Business Review Issue 39/2013 December 2 - 8

NEWS: Liviu Tudor, president of Genesis Development, says that next year should see consolidation for the real estate developer, after it completed EUR 40 million of investments in 2013, in four office buildings in the Novo Park project »page 5

ROMANIA’S PREMIER BUSINESS WEEKLY

December 2 - 8, 2013 / VOLUME 17, NUMBER 39

Following last week’s visit of Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Romania and China have signed strategic partnerships worth more than EUR 5 billion, says PM Victor Ponta » page 4

T OUOW! N

NEWS

FOCUS

Kno deal

Taxing problem

Global player Intel has taken over educational software company Kno, including its only European office in Cluj-Napoca, with its local staff of 35

Food industry players hope a wider reduction in VAT rates will help combat tax evasion, which now affects around half of the local market

» page 5

» page 6

Courtesy of gov.ro

THE CHINESE CONNECTION

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

NEWS 3

NEWS in brief

BUSINESS AGENDA December 9

ENERGY BCR to finance 1.5MW biogas plant in northern Romania The Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) has struck a financing deal with First Biogaz, a member of Austria’s Biogest, for the construction of a 1.5MW biogas plant in northern Romania, the bank has announced.

According to Biogest CEO Marin Schlerka, the output of the plant, which requires an investment of about EUR 6 million, can cover the consumption of around 4,500 households. He said the heat would be used at an operational cereal drying plant and a fish farm.

Biogest has worked on over 90 biogas projects across Europe, including in Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic.

Tobias Waldemar Seiferth, head of the international desk at BCR, commented that the lender was interested in financing the local economy, including the renewable energy sector.

Eldorado Gold secures new environmental permit for Certej site Canada-based Eldorado Gold has been granted a new environmental permit by the Hunedoara Environmental Protection Agency, allowing it to start gold mining in Certej, western Romania.

Controversy surrounding the Certej project ignited last year, after the Timisoara Regional Environmental Protection Agency gave the go ahead for the start of cyanide-based mining in Certej.

Deva Gold, the company owned

by Eldorado Gold, was stripped of its permit later that year after the Ministry of Environment said it had not been consulted over the decision.

The Hunedoara-based agency issued the new permit after a one-day evaluation of public opposition to the Certej project. Representatives at Mining Watch Romania said they would challenge the decision in court.

HEALTHCARE Sanador Hospital opens EUR 1 mln cardiac surgery unit Romania’s Sanador Hospital, the private healthcare services provider, has opened a new cardiac surgery unit at its Bucharest-based hospital following a EUR 1 million investment.

The ward will handle complex surgical procedures and will be headed by heart surgeon Horatiu Moldovan,

an associate professor who holds a PhD in Medical Science. He will coordinate a team of four physicians who are widely recognized in Romania and abroad.

The new unit has four operating theaters, and patients are accommodated in hospital rooms with one or two beds.

MedLife nine-month turnover up 16 percent to EUR 53 mln MedLife, Romania’s biggest provider of private healthcare services, registered a turnover of EUR 53 million in the first nine months of 2013, in line with expectations, marking a 16 percent gain on the same period of last year. It aims to register EUR 10 million in profit by year end.

The company increased its third quarter turnover by 17 percent to EUR 15.5 million, supported by gains in the laboratory segment, said officials. MedLife posted a 15 percent hike in the number of patients that paid for services in hyper clinics and hospitals, giving it a total of 560,000, in the same period.

Mihai Marcu, president of the firm’s board of administration, commented that the company is seeking to increase its profitability to EUR 15 million in the next two years.

He added that the healthcare provider had increased its market share to 15 percent.

MedLife said its portfolio of corporate clients rose by 52,200 subscribers in the first nine months.

PROPERTY HP Romania renews lease on Novo Park space HP’s Romanian subsidiary has renewed its lease on 26,000 sqm in Bucharest’s Novo Park office project for a further ten years, announced Liviu Tudor, the president of Genesis Development, the project developer.

HP has been a tenant in Novo Park for the past eight years, making this the longest lease contract on the local office market, according to company data.

Genesis Development, which in addition to Novo Park also owns the West Gate office project in western Bucharest and the West Gate Studios residential project, estimates it will report revenues of EUR 32 million this year, in line with its 2012 results, said Tudor.

Novo Park and West Gate have a combined leasable area of 150,000

sqm. This year Genesis Development has invested EUR 800,000 in the Novo Park project, in infrastructure works and various upgrades.

STOCK EXCHANGE Franklin Templeton to secure new term at helm of Property Fund Shareholders in the Property Fund (FP) have approved in principle the extension of Franklin Templeton’s mandate as administrator for another two years, starting September 2014, according to Mediafax newswire.

The proposal was made by Elliott Associates, the US-based hedge fund that holds a 14.95 percent stake in the fund.

The fund had proposed the extension of the mandate by two or four years, stipulating certain performance criteria for Franklin Templeton.

American banking giant Morgan Stanley holds a 5.14 percent stake in the fund.

17:30 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the first Romanian Investors Forum, an event dedicated to the Romanian companies and entrepreneurs that have stood out on the local market or abroad at Pullman Hotel.

The event includes a session of discussions and presentations, followed by a ceremony and a networking dinner. Registration is open.

Find out more at www.businessreview.eu/br-events

December 9 18:00 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the fifth French Investors Forum, which aims to present the main contributions of French players to the local business environment, at Pullman Hotel.

Registration is open.

Find out more at www.businessreview.eu/br-events

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

4 NEWS INVESTMENTS

Romania and China shake hands on strategic projects Romania and China have signed strategic partnerships in infrastructure, energy, agriculture and telecom worth more than EUR 5 billion, according to PM Victor Ponta. In town for the Economic and Commercial Forum China – CEE, attended by 16 PMs, this was the first time in 19 years when a Chinese premier has come to Romania.

Courtesy of gov.ro

“China sees Romania as an important pillar of its cooperation with Eastern Europe and the European Union,” said the Chinese prime minister, Li Keqiang, last week, quoted by Mediafax newswire.

