. Nunu is an eclectic location on the Bucharest scene and its openness towards artistic, design and gastronomic events is the main aspect meant to set it apart from other similar locations, which, to Cosma’s mind, do not really exist in Bucharest, for the moment. Having opened this year in June, Nunu was a wine bar and object gallery at its core, which shortly developed into a bistro, in a little while replaced by the idea of conceptual din-
COURTESY OF MOJO
Corina Dumitrescu
Read more about Mojo Music Club (pictured), as well as other locations, on www.business-review.ro
ners, held only for a small number of people. The setting is meant to make the difference in this location, as Nunu is an “artist-run place”, as owner and manager Stefan Cosma describes it. The initial investment involved purchasing the two-floor house and garden at Constantin Coanda 24 and their “maximalistic” decoration with furniture and objects which initially belonged to Cosma, also a freelance decorator. Not yet having a site of its own, Espace Nunu does however have Facebook profile that has managed to attract over 3,500 friends in three months. Brought onto the scene in May by the team behind the indie/alternative Control Club, Shift Pub was conceived as a more relaxing location, a counterpoint to the more energetic atmosphere of the already well established club. A cultural pub/bistro, Shift also deals with cultural events meant to attract a niche clientele from an alternative professional background such as new business, media, art or music, Florin Oslobanu, Control Club and Shift Pub manager, says. Concerts, auditions, launches, workshops and theme parties set the tone at the bistro.
With an initial investment of EUR 40,000, the location has so far reached a peak of 250 customers, “which is good considering the pub’s dimensions”, adds Oslobanu. Jazz, electronic music and post-rock rhythms can be heard in the chill-out location, which also has a flower garden open on warmer days. Created as an annex to Control Club, which has access to a customer base of 5,000, the location is now attempting to position itself as pre-party location, which revelers can attend before going to the club, in order to get in the mood. So, in spite of the more financially difficult times, there is apparently still room for new HoReCa locations in Bucharest. All these new players are fighting (successfully, so far) to stand out through their concepts, an exquisite setting, high-class clientele or special location. Meanwhile, on their way to becoming veterans, with at least one year of existence, more experienced pubs also play their role in the Bucharest pub and bar scene: Mojo, Van Gogh, the Silver Church Club and El Grande Comandante. For the full version of this article, please visit our online magazine, www.business-review.ro, the City section. BUSINESS REVIEW / September 13 - 19, 2010