Business Review No. 8, March 14 - 20

Talent: Young entrepreneur Mona Blaer, business development manager at GQS Bathrooms, says her IT and marketing background have helped her develop an e-commerce model for her business »pages 8-9

ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY

GREEK INVESTMENT

MARCH 14 - 20, 2011 / VOLUME 16, NUMBER 8

GREECE IS STILL THE FIFTH MAIN SOURCE OF FDI IN ROMANIA. IN THE FIRST 3Q OF 2010 158 NEW GREEK ENTITIES WERE REGISTERED LOCALLY »PAGES 10 -13

DATA DANGER Social networks and other websites are now a permanent part of our daily lives. But cyber criminals are among their most enthusiastic users. Just how safe is your personal data in the online realm? Business Review logs on and asks the experts »page 8-11 Photo: Laurentiu Obae

3Q

FOCUS

Sun shines on con- Too cool for local struction niche school?

Dan Mircescu, GM of Final Distribution, says the firm’s market niche could see more domestic activity » page 6

INTERVIEW

Developing markets

Ingo Nissen, managRomania’s education ing director with system is losing more Sonae Sierra, tells BR and more students to about the developer’s better reputed schools local portfolio and abroad plans » page 16-18 » page 19

PLUS An unpromising restaurant has a lot of bottle » page 21 Does ballet film Black Swan deserve a standing ovation? » page 21

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

NEWS 3

NEWS in brief WEEK in numbers

6 H&M stores will be opened in Romania by the end of April

9,000 jobs in the Interior Ministry could be axed this year as part of efforts to improve efficiency and eliminate corruption, said the minister, Traian Igas

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

IMAGE of the week Gulf opportunities Investors from the Gulf countries could invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Romania and other South-Eastern economies in the long run. The first Gulf Cooperation Council–Romania economic forum brought to Bucharest about 130 officials and representatives of business communities from the GCC countries in an attempt to make the local economy better known to potential investors from this region.

Read more on Gulf investors’ interest in the local market on page 7, news section.

PROPERTY & RETAIL H&M to open six stores in Romania by end of April Fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has announced that it will open six stores in Romania by the end spring. Three shops will open in March in Bucharest, followed by two more in the capital and one in Brasov.

The first H&M outlet will open on March 25 in AFI Palace Cotroceni followed by one in Unirea Shopping Center the next day and a shop in Baneasa Shopping City on March 31.

The following month another three store openings are scheduled in Plaza Romania (April 8), Bucharest Mall (April 15) and in Unirea Shopping Center in Brasov (April 29).

For each opening, the first 100 customers will receive a card worth RON 80 that can be used in any H&M store.

Domo establishes new store in Focsani with EUR 200,000 IT firm Domo Retail has opened a store in Focsani following an investment of EUR 200,000. The sum does not include the stock. The 600-sqm store, the company’s second in Focsani and 127th in Romania, is located in the Promenada Mall, according to a Domo press release.

“We are glad that the strategy of optimization and restructuring that we have been applying ever since last year has yielded the expected results,” said CEO Lorand Szarvadi.

Domo Retail posted a turnover of EUR 170 million in 2009. Its main competitors are Altex and Flanco.

CBRE: European Investors shift focus to Germany and CEE for property acquisition in 2011 Nearly a quarter of investors are looking at CEE as the most attractive area in Europe for property investment in 2011, compared to only 16 percent last year, according to a CBRE survey presented at this year’s MIPIM fair.

4.186 RON/EUR – exchange rate announced by the Central Bank last week, the lowest since June gy sources. It is expected to wrap up plans for the new capacities, meaning negotiations with potential partners from the two countries, by the end of this year.

ONLINE Yahoo.ro now available to Romanian users

ENERGY

The Yahoo! website is now available in Romanian, supplying news, and weather information. Romanian users can also create an e-mail account with a .ro extension.

Yahoo! announced in November that it would launch its Romanian portal in the first part of March and offer services such as e-mail and messaging. The Yahoo.ro website includes four main categories in Romanian: news, finance, sport and lifestyle. At the end of last year, Yahoo! services were used locally by 8.2 million people, which represented around 80 percent of the country’s total number of internet users, according to Marvin Liao, commercial manager of Yahoo! for the EMEA region, quoted by Mediafax.

Lukoil eyes renewable energy projects in Romania

3TS invests EUR 4 million in Avangate

Russian oil company, Lukoil, which has operations in Romania, has announced plans to develop wind and solar power plants in Romania and Bulgaria. The statement was made by Vasily Zubakin, deputy head of the company's main energy division, quoted by news agency Ria Novosti. He added that the projects are part of Lukoil's strategy to enter the renewable energy business. The oil company made the decision as Russia has no mechanism to support alternative ener-

3TS Capital Partners has invested EUR 4 million in Avangate, making it minor shareholder in the company. The firm used the Fund for Technology in Central and Eastern Europe S.C.A. SICAR (also known as 3TS Cisco Growth Fund).

The money will become available to Avangate over the next six months. It will help the firm consolidate its global presence and pursue the strategy it set for this year. 3TS Capital Partners targets investments in developing sectors such as con-

Globally, the survey showed an increase in investors’ interest in CEE and North America over Western Europe.