In his turn, Romanian PM Victor Ponta said, “Without being excessively enthusiastic, I believe this was a historic moment. It is, after our accession to NATO and the EU nearly ten years ago, a new moment of great opportunity, because this is not only about relations with China, but also about our regional role. All the prime ministers in the region who were in Bucharest and the special role that China has granted Romania in its relations with the entire region represents a huge opportunity for economic China’s PM Li Keqiang and his Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta development and it is up to us to use it, slowly but surely, from now on.”

According to the Financial Times, the Technologies Co. Ltd. which stipulates state-owned nuclear producer, signed visit of the Chinese PM to Romania has that the Romanian executive will grant a letter of intent for the construction of caused some concern in Brussels. But “the necessary support for expanding two nuclear reactors at Cernavoda, which Ponta said that enhancing relations with commercial activities to Huawei,” said require an investment of EUR 6.5 billion.

China would not affect Romania’s EU Ponta. The agreement will be made pub- The two operational nuclear reactors at Cernavoda are the backbone of Romacourse. “We are only learning from older lic.

In agriculture, the Chinese and Ro- nia’s energy system, currently supplying EU member states who have extraordinary relations, strategic partnerships manian authorities signed an agreement one fifth of national electricity conand trade ties with China, and I do not on live animal and meat exports to China. sumption. Representatives of the two see why we should not do the same. Romanian cattle exports could amount countries also signed deals for the overThe world has four cardinal points, and to some 500,000 cows from the local haul of production capacities at the therwe are members of the EU and NATO, cow breed Baltata romaneasca being moelectric plant in Deva and the develbut it is a sign of great short-sightedness delivered over the next seven to ten opment of a new thermoelectric asset at the Oltenia Energy Complex. to believe that if you are in good relations years.

Valeriu Nistor, the president of busiIn energy, the government signed with countries outside the EU, this means last week a raft of memorandum with ness advocacy group AmCham Romania, you are against the EU,” said Ponta.

The cumulated value of the projects Chinese companies on the development told BR, “It depends a lot on how much agreed between Romania and China will of large nuclear and hydroelectricity effort they put into transforming these exceed EUR 5 billion, which is a “mod- projects. Constantin Nita, delegate min- intentions into concrete projects. We erate to pessimistic estimation,” accord- ister of energy, said the Chinese involve- will see. It is hard to speculate.” BR ing to Ponta, who said that a series of ment in energy projects would amount asked Nistor if the government was lookconcrete steps are needed to get from to EUR 5 billion and Romania would the signing of the documents to the ac- contribute another EUR 3.5 billion to tual implementation. “I want to make their development. “We will fully respect sure that all memorandums signed be- the European legislation. It is true that tween Romania and China regarding in- many companies ask for government vestments in energy, infrastructure and guarantees, but we will not grant any.

IT will be personally monitored by myself, These are commercial projects,” said the deputy PM and each minister. In Nita, quoted by business daily Ziarul FiJanuary, we will participate in the gov- nanciar. sheep could be exported from Romania to China, China’s Sinohydro Corporation inked ernment session dedicated to the steps according to agriculture minister Daniel Constantin. The announcement comes after that need to be made in implementing a guarantee letter regarding the conthe Chinese and Romanian authorities signed struction of the hydro pumping storage these important projects,” said Ponta. an agreement on cattle trade between the In telecom, Chinese company Huawei plant in Tarnita Lapustesti, which retwo countries. has announced it will invest in research quires an investment of over EUR 1 and education programs in Romania, billion. This plant is key to balancing and will set up a regional center in Romania’s energy system, given the the value of trade between China and Europe in 2012, according to the Chinese Prime Minister Li Bucharest, after the government com- soaring renewable capacities, mainly Keqiang, speaking during the Economic and mitted to support these investments, wind, which have an unpredictable outCommercial Forum China – CEE taking place in according to Mediafax. The government put. The China General Nuclear Power Bucharest. approved a memorandum with Huawei Corporation and Nuclearelectrica, the

China-CEE Forum in numbers 4-5 mln

USD 50 bln

ing towards China to build large infrastructure projects because Western companies were not investing in this area.

He started by saying that construction firms from France and Italy have been constantly involved in the development of local projects. “I would not say that companies in Europe did not get involved and now there are companies coming from other areas, but obviously we can see it has not been enough and still is not, so any addition to this national effort can be welcomed.”

Ovidiu Chiorean, partner, investment banking, at Crosspoint, notes Romania has seen increased interest from Chinese companies in public-private partnerships (PPP), infrastructure and the banking system. However, Chinese firms have yet to venture into Romania for massive projects, with one of the main reasons being red tape. “ We might also see interest in other types of infrastructure like railways and airports,” Chiorean told BR. He suggested the adoption of a new PPP law that makes it easier to divide risk between the state and investors, which may lead to increased interest from Chinese companies in big infrastructure, including motorways.

Ramona Manescu, minister of transport, suggested Chinese companies could be involved in the construction of a high-speed train line that would run from Constanta to the border with Hungary, which has an estimated cost of EUR 11 billion.

“Chinese investments will be an important source for the development of infrastructure in Europe in the coming period. It is up to us to create a business model for projects to which we’d like to attract Chinese investments so they can help us finance them,” Bogdan Ion, country managing partner at the professional services firm EY Romania, told BR. The Crosspoint partner notes that Eastern Europe is on the radar of Chinese investments after the “bad experience” they had in Africa in the race for resources. “I think Eastern Europe is back on the map, not only for oil and gas, but also for mineral resources and possibly agriculture. We’re also seeing interest from South Korea and Japan,” said Chiorean.

Last year China set up a USD 10 billion credit line to support cooperative projects in CEE as part of its efforts to increase its influence in Europe. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca, Otilia Haraga

www.business-review.ro Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

NEWS 5

PROPERTY

INVESTMENTS

Genesis Development to consolidate after completing EUR 40 mln of investments in 2013

AmCham members responsible for 200,000 local jobs

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ompanies that are members of the business advocacy group AmCham Romania have created over 200,000 jobs in Romania and generated foreign direct investments of USD 20 billion in the last two decades, according to an impact study published last week.

The business association currently has 355 members comprising multinationals and Romanian firms active in all sectors of the economy. The members have continued to invest in recent years despite the global recession.

“The first thing we do is to convince our members to maintain their current exposures. The best investors are those that operate in Romania and increase their exposure in the local economy,” Valeriu Nistor, president of AmCham Romania, told BR. “The government takes into account our proposals – sometimes it makes favorable decisions, sometimes not – but we have a relatively solid dialogue with the government,” he added.

AmCham members generated EUR 1.2 billion in direct investments between 2010 and 2012, which is roughly one quarter of all the FDI stock in this period. ∫ Ovidiu Posirca

ext year should bring consolidation for real estate developer Genesis Development, which owns the 150,000 sqm Novo Park and West Gate office projects in Bucharest, said Liviu Tudor, the company’s president, last week. The announcement comes after the developer completed investments of EUR 40 million in four office buildings in the Novo Park project in Bucharest’s Pipera neighborhood in 2013.

While investments in upgrading the existing office buildings will continue, Tudor, who is the largest Romanian office space owner, says he has no plans to start a new one. And this is despite the fact that both Novo Park and West Gate have room for expansion. “We would consider developing a new office building only if one of our existing tenants wanted considerably more space.

Otherwise, the context doesn’t leave room for much speculative risk,” said Tudor last week, during a press conference.

He added that the company’s rule had always been to start a project after pre-leasing 50 percent of the space. “Now, in the present climate, the rule has become to pre-lease at leased 80-90 percent of the building. Others do it without having a single tenant. It’s their risk,” said the businessman.

“All the signs point up for building in Romania. We are an El Dorado for investors and they will come when they considerate it opportune,” he concluded.

In the meantime, the developer announced last week that HP’s Romanian subsidiary has renewed its lease on the 26,000 sqm it occupies in Novo Park for a ten-year period. HP has been a tenant in Novo Park for the past eight years.

This makes it the longest leasing contract on the local office market, according to company data.

Novo Park comprises seven buildings with a total leasable are of around 75,000 Liviu Tudor, owner of Novo Park sqm. Occupancy is above 98 percent, according to company data. In addition Bucharest already has a considerable to HP, the other tenants in the complex stock of office space and banks remain are Procter & Gamble, Mondelez Romareluctant to finance real estate projects, nia, Garanti Romania, Ringier, Sodexo, he added. “It is not a given that we have Infineon Technologies, Yokagawa, Luxoft to continuously keep building. It is not and UniCredit Business Integrated Soa given that there should always be new lutions.

Genesis Development, which in adresidential or office space. Too much was built in too short a period of time dition to the Novo Park and West Gate (…). Banks are now waiting for supply office projects also owns the West Gate and demand to reach a balance,” said Studios residential project, estimates it will report EUR 32 million in revenues Tudor.

Should macroeconomic indicators this year, in line with 2012 results, said improve, investments will pick up, but Tudor. ∫ Simona Bazavan there will be no spectacular growth over the next eight to ten years, predicts the businessman, who remains optimist regarding the sector’s growth potential.

IT&C

Intel takes over educational software company Kno, including Cluj branch

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ntel has acquired Kno, an educational erating systems: iOS, Windows or Ansoftware company with offices in droid.

The team structure and management the United States, India and Romania.

The company’s only European office is will remain the same at Kno’s local office. located in Cluj-Napoca, and currently “All 35 employers in the Cluj-Napoca has 35 employees. The terms of the deal have been fully integrated into Intel.

They are 100 percent Intel employees. have not been made public.

“So far we have focused mainly on They have joined the Intel sales and providing access to hardware and soft- marketing team, the Romanian software ware tools, such as online platforms for development center team and the Wind teachers and students. We now want to River team under the Intel Romania move onto the next level, which is con- umbrella,” said Ciugudean-Toma.

Currently, Intel’s footprint in Romania tent. Kno is an important content creator in the educational field. Following this comprises the marketing and sales office acquisition, we will have more than in Bucharest, the Intel Romania Software 225,000 higher education and K-12 book Development Center in Bucharest, which titles through existing partnerships with develops open source software for mo75 educational publishers available bile devices, the Educational Software through Intel Education Solutions’ global Development Center in Cluj-Napoca and digital content library. Kno’s content de- the Wind River subsidiary in Galati, livery platform is tremendously com- which develops software for embedded plementary to Intel Education Solutions’ devices.

“Altogether, the business units and comprehensive approach, focused on student success through our core pillars subsidiaries working for Intel in Romania of products, software, content and pro- have almost 380 employees,” Ciugudeanfessional development,” Manuela Toma told BR. “That is 38 times higher Ciugudean-Toma, the firm’s PR manager than at the end of 2010, when Intel had for Central and Eastern Europe, told BR. 10 employees in Romania.” ∫ Otilia Haraga Kno software can run on various op-

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www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

6 FOCUS

Food industry pins hopes of whiter market on VAT cut VAT fraud continues to represent the largest share of tax evasion in Romania, which last year was estimated to have swallowed up a whopping 13.8 percent of the country’s GDP. Extending the VAT cut beyond bread products could in theory provide a long awaited solution – but how feasible is this, given the newly announced budget constraints? ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN Tax is evaded on an estimated 67 percent of the bread market, 40 percent of the meat industry, 20 percent of the sugar sector and a whopping 70 percent of the spirits market, according to representatives of local producers’ associations.

While tax evasion is an entrenched and widespread phenomenon throughout the Romanian economy, the food industry is one of the most exposed. A high VAT level compared to the rest of Europe, combined with lack of political will to stamp out the phenomenon, creates a toxic business environment that makes it increasingly hard for good-faith players to survive, let alone thrive, industry representatives complain.

For example, on the sugar market, tax evasion affects about one fifth of sold volumes, said Emilian Dobrescu, president of the Romanian Sugar Association, during BR’s fourth Focus on Agriculture event. The black market for sugar is mostly fuelled by intracommunity trade, he added. Addressing the issue of tax evasion becomes even more pressing considering that from 2017 the EU will drop the production quotas which regulate the sugar market at present. This will mean additional competition for the local sugar industry, stressed Dobrescu. Cutting the VAT on sugar and reversed taxation would help reduce the phenomenon, alongside more effective oversight from the authorities, he recommended.

Cutting VAT is the key…

After more than a year of public debate, in September VAT on bread was cut by 15 percentage points to 9 percent.