The retail segment surpassed the office sector for investment attractiveness, while investors remain cautious about secondary properties, and over 70 percent expect the yield for these properties to remain at 2010 levels or higher in 2011.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

4 NEWS

NEWS in brief sumers & services, media & marketing, technology & telecom, energy & the environment.

LEGISLATION Romanian opposition parties launch no-confidence motion over Labor Code Romanian opposition MPs have launched a motion of no-confidence after the government used a vote of confidence to pass the new Labor Code. The motion is supported by 210 members of the opposition Social Liberal Union (an alliance of social democrats, liberals and conservatives).

Social democrat representatives said the procedure targets both the vote of confidence procedure and the amend-

ments to the Labor Code approved by the government. According to Roberta Anastase, president of the Chamber of Deputies, the motion will most likely be put to the vote on March 16.

ADMINISTRATION Economy Ministry modernized with structural funds The Ministry of Economy will be equipped with a system of electronic communications to bring public services up-to-date and keep the general public informed.

The project, called the Ministry of Economy Electronic Services Integrated Informatics System, will be implemented mainly using structural funds.

It has a total value of over RON 16.5 million (almost EUR 4 million) of which the non-reimbursable value is over RON 13.3 million (EUR 3.17 million). The period of implementation is 24 months.

The aim of the project is to improve the quality of services provided by the Ministry of Economy.

Government to dissolve Financial Guard and Customs Authority The government has announced plans to restructure the Financial Guard and the Customs Authority, by merging the two institutions with the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).

According to a draft government decision, ANAF will now be responsible for collecting and managing state budget

income as well as conducting tax inspections, customs procedures and other financial guard operations.

ANAF's new structure will include a president, four vice-presidents, a secretary general and various public employees and contracted staff. The maximum number of positions will be reduced by almost 5,000, to 29,100. In addition to this, similar departments within the three institutions will merge, namely those in charge of public auditing, public procurement and investments, professional training, IT services, public relations and international cooperation.

REBRANDING CMU and Euroclinic rebrand as Regina Maria CMU and Euroclinic have rebranded under the Regina Maria umbrella. Following the move, the Regina Maria maternity facility will be called the Regina Maria Hospital of Obstetrics-Gynecology, CMU Kids will be renamed Regina Maria Policlinic for Children while the Euroclinic hospital will gain the name Regina Maria Euroclinic Hospital.

Stem Health Unirea is rebranded as the Regina Maria Central Bank of Stem Cells while the network of laboratories will reemerge as the Regina Maria Division of Clinic Laboratories.

By the end of the year Regina Maria will open a new hospital of obstetrics- gynecology in the Baneasa area of Bucharest with an investment budget that will exceed EUR 12 million this year. Currently, the Regina Maria network comprises four hospitals in Bucharest – CMU Dorobanti, CMU Arcul de Triumf, CMU Regina Maria maternity hospital and Euroclinic – one hospital in Brasov and 23 policlinics.

INDUSTRY Tnuva closes local dairy farm on lack of profitability Tnuva Romania will close its dairy farm in Adunatii-Copaceni, near Bucharest, due to financial considerations, according to ynetnews.com.

“The cowshed and cow breeding are not Tnuva's core business, so we asked ourselves whether we should invest efforts in breeding cows. The farm is not profitable and was built at the time to ensure the supply of milk to the dairy when there was a milk shortage in Romania.

This is not the situation today,” said Arik Schor, CEO of Tnuva.

The cattle farm is located 20 km outside Bucharest near the producer’s EUR 55 million production plant, which opened in 2007. It has 1,200 animals. “Our suppliers in Romania include the cow farms set up by Adama Holding, so the issue of shutting down the dairy was thoroughly examined,” said Schor.

Tnuva has a 7 percent market share in Romania and despite posting losses for several years has announced that it will not leave the local market, according to the same source.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

6 NEWS CONSULTANCY

3Q Dan Mircescu general manager, Final Distribution

Ensight becomes member of Eurogroup Consulting, looks to pan-European projects

R

We understand that you will focus your strategy on exports in the near future.

What are your specific plans in this regard and how much will you invest?

Currently, we are discussing the export of products in the Novatik range with potential business partners. The investments in starting exports will focus on improving efficiency and increasing the production capacity of the line in Baicoi, Prahova. Currently, the production line has a volume for gutters of 3.5 million ml/year and 1 million ml/year for downpipes, following an investment of EUR 500,000 in the second half of last year. In 2011, we will continue to make investments of around EUR 300,000 in equipment for the production of accessories and components for the Novatik system.

Do you also plan on expanding your production line to include other materials?

For the moment, we are focusing on the development of the new segment of activity, the production of Novatik gutters and downspouts. We will continue to make investments to reach a larger share on the Romanian market and develop towards export. corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro

Courtesy of Ensight Group

How would you describe the local construction materials market in terms of competitiveness, especially the gutters and downspouts production?

The local rain systems market (gutters and downspouts) has so far been dominated by importers. It is estimated at EUR 20 million, of which local production represents less than 30 percent. In this context, we concluded that this was a niche with growth potential and we decided to reinvent ourselves after five years of activity as an importer and distributor on the Romanian market of premium roofing tiling products. So we entered strongly on the production segment through our own brand of gutters and downspouts – Novatik, which completes our roof products portfolio.