While the immediate drop in the shelf price of bread was a welcome effect which the authorities were most eager to publicize, the measure was intended first of all to help fight tax evasion – the lower the tax, the less the incentive to avoid paying it. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development previously predicted that the VAT cut on bread products would double the quantities of legally sold flour and bread to 2.8 million tonnes and increase the number of officially

Bale out: the local food industry needs regulatory measures to help it combat tax evasion, say players

employed workers in the industry by 8,500.

With no official figures out yet, Rompan, the Romanian Employers’ League of the Milling, Bakery and Flour-Based Products Industry, announced that following the tax reduction, shelf prices had dropped by 12 percent on average and the quantities for which VAT is paid were up by 15 percent for bread and 10 percent for flour.

Should the VAT cut for bread prove a success, meaning that the shortterm fall in budget revenues is offset by a reduction in tax evasion, thereby generating even more money for the state budget, the VAT cut will be rolled out to other industries as well, the government announced. Until this happens, the government plans to balance the books by hiking taxes elsewhere. It has opted to increase excise taxes on alcohol and luxury products such as gold, yachts and cars with engines over 3,000 cubic centimeters, despite complaints that this will generate boomerang effects in other industries.

Meanwhile, meat, oil and sugar producers are just a few of the players

waiting their turn for a VAT cut from 2014. For meat products, this could be come in the second half of next year, Stefan Padure, executive director of the Romanian Meat Association (ARC), said during BR’s fourth Focus on Agriculture event.

However, given the EUR 653 million shortfall in revenues following the second budget revision this year, the plan to reduce VAT to 9 percent for additional foodstuffs has come under threat. Indeed, the government’s first reaction was to announce additional tax increases rather than come up with measures to improve collection.

… but a more efficient fiscal regime gets you there Cutting VAT alone is not enough to stamp out tax evasion, producers, tax pundits and even the authorities agree. Data from the European Commission found that Romania collected only 58 percent of the VAT due in the 2001-2011 period.

Improving tax collection and tightening fiscal controls must go hand in hand with lowering VAT, say players.

This would generate the necessary

funds to ease the fiscal burden on good-faith players while penalizing the bad-faith ones. “The reduction of VAT on bread could reduce fiscal evasion but only if concrete measures to fight against it are introduced in parallel. On the one hand, the reduction of the VAT rate from 24 percent to 9 percent could discourage tax evaders because 9 percent is not as ‘tempting’ to avoid as 24 percent. On the other hand, tax audit tools should focus more on identifying the methods used by those who evade tax with the aim of eliminating them from the market,” Ramona Jurubita, partner, deputy head of taxation at KPMG, told BR. In the meanwhile, tax revenues in the first 10 months of 2013 were down by 0.2 percent of GDP, data from the

15% the increase in the quantities of bread on which VAT is paid since the VAT rate was cut to 9 percent.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

58% the share of VAT due over the 20012011 period that Romania collected

Ministry of Finance reveal. The ministry blames the fall in tax revenues on the reorganization of Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) combined with the short-term losses generated by the VAT cut for bread. The new and restructured ANAF will be better able to tackle tax evasion starting next year, promise ministry officials.

A recent tax evasion tax case shows just how vital this is. In November, Romanian businessman Iustin Paraschiv turned himself in and was remanded in custody for 30 days after charges of tax evasion and money laundering were brought against him. With a fortune estimated at EUR 70 million, the 32-year-old is among the youngest local businesspeople listed in Forbes’ Top 500 Billionaires. He controls a group of companies whose combined turnover amounted to more than EUR 250 million last year.

Paraschiv, who controls local meat producer Carmistin, allegedly coordinated a network responsible for fictitious meat transactions which deprived the state of EUR 12 million.

FOCUS 7 to the case, further proof that, as in many tax evasion cases, private companies work hand in hand with the authorities.

Referring to this recent investigation, Padure said that it was “the first time in 20 years when the authorities had addressed the issue in a thorough manner in order to help create a fair business environment”. This is the only way to ensure products on the market are safe and raise the money needed to counterbalance the VAT cut, he added.

There is such a thing as a tax evasion free industry The beer industry is one of the few FMCG sectors – if not the only one – which prides itself in having no tax evasion at production level. In 2012 alone, Bergenbier, Heineken Romania, Romaqua Group, United Romanian Breweries and Ursus Breweries contributed EUR 283 million in the form of VAT, excises, social security and other taxes to the state budget. The five companies account for over 90 percent of the beer sold in the country.

“This is the result of the brewers’ efforts to comply. Beer producers have understood that only by complying with the law can they grow and develop this industry on the long run,” Constantin Bratu, general director of the Brewers of Romania Association, of which the five companies are members, told BR.

“On the one hand, the reduction of the VAT rate from 24 percent to 9 percent could discourage tax evaders because 9 percent is not as ‘tempting’ to avoid as 24 percent. On the other hand, tax audit tools should focus more on identifying the methods used by those who evade tax with the aim of eliminating them from the market” Ramona Jurubita, partner, deputy head of taxation at KPMG His arrest is linked to a larger tax evasion case dubbed by local media “the meat network”. Some 100 companies are believed to have been part of a network which avoided paying taxes on poultry transactions.

Prosecutors estimate the loss at EUR 50 million. The tax evasion was abetted by employees of the Public Finance Ministry, representatives of the tax collection department ANAF and other public officials, according to prosecutors.

Another 21 people have already been arrested in the case. They include Moubarak Mahmoud Sleiman, who was allegedly the head of the tax evasion network, and prosecutor Angela Nicolae. More recently, PSD senator Nicolae Badalau has been linked

Compliance is, of course, the best case scenario, but until this becomes the norm, the authorities need to do their job.

“In my opinion, there are no magic solutions to reducing fiscal evasion in the food sector. However, there should be at least a two-way approach: first, the tax authorities should be more efficient in identifying and stopping evasion – for example, by being more present in the field through surprise tax audits focused on well known tax evaders – and, second, we should all concentrate our efforts on teaching the taxpayer always to ask for a fiscal receipt,” concluded Jurubita. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

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8

Drug makers call for predictable clawback The inclusion of up to 141 new drugs on the reimbursement list from next year and the pitfalls of the current clawback mechanism were the focus of debate during the second annual Pharmaceutical Industry Roundtable, organized recently by Business Review.

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All photos: Mihai Constantineanu / Vlad Virban

1. Panelists outline the latest developments involving the clawback contribution

∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA The clawback, which was introduced in 2009 as a means to control the consumption of reimbursed pharmaceuticals, has raised numerous challenges for producers, who claim the tax is both discriminatory and unpredictable.

“It is wrong for holders of wholesale distribution authorizations (APP) to pay a contribution for part of the deficit created by distributors and pharmacists that do not pay this tax,” said Dragos Bogdan, partner at law firm Stoica & Asociatii. He suggested the clawback contribution be based on the sales level and not the reimbursement value of the drugs.

“The current way in which the communication of consumption values is organized from an administrative point of view presents legal risks, as it could be successfully challenged at the Constitutional Court,” says Bogdan, whose firm has won favorable court decisions

EUR 427 mln clawback collection target for 2014

for some producers. BBraun Medical Romania, a producer of generic drugs operating a plant in Timisoara, is involved in litigation with the Romanian authorities over the clawback.

“We are all frustrated by this tax which has a lot of incorrect elements,” said Amelia Dinu, general manager of the producer.

Despite ongoing litigation against the state over the clawback, Cristian Busoi, president of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), hinted that any change in the tax could come into force only from the second half of next year. “If new medicines are included on the list, the consumption could be very high. We can consider this (e.n. an increase in the threshold of reimbursed drugs) because it will be harder to sustain, and maybe it is not fair that all the costs of patients’ access to new medicines be borne solely by the producers, for as much as one year,” said Busoi.

Romania plans higher clawback collection in 2014 The authorities are currently grappling with a reduction of collected clawback from RON 1.5 billion (EUR 338 million) last year, to “a little” over RON 1 billion (EUR 225 million) this year, according to Busoi, who cited various factors behind

the drop, including the exclusion of VAT from the calculation of the tax.

The government is aiming to increase collection to RON 1.9 billion (EUR 427 million) next year, not including any update of the reimbursed drugs list.

Mihaela Iancu, head of the pharmaceuticals and medical devices departments within the Ministry of Health, said the ministry wants the updated list to come into force in January 2014, five years since the last time new drugs entered the reimbursement system.

Iancu added that the authorities are working closely with the European Commission and the World Bank on overhauling the drug pricing and clawback system, but did not mention a timeframe for these efforts.

Under the current clawback system, producers of innovative medicines and generics, drugs with expired patents, are subject to the same level of taxation, and the Ministry of Health has hinted at the possibility of capping the tax on the cheaper drugs. “The generics need a lower clawback because their price is fixed at 65 percent of the price of the original,” said Laurentiu Mihai, executive director of the Association for Generic Medicine Producers (APMGR).

Luca Visini, general manager of Eli Lilly, a member of the Romanian As-

sociation of International Medicine Manufacturers (ARPIM), said the differentiated clawback would not be sustainable because it would increase the burden on innovative producers.

Even the CNAS president acknowledged the differentiated tax would present additional technical challenges, although he said the insurance house was open to discussing the proposal.

The clawback contribution, which averages at 15 to 20 percent of the turnover, has had a debilitating effect on a market that is seeing sluggish growth. “In my view, the clawback is a mechanism that delivers results, from the experience of other countries, if its value does not exceed 10 percent,” said Petru Craciun, general director at Cegedim, a data provider for the pharmaceuticals industry.

According to Cegedim data, the pharmaceuticals market grew by 1.8 percent to EUR 1.9 billion in the first nine months of the year. Third quarter sales lost 1.6 percent, driven by an 8.2 reduction in the hospital segment.

Craciun forecasted the market would grow by 2.7 percent next year, expressed in RON, based on a moderate update of the drugs list. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

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PARTNER CONTENT

The latest on the clawback tax

by Dragos Bogdan, Partner STOICA & Asociaţii 3

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the clients that missed the deadline for contesting those notifications issued by the National Health Insurance House.

Finally, we successfully used legal arguments that led to the exclusion of the distributor’s and pharmacy’s margins from the computation mechanism of the clawback tax.

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1. Cristian Busoi, president, National Health Insurance House (CNAS) 2. Amelia Dinu, general manager, BBraun Medical Romania 3. Mihaela Iancu, head of the pharmaceuticals and medical devices departments, Ministry of Health 4. Petru Craciun, general manager, Cegedim 5. Laurentiu Mihai, executive director, Association for Generic Medicine Producers (APMGR) 6. Luca Visini, CEO, Eli Lilly, ARPIM member 7. Dragos Bogdan, partner, Stoica & Asociatii 8. Valeriu Stoica, founding partner, Stoica & Asociatii

Is the current clawback mechanism raising significant legal challenges for producers of drugs?

The implementation of the clawback tax raises major issues, taking into account that the pharmaceutical producers are taxed on the income generated by other companies since the current base includes the distributors’ and pharmacy’s margins. This taxable base is totally unsustainable for any business. Also, from a legal perspective, the current administrative practice has been successfully challenged in court by several major actors from the industry, but a couple of issues are still pending until now. It remains to be seen if the authorities will amend this situation.

What has been the work of STOICA & Asociatii in solving cases regarding the claw back mechanism?

We assisted and represented many pharmaceutical companies with regard to the suspension of the notifications issued by the National Health Insurance House for QIV 2011 - QIII 2012 and, as a result of these suspension proceedings, those clients did not pay the CB tax in that period. I think the suspension procedure will become very important next year, when the level of the CB tax is expected to increase. We also annulled all the notifications for 2009 – Q1 2013, some of them with final solutions at the High Court of Cassation. Also, at our request, the Constitutional Court of Romania has ruled that including the VAT in the calculation basis of the claw-back tax for QI-III 2012 is in conflict with the Romanian Constitution. This decision triggered a wide array of legal consequences with an enormous impact on the local pharmaceutical market.

Moreover, we annulled the notifications issued for T1 2012 – T3 2012 for

Can a producer of drugs successfully challenge in court the payment of the claw back contribution?