We charge a competitive price for the Novatik system, made possible through its local production, which makes it accessible to most clients. What’s more, we have the advantage of offering four distinct product categories in the Novatik range. For the first year of activity on the rain system products market, we aim to reach a market share of 5 percent in Romania.

omanian firm Ensight Management Consulting has recently become a member of the Eurogroup Consulting network. Eurogroup Consulting provides consultancy services in a variety of sectors: banking, finance, insurance, pharmaceuticals, production, retail and distribution, energy and utilities, telecommunications, public administration and healthcare.

The most profitable sectors this year will be banking & insurance, retail & distribution and energy & utilities, said Robert Maxim, managing partner of Ensight Management Consulting, as they are going through important restructuring processes.

Yves Labat, general delegate of Eurogroup Consulting, said that Ensight will now provide consulting services not only locally, but also regionally: “We have developed expertise in managing cultural differences. Our teams can be immediately operational to conduct crossborder assignments. For a more effective approach to consulting projects conducted in Central and Eastern European countries, Eurogroup Consulting provides consulting services through a hub of offices: Bucharest and Warsaw. It will participate from Romania in consulting missions, at regional level, for clients in Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia and the Republic of Moldova.”

This affiliation opens new perspec-

Ensight and Eurogroup Consulting representatives spoke of plans on the local market

tives for Ensight in terms of access to international academic research, added Maxim.

The local management consulting market fell 20 percent to approximately EUR 180-200 million in 2010, after sinking 30 percent in 2009 against the previous year, said Maxim, estimating similar results for this year (a value of around EUR 200,000). In 2010 Ensight Management Consulting registered a EUR 4.7 million turnover, down 20 percent on 2009.

This year, it expects similar results, with 10-15 percent of the turnover to come

CONSTRUCTIONS

MEDIA & MARKETING

Holcim commits EUR 35 mln to environmental projects in 2011

H

olcim Romania has announced that it will invest EUR 35 million in developing environmental and energy efficiency projects in 2011, as well as the modernizing and maintenance of its technologies and equipment. The figure is 75 percent more than its 2010 value of investments. The cement firm registered a turnover of EUR 200 million in 2010, down 20 percent compared to 2009, due to the effects of the economic crisis and difficult market conditions, officials said. The operating EBIT dropped by 53 percent, from EUR 54 million in 2009 to EUR 25 million in 2010.

The biggest investments will go into a waste heat recovery project in Alesd cement plant, which will have an impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions at national level, and on an energy-efficient products project, which will increase the co-processing capacities of cement plants in Alesd and Campulung.

“We decided to increase the value of investments in 2011, because we believe in the potential of the local market and we expect that the construction and real estate market might return to growth from 2012,” said Markus Wirth, CEO of Holcim Romania. Holcim’s total value of investments since 1997 is over EUR 700 million, a sum that also includes the ac-

from pan-European projects.

The move is the first Romanian affiliation with an international management consulting group. It enables Ensight to widen its service portfolio and extend its geographical market range to pan-European level. Eurogroup Consulting is an independent consulting company, of European origins, which has 24 offices in 18 countries and a team of 1,200 consultants.

It covers a wide range of business issues for clients, nationally and internationally. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

quisitions made so far by the company to extend its activity in Romania.

The waste heat recovery project aims to replace roughly 15 percent of the electrical energy consumed in the Alesd plant with “greener” energy obtained by recovering the residual heat from the clinker manufacturing process. The system therefore generates electrical energy without any additional fossil fuel consumption. The EUR 14 million investment is the first of its kind in Eastern Europe.

The project will be completed by the second quarter of 2012 Another of 2011’s priorities at both Holcim Romania’s cement plants is the production of energy efficient and low carbon footprint products. New facilities will be installed in both the Campulung and Alesd plants in order to increase the waste co-processing capacity and assure sustainable resource utilization. The value of the investment is EUR 12 million in both plants and the project is predicted to be finished by the end of the year. Holcim will also implement new investments projects in its dispatch and milling capacities. The value of the investment is EUR 3.3 million and the project should be completed by the end of this year, at the Alesd cement plant. ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

Recession shakes up marketing split

R

ecession brings a decline in consumption and with this comes the challenge of how a company should spend its marketing budget in order to maximize sales. This issue and other related topics were discussed by 30 local marketing managers, CEOs and other decision makers as well as media specialists at the BR Roundtable on marketing and strategic decision making, organized by BR last week.

Faced with fiercer competition due to the shrinking budgets of thrifty consumers, companies had to adapt their marketing strategies to a new environment. This generated a shift in how budgets were split between the various media channels with TV getting a larger share, an average of 67 percent, against previous years. Thought to have the largest impact, costly large-scale TV campaigns proved to be the panic button for many companies, while the internet languished in an undeserved last position, said participants. Locally, the internet is still generally perceived as new and small, and its benefits often overlooked.

While there is no perfect recipe, media specialists argue that as media consumption is constantly changing so should a company’s marketing strategy.

Simona Bazavan

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

NEWS 7

BANKING

INVESTMENTS

Garanti banks on EUR 5 million local profit in 2011

Gulf investors seek business opportunities in Romania and SEE

G

nvestors from the Gulf countries are constantly looking for new business opportunities, and could invest several hundred million dollars in Romania and other South Eastern European economies in the long run.

This was the conclusion of the first Gulf Cooperation Council-Romania economic forum organized last week by Forum Invest.