Yes, they can, given the existence of a thoroughly designed strategy, whereby the respective companies employ the right legal arguments in a timely manner. The legal actions in which we succeeded to annul or suspend the clawback notifications, required a very complex litigation strategy. My previous experience in European Court of Human Rights case-law also helped us find important arguments for challenging the inclusion of the VAT and of distributor’s and pharmacy’s margins in the tax base. After the Constitutional Court’s decision, applicable only for Q1-Q3 2012, some court cases became rather simple. However, the cases for Q4 2011, Q4 2012 – Q3 2013 are still very complex and open to a variety of solutions. Also, given my experience in the field, I cannot help but notice an improvement in the activity of the NHIH’s legal counselors before the courts. In summary, even if it is no longer as easy as it became after Constitutional Court’s decision for Q1 – Q3 2012, it is still possible to successfully challenge the notifications. Our experience proves it.

Do you think that the amount of the clawback tax will be reduced and that the transparency of the computing mechanism will be increased?

This is something quite hard to predict.

For the moment, the information made public by several officials points out to a freeze on the compensation budget for 2014 which, combined with the announced update of the reimbursed drugs list,could result in a bigger budgetary deficit and, as a consequence, an increased clawback tax.

However, in the long run, we are confident that the Romanian authorities will find a way to appease the pharmaceutical companies that are, for the time being, struggling to survive in a very unpredictable business environment.

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

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Local telecom: regional performance but big challenges ahead Telecom services in Romania have been posting the second best performance rate in Central and Eastern Europe, after Russia, according to an IDC survey. However, players complain that it is hard to develop new technologies such as 4G and increase mobile data traffic when confronted with decreasing termination rates, constrained public purchasing power and the second lowest rates per minute in Europe.

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∫ OTILIA HARAGA Romania has been posting the second highest growth rate for telecom services in the CEE region, after Russia, and the fourth highest in the whole of Europe, John Gole, program director for telecommunications at IDC UK, said during the Business Review event Focus on Telecom, which took place last week.

“Romania is one of the most competitive markets where I have worked so far, even more competitive than Germany. It has the second lowest per minute rate in Europe. While in Romania, the rate per minute is 0.2 cents, in Germany it is 0.8 eurocents,” said Markus Lause, chief commercial officer, enterprise business unit, at Vodafone Romania.

The telecom industry is under pressure from regulatory measures, the state of the economy, falling prices, devaluation of voice and messaging, the level of required investments, OTT players and changing consumer behavior, according to IDC UK. “Voice is currently financing the big investments in the 4G networks. It is still the most significant revenue source for telecom operators. In Romania, mobile tariffs are four times cheaper than in Germany. I don’t know when the switch between voice and data will happen, so we really need to see a balanced approach on termination rates,” said Florin Popa, business to business director at Or-

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“I don’t think we will be able to provide ange Romania.

At the moment, every operator in- unlimited data in entry tariff plans, cludes data in its offer. “A small bun- given the investments we must make dle of data is included in every in 4G,” said Popa.

On the other hand, in Romania the entry-level tariff plan, and can be used for browsing the web and social media. average net monthly income is below

1. Speakers in the first panel debated the impact of regulatory measures on the telecom market 2. John Gole, program director, telecommunications, IDC UK 3. Gheorghe Rusen, director, economic regulation division ANCOM 4. Florin Petolea, country senior officer, Alcatel-Lucent Romania 5. Florin Popa, business-to-business director Orange Romania 6. Markus Lause, chief commercial officer, enterprise business unit, Vodafone Romania EUR 400 while in Germany it is EUR 1,800, said Lause.

The slash in termination rates that ANCOM intends to implement next year is a hot topic for operators, since they stand to lose a significant share of their revenues.

According to Florin Petolea, country senior officer at Alcatel-Lucent Romania, the local telecom market will stabilize this year at EUR 3.5 billion, marking a decline on previous years.

However, the market stands to shrink even more if the termination cuts are applied, said Petolea. “The new modification to the fiscal code may also have an effect on the market next year,” he commented.

“Currently, there is a race in the broadband speeds being made available to consumers. Operators are already offering 200 Mbps (editor’s note: UPC Romania) and one operator is already offering subscriptions for 500 Mbps speeds (editor’s note: RCS &RDS). Discussions are already ongoing regarding 5G technology,” said Petolea.

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

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1. Speakers in the second panel debated trends in the telecom industry 2. Nicu Pana, management & sales consultant, TelSign 3. Catalin Cretu, general manager Visa Romania 4. Andreea Paun, associate director- office agency, Colliers International Romania 5. Karim Kheirat, associate director, KPMG Romania 6. Vlad Mihalache, M2M business lead, Vodafone Romania 7. Daniel Nicolescu, country manager, PayU Romania 8. Bogdan Balaci, CEO Ymens According to KPMG calculations, the cut in termination rates will cause a drop in mobile operators’ revenues of more than EUR 206 million and a 17 percent reduction in the investment sums available for developing the networks.

Smartphone adoption is driving forward the data traffic. However, Romania is about two years behind other European countries in smartphone adoption, although it is catching up fast, said Lause. While among Voda-

fone Romania customers, about 28 percent use smartphones and between 2 and 5 percent use tablets on a mobile network, in Europe smartphone adoption stands at around 50 percent.

3G broadband coverage has reached over nine tenths of Romania, according to Gheorghe Rusen, director of the economic regulation division at ANCOM. “Third generation broadband coverage extends to 90 percent of the Ro-

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All photos: Mihai Constantineanu / Vlad Virban

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websites. Also, 47 percent make no use of software solutions and only 38 percent give priority to IT projects.

Furthermore, 8 percent of businesses are using cloud for business and only 4 percent are using online transactions, according to the latest data from manian territory. We also have rather the White Chart of SMEs, quoted by good 4G coverage compared to the Balaci. “The sophistication and level European average which is at 26 per- of maturity of the market is quite low,” cent. In Romania, competition is he commented.

Small companies with fewer than fierce. We have six mobile operators and 900 fixed broadband operators,” 50 employees use either traditional IT solutions or no solutions at all. They said Rusen.

The ANCOM representative said have a small IT budget, if any, and are the main challenge was to change con- mainly focused on survival on the sumer behavior, since 64 percent of market. Their concerns are pricing those who do not have internet say and security.

Medium companies with fewer they do not need it while 50 percent than 250 employees use on-premise say it is too expensive.

Among businesses, internet usage applications, have a budget but little is also rather low. Some 90 percent of planning, and their needs are related firms use the internet only for brows- to competitiveness and costs. Their ing and e-mail, 40 percent use it for concerns are about security, functioncreating websites and e-commerce alities, support and services. and only 5 percent are using other Large companies have dedicated IT solutions and procurement proceservices such as M2M and cloud.

Official ANCOM data show that dures and their needs center on effithere are around 4 million subscribers ciency, control, scalability and to fixed telephony and 25.5 million flexibility, while their concerns are remobile phone subscriptions. Nearly lated to security, SLA (service level half of Romanian households have a agreement) and support services. fixed internet connection and more Local public institutions use tradithan 85 percent have TV broadcasting tional or outdated IT solutions, have procurement procedures, and their services.

In fact, Romania finds itself in a needs are in the area of cost reduction, paradox, given the top place it holds efficiency and quality. Their concerns in computer science worldwide and are related to security, support and the fact that it is among the top five costs. “The cloud can have the biggest countries worldwide for internet impact here, because in these instituspeeds, said Bogdan Balaci, CEO of tions there is no money for investments and no IT human resources,” cloud computing provider Ymens.

But despite this positive back- said Balaci. ground, only 27 percent of the companies in Romania have presentation otilia.haraga@business-review.ro

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

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Photo: Silviu Pal

Claus and effect: He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice...

Festive fun: Bucharest counts down to Christmas

For our readers who find Christmas shopping stressful, but still want to surprise and impress their loved ones with a thoughtful gift, BR is on hand to help you navigate the festive retail maze. Read on for our selection of the best places to pick up Christmas gifts as well as a round-up of musical occasions to help you get into the holiday spirit – or recover from the shopping spree. ∫ OANA VASILIU CHRISTMAS FAIRS Bucharest Christmas Market Opened by Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu, the city’s Christmas Market will run from December 6 until January 6. The market, held above the underground parking lot in Universitate Square, hosts over 60 small stalls with traditional Romanian goodies and other products, as well as Christmas decorations and handmade presents. This year, another two Christmas Markets will take place in Bucharest, at Unirii Square, just in front of

Unirii Store, and in Herastrau Park.

Universitate Square, Unirii Square, Herastrau Park.

Sala Dalles The traditional fair at Sala Dalles will run until Christmas Eve. It takes the form of a small shopping gallery where visitors can find all manner of gifts for loved ones: clothes, toys, jewelry, sweets, organic cosmetic products, Christmas decorations and candles, plus food and beverages, all beautifully wrapped. A cup or similar item engraved with a message can be a personalized present for someone special.

18 Balcescu Blvd.

Charity Christmas Bazaar Romexpo will host the IWA Winter Bazaar, the International Women’s Association’s main fundraising event.

The festival sees the many international communities living in Romania come together to celebrate diversity, with nationalities exhibiting their culture, music, dance, costumes, handcrafts, Christmas ornaments, products and cuisines. The one-day event takes place on December 8, from 10.00 to 17.00, with an entrance fee of RON 10.

The money raised will go to non-governmental organizations, healthcare centers for the elderly, children’s homes, schools, hospitals and associ-

ations for the protection of women and children.

65-67 Marasti Blvd.

Christmas Souvenir Fair The Christmas Gift, Decoration and Souvenir Fair will be held in the C1 Hall of the Romexpo Exhibition Centre on an area of 2,000 square meters. The event will bring together traders from Romania and abroad, manufacturers, distributors and retailers of Christmas decorations, toys, sweets, clothes, footwear and leather goods, as well as jewelry, cosmetics and perfumes.

The fair will run from December 5-8.

65-67 Marasti Blvd.

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

CHRISTMAS CONCERTS December 5 – Demis Roussos, Sala Palatului Ticket prices: RON 50-300

The popular Greek singer returns once again to Bucharest – a town he is said to consider his second home – to the delight of his many local fans, who will enjoy renditions of Ave Maria, White Christmas, Silent Night, Amazing Grace, Dinata Dinata, Goodbye My Love Goodbye and My Friend the Wind, on a festive set list.

CITY 13 The singer is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini. He gained fame with a wider audience as one of The Three Tenors, alongside Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. This performance will feature White Christmas, O Holy Night and Let It Snow, as well as several other Christmas numbers.

December 15 – Christmas Gala Concert with Jose Carreras, Romexpo Ticket prices: RON 150-650

(La vie d’Adele – Chapitres 1 & 2)

December 18 – Viennese Treat (Regalul Vienez), Palatul National al Copiilor Ticket prices: RON 130 Feeling blue: Adele Exarchopoulos (right) and Lea Seydoux

DEBBIE STOWE

Iconic waltzes, along with other wellknown musical works, will come to life under the baton of legendary conductor Daniel Zakharov, in a passionate and colorful Viennese Treat. The show will feature the vibrant voice of Marina Raddis, First Singer of the National Opera of Chisinau, the Eastern Royal Opera, accompanied by the celebrated accordion player Evgeni Nagruzza, who benefits from copyrights granted personally by Richard Galiano, the world’s top accordionist.

December 21 – Viennese Christmas with Edvin Marton, Sala Palatului Ticket prices: RON 75-260 Edvin Marton is an Emmy Award-winning composer and performer who has captured the hearts of audiences on five continents, and now comes to Romania with the Vienna Strauss Orchestra, for a Viennese Christmas celebration. Featuring singers and ballerinas from the Vienna State Opera, the concert will bring to life the enduring compositions of Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which have entertained music fans for over 180 years.

December 24 – Divna, Romanian Athenaeum Ticket prices: RON 200-250 Divna will take to the stage on Christmas Eve with the Melodi choir, which she founded in 1991. The ensemble performs sacred, spiritual and ancient music as well as contemporary choral works.

Spanish tenor Jose Carreras will be back in Bucharest for a third concert.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour

December 15 – Madrigal Choir, Romanian Athenaeum Ticket prices: RON 150-200 The famous Romanian Madrigal Choir, which has had a place on the universal UNESCO heritage list since 1992, will perform two Christmas concerts on the same day, one at 16.00 and the other at 20.00. A selection of carols that embody the traditional Romanian Christmas spirit will form the basis of an extraordinary concert.

December 9 – The Golden Voices of Gospel, Romanian Athenaeum Ticket prices: RON 100-200

The Golden Voices of Gospel, along with founder and leader Reverend Dwight Robson, will take their Romanian audience on a journey through the breathtaking world of spiritual music, gospel and tradition. The choir’s members hail from the Southern States of the US, and sing in a similar style to the music of African-American churches.