The event brought to Bucharest about 130 officials and representatives of business communities from GCC countries in an attempt to make the local economy better known to potential investors from this region.

Eastern European countries are a more attractive destination than other European states as prices are still low in the region, argued attendees.

“Why shouldn’t your country benefit from the capital that Gulf businesspeople are ready to invest, if the economic environment is the right one?” said Ahaed Rashed Al Hauron, minister of trade from Kuwait.

He went on to say that both countries could benefit from stronger bilateral relations.

“We don’t need capital, but technology and know-how and also labor force for our economies. I believe that all repre-

aranti Bank has registered a 70 percent increase in assets in 2010, compared to 2009, reaching slightly over EUR 1.4 billion. The lender has a local customer base of 450,000. Its total value of loans reached EUR 786 million in 2010, 45 percent over the 2009 value. In 2011, the bank is aiming to reach EUR 5 million profit, said Murat Atay, general manager of the Garanti Group. Loans and retail banking are part of this year’s strategy, as the bank hopes to extend its credit card portfolio by over 50 percent.

“We will continue to invest in developing operations in Romania and, at the same time, maintain our initial plan of becoming profitable this year and ranking in the top ten banks by assets in the near future. Aside from profitability, the bank also aims to increase loans by 30 percent in 2011, develop its level of assets by 20 percent and increase deposits by 25 percent. Moreover, we intend to develop our credit card portfolio by over 50 percent, going beyond 115,000 credit cards,” Atay said.

Garanti Bank representatives said that this year the bank will focus on retail banking and SMEs. Loans, deposits and transactional banking are its main points of focus in Romania and its strategy is to focus on competition and already existing clients, rather than attracting new

ones on a market that still finds itself in recession.

Also present at the press conference, Burak Yildiran, deputy general manager, added that, locally, the bank aims to reach 100 branches in the future, this level being regarded as sufficient to cover the Romanian “bankable” population.

Virginia Otel, HR manager at the lender, said that the bank currently has 1,300 employees. Of these, 150 were recruited in the last six months, due to the bank’s development and territorial extension.

The Garanti Group has recently finished its integration and rebranding process which involved three of the financial non-banking institutions that functioned last year under the GE Money brand.Garanti Group is currently formed of Garanti Bank, which has been present on the local banking market for more than 12 years. At the end of 2010, the lender expanded its operations in leasing and financial areas through the integration of three financial institutions: Garanti Leasing (the brand under which the company Motoractive Leasing IFN SA operates), Garanti Credite de Consum (under which Ralfi IFN SA is active) and Garanti Credite Ipotecare (under which Domenia Credit IFN SA operates). ∫ Corina Dumitrescu

I

sentatives from the GCC countries know that Romania has the characteristics that lead to good bilateral relations,” added the minister.

Romania’s trade with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) constitutes a large percentage of its overall GCC trade.

In 2009, total trade between the GCC and Romania amounted to USD 580 million and about 35 percent of this was represented by trade between UAE and Romania.

“Although the current level of our bilateral trade is not reflective of the true potential that our strong economies can achieve, the steady growth witnessed in the first 10 months of 2010 alone is promising,” said Sheika Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE minister of foreign trade.

Present at the event, the Romanian president, Traian Basescu, said that the country offers business opportunities in almost all industries, and he named energy, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure. ”In Romania one can make anything into a business. One can invest in any field due to the gap with other economies. This gap can be closed only through investments,” said the president.

Simona Bazavan

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

8 TALENT

Tapping into a bathroom market flush with expansion opportunity Young entrepreneur Mona Blaer is awash with bold plans for GQS Bathrooms.

She intends to extend business on adjacent markets while maintaining the performance standards. ∫ ANCA IONESCU

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Mona Blaer, business development manager of GQS Bathrooms / German Quality Solution, started her entrepreneurial career in 2008. At that time Blaer and her two business partners established a company that was active in real estate and project management. She was in charge of procurement activities for different real estate projects. But the idea to set up a business specialized in the distribution of sanitary products soon presented itself. “It came after many former customers asked about potential suppliers of furniture and finishings. Besides, there were some former suppliers that wanted us to collaborate again, at least as a commercial representation. All of this happened at the beginning of 2008,” remembers the businesswoman.

But things didn’t stop here. The IT, marketing and advertising expertise of her team helped her to start developing an e-commerce business model. “It was a long and challenging process, but our diverse professional experience earned us the trust of some major suppliers from the sanitary items industry,” says Blaer.

GQS Bathrooms is now a brand of German Quality Solution, a retailer specialized in sanitary product commerce. It is also the owner of the online shop obiectesanitare.eu and serves as a direct importer or authorized dealer in Romania for all the brands on the site, which include brands such as Grohe, Ideal Standard, Radox, Duravit, Arthema, Vidima, Hatria, Franke, Ravak and Joop!.

Blaer’s professional background greatly helped her to set up GQS Bathrooms.

She was sales manager of the furniture and sanitary products division at Omnitech Trading (from 1997 to 2003) and then country manager at Berloni (20032005). She also gained marketing experience working for Trout&Partners Romania as business development director.

She sees the current downturn as a time for innovation and structuring rather than a threat. “Our range of products is permanently increasing, while we improve both the structure and procedures of our online store,” says. Blaer. “Customers have greater needs, are better informed about quality, technology and design, while having fewer financial resources at their disposal. Even the premium segment needs alternatives with

brand and design incorporated but with lower allocated budgets.”

Blaer is one of the many young entrepreneurs to have availed themselves of the benefits of an MBA program. “The major achievement was that it changed my perspective: I gave up working as an employee. But the transition toward entrepreneurship was a gradual one because for almost two years I was associate partner with a marketing consultancy firm.”

She adds that an MBA program (she followed the Romanian-Canadian one) offers networking as one of its major benefits, especially during times of crisis.

Any start-up has its own difficulties, says Blaer. “For me the idea of not meeting the expectations of our customers is the major stress. Besides, the incertitude of being successful on an emerging e-commerce market such as Romania’s was the first difficultly,” she adds.

If Blaer started another business she would act sooner. “I still regret the time when I was undecided and dreaming.

The idea of not meeting the expectations of our customers is the major stress. The incertitude of being successful on an emerging e-commerce market such as Romania’s was the first difficultly But it is possible that things have evolved

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

TALENT 9

process,” adds the business development manager. And this seems to be the right course of action as the competition in the field on the local market is strong, mature and fierce.

Blaer says that at the moment GQS Bathrooms / German Quality Solution has 2009 estimated turnover: one of the widest range of products, with EUR 915,000 over 30 brands for which the company is direct distributor, and over 14,000 items 2010 estimated turnover: across all price ranges: economy, mainEUR 1,500,000 stream, premium and exclusive design.

Number of employees: 7 “It is almost impossible for a customer – be Initial investment: EUR 150,000 he or she designer, architect or final conTotal investment: EUR 430,000 sumer – not to find a product that meets his or her expectations about design, form, technical specifications and budget,” says Blaer. in this way with a specific purpose,” says At the moment the company has a the young entrepreneur. market share of about 4 percent, acOf the challenges, competition is the cording to the entrepreneur, who has bold biggest one. And the reason is simple: riplans for the future. “We have to implevals always want to imitate. “When you ment new products, services and proceare innovative, everyone wants to be like you. Competitors try to copy you,” dures, and an online promotion campaign.

Besides that, we intend to extend our says Blaer. But she also sees the bright business on neighboring markets,” consight of it. “This gives us an impetus to cludes the businesswoman. continue to differentiate ourselves from the crowd through an ongoing innovation editorial@business-review.ro

COMPANY PROFILE GQS Bathrooms / German Quality Solution

WHO’S NEWS

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

Cristian Halmajan (38) is the new clients & markets director of Deloitte Romania, starting this month. He has significant managerial experience in the banking and telecom industries. Over the past seven years, Halmajan has coordinated various departments or division of local banks.

Prior to that, from 1996 to 2004, he had project management and marketing responsibilities for telecom service providers. Halmajan has graduated from a MBA program (2005-2007) within the Romanian-Canadian Business School and holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the Academy of Economic Studies.

Gabriele Savini has been appointed executive chef for Athenee Palace Hilton’s outlets and banqueting services. For ten years he and his wife managed their own restaurant in the town of Senigallia, Italy. In 2006, Savini decided to expand his horizons and share his knowledge of Italian cuisine, gaining new exposure. After spending two years in St. Petersburg, Russia, he was appointed executive chef at Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Savini has a bachelor’s degree in Kitchen Management from a hotelier school. His first project in his new position will be to reopen Roberto’s restaurant, which is currently undergoing a complete renovation.

Elena Tutunaru has been appointed national sales manager of CIG Romania after joining the company in September 2010. In this position she will be responsible both for coordinating the insurer’s sales team and its further network expansion.

Tutunaru has extensive experience in the field of life insurance. Between 2006 and 2008 she was the president of the Romanian Association of Insurance Professionals.

She previously worked for ING Asigurari de Viata where she was agency manager between 2003 and 2008.

Luca D’Agnese is the new country manager and president of Enel Romania, following a decision by the company’s general shareholders’ assembly. He is taking over from Claudio Zito who has ended his term. Over the years, D’Agnese has amassed extensive experience in management, especially related to the energy industry. Between 2003 and 2007 he was the executive general director of GRTN, the Italian network operator. He later served as operations director of Terna, after the company’s merger with GRTN. D’Agnese is also experienced in the field of renewable energy.

Thierry Ballot has joined PwC Romania as disputes director in charge of South-Eastern Europe. He has experience in disputes related to work and has previously worked for the forensic department of another Big Four firm in Paris and Moscow. Prior to that, Ballot spent three years as an auditor in Romania. He has a solid track record in business integration, risk management, M&A, legal advice and accounting in France and in emerging markets in the CEE and CIS regions. His industry expertise includes oil & gas, agribusiness, defence, industrial products, retail, tourism and leisure.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

10 GREEK

Greek firms fig 2010 bearing th 2010 was a tough year for both Romanian and Greek economies. Against this backdrop, the country remains the fifth biggest source of FDI to Romania with companies from the Balkan nation having a strong presence in banking and telecommunications. In addition to this, in the first nine months of the year 158 new entities with Greek shareholding were registered in Romania, bringing the total number of local Greek-owned firms to 4,919. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN At the end of 2009 the total amount of Greek foreign direct investments (FDI) to Romania stood at EUR 3.281 billion, according to the National Bank of Romania.