FILM REVIEW

oana.vasiliu@business-review.ro

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche Starring: Adele Exarchopoulos, Lea Seydoux, Jeremie Laheurte, Catherine Salee, Aurélien Recoing, Sandor Funtek On at: Cinema Elvira Popescu (French Institute) A three-hour film about French lesbians sounds like a Guardian cliché (a right-on British broadsheet). But let me allay any fears you might harbor about having the patience for such a worthy-sounding project: as the 179th minute of running time clocked round, not only did I not feel it had gone on for too long, but I wanted it to continue, to tell me the next chapter in Adele’s searing story.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour does not really feel like a movie; it feels like taking a slow walk through Adele’s life. This is deft, confident filmmaking, that gives a shrug of Gallic contempt for cinema convention and pushes on in presenting fully fleshed out characters.

Too much flesh – some have said.

Protracted and graphic sex scenes have laid director Abdellatif Kechiche open to charges of exploitation and voyeurism – including from his own cast and crew. It is true that these sequences go on longer than necessary, and while they are at one with the director’s uncompromising approach and sprawling narrative, they do border on the gratuitous and could easily have been edited down with no harmful effect on the movie.

The second major criticism that has been made is that Blue Is the Warmest Colour presents a heterosexual male’s version of same-sex relationships. Again, there is some truth in the claim: this is certainly cellulite-

free lesbianism, firmly focused on the young and nubile.

But these two caveats cannot detract from what is an accomplished, absorbing picture, ambitious in scope, honest and probing in its depiction of relationships, both sexual and social, and intense in its impact.

The story opens with teenager Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos) in high school, sneaking a crafty fag on the school stairs and confusedly working her way through the usual adolescent fumblings. But it all changes when she meets blue-haired arts student Emma (Lea Seydoux), after a male friend takes her to a local gay bar. We then follow their changing relationship over several years.

Kechiche is adept at signaling early on the class differences that will manifest further down the line. In twin “meet the parents” scenes, Emma’s bourgeois mother and step-father – fully aware and supportive of their daughter’s sexuality – serve oysters and show Adele their modern art collection, before lauding the value of a cultural life. Meanwhile, the lower middle-class parents of still-in-thecloset Adele dish up humble spag bol with the telly on, ask what Emma’s “boyfriend” does and lecture her on the importance of earning a living if one wishes to mess about being an artist.

From the rush of young love to the trials and tedium of living together and conflicting values, Blue Is the Warmest Colour is not a “lesbian film”, but will resonate with anyone in a long-term relationship, chronicling love’s highs and lows with candor. It’s a beautiful work, involving and evolving, rich in detail, flawlessly acted and hugely rewarding. debbie.stowe@business-review.ro

www.business-review.eu Business Review | December 2 - 8, 2013

14 CITY

DON’T MISS

SENSE. ROMANIAN ESSENCES, TASTES AND MOODS

Photos: Razvan Voiculescu

Photographer Razvan Voiculescu tries to bring together various aspects of the Romanian sense (of being): crafts, customs, moments of authenticity, life stories

To have sense means a certain way of doing things and living your life. Identity begins with having sense and knowing your sense in the world. When you lose your sense it means you lose direction, you lose your way.

Two years after Wanders of Cooking, the renowned photographer Răzvan Voiculescu is back with a brand new album called Sense. Romanian Essences, Tastes and Moods. It is an impressive volume which tries to bring together various aspects of the Romanian sense (of being): crafts, customs, moments of authenticity, life stories.

The author considers it the final and most ambitious part of the series dedicated to the Romanian traditional village, which comprises two other photographic albums: Romania – The Humble Port of Splendor and Divine Engraved Destinies of Tara Lapusului.

The album was born from the need to describe a dying world. In Romanian villages and small towns, many of the traditional crafts are beginning to slowly die out. Nowadays we hear about the “the last blacksmith”, “the last horseshoer” or “the last rhapsodists”.

These people know their crafts well

and try to keep them alive, respecting the “philosophy” of an old world in which magic had an important place.

They try hard to find apprentices for their crafts, in order to pass them down to the younger generations. But it is usually in vain. It is possible that tomorrow this idea of SENSE – as shown in the work of these craftsmen, folk artists and tradition keepers who are too little known or completely forgotten by their communities – will no longer be available or even alive.

Part of a more complex national campaign, Răzvan Voiculescu’s album aims to show the public the life stories and faces of these “Sense Keepers”, so important to our identity. The central message of this campaign is: “We have our SENSE. We keep it alive”. The campaign will try to move the Romanian people, to persuade them to discover by themselves new faces and stories about our SENSE. To find on their own long lost traditions and crafts, folk elements and arts that are still alive, to meet extraordinary people that do their best to keep their SENSE in a world that is moving towards globalization and uniformity.

FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery PUBLISHER Anca Ionita EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor JOURNALISTS Otilia Haraga - senior journalist, Simona Bazavan, Ovidiu Posirca, Oana Vasiliu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe PHOTO EDITOR: Mihai Constantineanu

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean

Slice of life: the album was born from the need to describe a dying world

For two long years, Răzvan Voiculescu Sense. Romanian Essences, Tastes and and his team have discovered, pho- Moods is made up of pictures dedicated tographed and filmed almost one hun- to each of these “Sense Keepers”. dred stories about these “Sense Keep- Like all the other albums by Răzvan ers”: horseshoers, alphorn makers, Voiculescu, this one includes a short skinners, blacksmiths, traditional “making of” , by Romanian director Şershoemakers, millers, rhapsodists/min- ban Georgescu. ∫ Staff strels and harness makers. The album EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi SALES & EVENTS Sales managers: Ana-Maria Nedelcu, Oana Albu, Raluca Comanescu Sales executives: Ana Maria Andrei MARKETING Ana-Maria Stanca, Catalina Costiuc, Iulia Mizgan PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRIBUTION Eugen Musat

PUBLISHER Bloc Notes Media ADDRESS No. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3 Bucharest, Romania LANDLINE Editorial: 031.040.09.32 Office: 031.040.09.31 EMAILS editorial@business-review.ro sales@business-review.ro events@business-review.ro