“The additional invested capital in Romania by Greek companies in the first 11 months of 2010 reached EUR 405.75 million, according to statistics from the National Trade Register Office (ONRC),” Efrossyni Mita, counselor for economic and commercial relations with the Greek Embassy to Bucharest, told BR. In the past year local companies were forced to adapt their strategies to new market conditions, very different from the ones prior to the crisis. Greek companies were no exception, but as the authorities’ measures made life difficult for the business environment it has also created more predictability. “Although last year was a challenging one for the Romanian market, and without analyzing the impact of specific measures of economic policy, one could say that the measures introduced have increased in general terms the predictability of the market environment and by stabilizing macroeconomic figures, are creating expectations for a positive evolution for the economy in 2011,” Mita said.

In her view future Greek investment projects in Romania could target fields such as renewable energy and agriculture.

“This is a domain of economic activity that is also developing in Greece, and Greek companies are ready to share their experience with Romanian players in the field of renewable solar, wind or hydroelectric energy.

Agriculture is also a promising sector for future investments. EU Structural Funds, especially in a period of global economic crisis, could offer Romania new opportunities for development and investments,” she said, adding that Greek construction companies are interested in

www.business-review.ro Business Review |March 14 - 20, 2011

GREEK 11

ght on, despite them no gifts PPP projects for infrastructure development.

Romtelecom lines up local expansion Major Greek investors are active on the Romanian telecommunication market: OTE present locally with landline operator Romtelecom and mobile telephony operator Cosmote, and Germanos Group.

Romtelecom posted revenues of EUR 716.9 million in 2010, a decrease of 8.4 percent, according to a report from the Greek company. Romtelecom’s EBITDA fell by 38.7 percent, to EUR 154.7 million.

“It would have been hard for any telecom market but it was even harder for a market such as the Romanian one, with one of the most intense price competitions in the region,” said Yorgos Ioannidis, GM of Romtelecom. At the end of 2010 the to-

tal number of subscriptions reached approximately 4.7 million, higher than in 2009.

The number of broadband clients was more than 1 million. DTH Dolce’s television viewers also surpassed 1 million.

Romtelecom’s IPTV customers reached 30,000 at the end of the year and the number of VDSL high-speed internet users surpassed 50,000.

The costs of the voluntary leave program increased threefold up to EUR 24.2 million, from EUR 8.6 million in 2009.

Earlier this year, Romtelecom announced that it would lay off an estimated 1,000-1,400 people across the entire company as part of a process aimed at increasing the efficiency of its operations. Costs have become the number one priority given the low purchasing power of customers and their expectations of quality services at low prices. “We are operating on an extremely competitive market, with some of the lowest prices in Europe for communication services, and we have to be able to improve our internal performances, our ability to offer more with fewer resources,” said Ioannidis.

The company has started more than 20 projects that target the company’s important business lines. These include improving processes, from sales to the installation cycle, increasing efficiency in call centers and stores and simplifying the product portfolio. Other new related projects are currently in the evaluation stage. The projects that have been started now will unfold until 2013.

“Many of the projects we have in mind also involve a reduction in personnel, since our aim is to be able to achieve more with fewer resources. For example, at this point we have several thousand options regarding products in our IT systems.

We intend to reduce them massively in 2011, first of all to help clients to choose more easily but also to reduce the costs of maintaining all these products. This will lead to less need for personnel to be in charge of them,” said Ioannidis.

Broadband internet and TV services will remain priorities for the company in 2011 as it moves closer to its statute as supplier of electronic entertainment services. Online services will also be a priority.

“We are already working on a TV platform that will be launched soon and we will continue to develop the online options for our clients whose results have so far exceeded expectations,” said the GM. Ioannidis sees 2011 as “a year full of challenges for Romtelecom, but the company has already proven its ability to reinvent itself and I trust it will do so again,” he concluded.

Steps in this direction have already been taken. Earlier this month, Romt-

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

12 GREEK

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Talk talk: Greek firms are heavily involved in the local telecom industry

elecom took over Boom TV. “Romtelecom has signed the contract to take over the assets and customer base of Boom TV with DTH Television Group. The total price of the transaction will be established based on the number of customers who are taken over.

Romtelecom has notified the Competition Council of this takeover based on the offer that was submitted,” said the operator in an official statement.

Media reported that Romtelecom, which had been in negotiations to take over the TV station, was willing to pay between EUR 7.3 and EUR 8 million, excluding VAT. The negotiations took place through Casa de Insolventa Transilvania, which is currently representing DTH Television Group, the company that runs the insolvent Boom TV. At the moment, the TV group has debts of more than EUR 100 million.Romtelecom is taking over the station in order to add the 95,000 subscribers to Boom TV to its customer base.

These are not the first negotiations between the telephone operator and Boom TV. Two years ago the companies also sat round the table but failed to reach a result. Meanwhile, Cosmote Romania posted total revenues of EUR 468.8 million for the financial year 2010, ended December 31, as reported by OTE Group, which represented a 7.2 percent growth on a y-o-y basis.The total customer base (including Zapp) reached 6.84 million at the end of 2010, down 5.9 percent. The postpaid ratio increased to 21.9 percent, as result of the business segment’s growth.

“We will continue to focus on the corporate and broadband segments and also on all the company’s core directions, such as network enhancement, latest technologies, customer care and retail. At the same time, we will continue to expand the products and services portfolio,” said Konstantinos Apostolou, CFO of Cosmote Romania.

The company’s EBITDA amounted to EUR 73.7 million, 12.7 percent up on 2009.Cosmote Romania has a market share of 24 percent. Since its launch in 2005, the company has invested nearly EUR 1 billion.

Retail detail In the FMCG industry, Swiss and Greek businessman Jean Valvis has projects in the wine trade (Domeniile Samburesti), bottled mineral water (Aqua Carpatica)

and the bio energy industry (Dorna Agri).

Aqua Carpatica was launched last year and Valvis says he is targeting a 10 percent market share of the local bottled mineral water market by 2012. About EUR 1.2 million has been spent promoting the brand. Aqua Carpatica is not the first investment project of this kind for the businessman. He sold the Dorna dairy business to French group Lactalis in 2008 and Dorna Apemin mineral water producer to Coca Cola back in 2002.

Marinopoulos Coffee Company part of Greek Marinopoulos Group, the local operator of Starbucks coffee shops, has reopened the Starbucks location in Bucuresti Mall, following a EUR 300,000 investment. The company closed the coffee shop it initially had in the mall and reopened it on two levels. The new location has a 360-sqm surface, making it the largest in Romania. Starbucks has eight coffee shops in the country, six in Bucharest and one each in Cluj and Timisoara.

In Romania, Marinopoulos Group also operates the Marks & Spencer, GAP and Sephora stores. Sprider Stores came to Romania in 2007, when it opened its first store in City Mall. It currently operates 16 shops in Romania in cities such as Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, Buzau, Pitesti, Bacau, Iasi, Suceava, Oradea,Targu Mures and Piatra Neamt.

In 2010 the clothing retailer opened two more local outlets in Braila and in Piatra Neamt. Sprider Store Braila was opened in October 2010 in the Braila European Retail Park and has a surface of 950 sqm. The following month Sprider opened its 16th local shop in Piatra Neamt in the Galeria GTC shopping mall. The outlet has a sales surface of 1,060 sqm, on two levels. In 2010 the retailer also invested in upgrading its unit in Arad. Since entering the local market, it has invested EUR 15 million in refurbishing its outlets in Romania.

Sprider Stores has a network of 112 units, 87 of which are in Greece and 25 in cities in South Eastern Europe, namely in Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. In the first nine months of 2010, the retailer posted consolidated sales of approximately EUR 105 million, 8.5 percent less than the same period of 2009. Overall, the group’s EBITDA went down by 67.6 percent.

Another Greek clothing retailer, Elmec Romania, the local distributor of the Nike brand, opened the largest local Nike

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

GREEK 13

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Brewing a profit: Greek Marinopoulos Group is the local Starbucks operator

stores (Nike, Converse, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, Miss Sixty & Energie and Folli Follie) and multibrand stores (Famous Brands Gallery, Famous Brands, KIX, Star Place).

Greeks bolster bank scene Greek banks have a strong presence on the Romanian financial scene. Bancpost, a member of Eurobank EFG Group, was set up in 1991 and now has more than 3,500 employees and an extended territorial network of over 286 branches. Eurobank EFG Group’s net income stood at EUR 113 million in 2010, down 69 percent y-o-y, according to the company’s finan-

and reaffirms our commitments to our investments in SEE,” said bank representatives. Another Greek player is Banca Romaneasca. In October 2003¸ the National Bank of Greece (NBG) Group, bought the majority package in Banca Romaneasca, having at present 89 percent of its share capital.

EBRD holds 10.2 percent of the bank's share capital. Banca Romaneasca has 146 branches, 38 of which are located in Bucharest. Greek Piraeus Bank Group also runs operations locally through Piraeus Bank Romania. Currently, the bank has a network of 187 branches and about 350,000 local customers.

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

store in Baneasa Shopping City in Bucharest earlier this year. The 350-sqm shop required a EUR 200,000 investment. It features a design inspired by US gym halls.

Last week, the firm announced a EUR 300,000 investment in the replacing the corporate furniture in the spaces dedicated to the Polo Ralph Lauren brand in the Famous Brands Galleries in Bucuresti Mall and Plaza Romania. Last year the company invested another EUR 160,000 in extending the two galleries.

Elmec Romania was founded in 1999 and currently has a national fashion retail network that includes monobrand

cial report. Profits from Central and South Eastern Europe reached EUR 32 million in 2010, after losses of EUR 44 million the previous year.

The Alpha Bank Group came to Romania in 1993 along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a limited number of Greek entrepreneurs, and established Banca Bucuresti SA, which was renamed Alpha Bank Romania in 2000. Regarding its operation in Southern Europe, in the first nine months of 2010, Alpha Bank Group reported that its pre-tax profit stood at EUR 43.7 million, a decrease of 10.2 percent.

“While registering positive trends in operating income (up 7.2 percent), our result was adversely affected by the sizeable increase in impairments (up 25 percent) to EUR 142.5 million,” reads the group’s financial report.

In Romania, deposits reached EUR 1.5 billion (up 3 percent), while loans decreased by EUR 536 million (down 12.5 percent) amounting to EUR 3.8 billion, thus reducing the bank’s funding gap. In October 2010, Alpha Bank signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) two credit lines of senior financing worth a total of EUR 200 million for its subsidiaries in Romania and Serbia.

“The funds are part of the Joint International Financial Institutions Action Plan to offer financing to the subsidiaries of European banks to support the economies of Eastern Europe via the transmission mechanism. That arrangement enhances our funding base, underpins our strategic role in the region

Several Greek banks are active locally

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

14 LINKS

STOCKEXCHANGE

Under lock and key? Social networks and other websites present opportunities for identity thieves and their fellow cybercriminals

Your own personal data or a goldmine for crooks?

Have you ever been robbed? Some of you may have. Are you active on social networks? You are? The two may be connected. For a lot of the threats to the security of our personal data, we only have ourselves to blame. Apparently, we are much too willing to share our likes and dislikes with our virtual ‘friends’ on the internet whom we may or may have not met, which we would not do with someone we had met even a few times in person. ∫ OTILIA HARAGA Incredible as it may seem, there is a social website called PleaseRobMe, which replicates the posts of people who comment on Foursquare, revealing where they are at any time with a view to highlighting how absurd and dangerous this practice is. In mid-February Twitter removed the PleaseRobMe account.

Website Foursquare, which is growing in popularity, is nothing more than a platform on which people post their current whereabouts. “To get an idea of the quantity of traffic we are talking about, we’ve just done a search for 4sq on Twitter and in five minutes I’ve counted 54 posts with people saying where they are,” Oliviu Talianu, business development manager at Panda Security Romania, tells Business Review.

People use this website to say where they are at every moment, to critique or suggest places to go and things to do there.

The more frequently you post your location, the more points you earn.

“The flip side to all this is that anyone can tell where a person is at any time. If you’re out having a beer in a bar, it’s obvious that… you’re not home! All your efforts to make it look like your house is occupied when you go on vacation will be rather pointless if you’re telling the whole world that you are in Florida,” says Talianu. The same can happen to users of Facebook or Twitter. “In some countries, Facebook is used to find potential victims for theft. Pictures can give you a clear idea of somebody’s status – how rich they are, where they live, etc,” adds the security expert.

But why are social networks such a perilous environment when it comes to the security of users’ personal data? A lot of it has to do with the fact that people are more willing to share things about themselves on the internet.

“Like pickpockets, cybercriminals like crowded places. And what are the most crowded places on the internet at the moment? Social networks, of course! Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and many others are a paradise for criminals, since most people who open accounts there are willing to share a variety of information with virtual ‘friends’: confidential data, hobbies, photos, music, videos – exactly those things that they would probably not share with a stranger they had just met on the street,” Teodor Cimpoesu, managing director at Kaspersky Lab Romania and Bulgaria, tells Business Review.

“2011 is the year when users will be confronted with a new category of spyware that will have only one goal: to steal everything. It will pick up any information on users, up to and including eye and hair color, and will examine every document that is saved in the infected computer. This malware was created to steal

the complete profile of the victims and not just some information on credit cards,” he says. Details mined from accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so on will sell on the black market at prices that start from tens or hundreds of USD, depending on the account – how popular it is and how many friends the user has, Cimpoesu says. Moreover, as we are now living in a global village, danger lurks everywhere and is not limited by physical frontiers.

“Due to the explosion of social networks in Romania, I estimate that towards the end of 2011, at least 10 percent of Romanian internet users will come across problems with the security of their personal data, as IT attacks are more complex, elaborate and subtle than in previous years,” Catalin Cosoi, spokesperson for BitDefender, tells BR. The Consumer Behavior Study (CBS) carried out by Nokia Siemens Networks in 18 countries, including Romania, revealed that two out of three Romanians have trouble controlling the circulation of their personal data.

The poll reveals a growing sensitivity to the way personal data is handled by third parties in comparison to the previous year. The results show that suppliers of fixed internet and fixed and mobile telephony are the companies that consumers trust the most when it comes to the way their personal data is handled. On a scale of 1 to 10, these firms received 6.46.8 points for the degree of trust placed in them.

Online communities and governments are at the lower end of the scale, with 4.5- 5 points.

“In countries where the Facebook platform is popular, we will see more and more threats that will use this environment to proliferate: there are for instance links that lead to malicious websites where users can become infected with all kinds of malware that compromise the security of the computer and expose personal data. Such attacks can also circulate on other platforms such as Twitter and Yahoo Messenger,” says Cosoi.

Most Romanians (88 percent) think that data protection is very important but two thirds (65 percent) are willing to provide personal data for certain valueadded services compared to only 46 percent of Europeans.

Romanians are concerned with having to share credit card data, as 86 percent of them consider data processing and storage as very risky – but this ratio is still lower than the European average which is 92 percent.

“Among users, the first and most important aspect of this problem is the education process. It is vital for all of us to know what risks we run when we access various links and provide our account data to people who contact us via e-mail and networks,” says Cimpoesu.

The conditions under which personal data can be processed come under Law nr. 677/2001, which also stipulates under which circumstances it can be provided to third parties and the obligation of operators to take measures to protect such data.

Personal data can be revealed to third parties only when the targeted individual has consented to this, or in special situations. Penalties applied under Law nr.

677/2001 fall into three categories. For fail-

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

ure to notify the involved party or a notification made in bad faith, a fine between RON 500 and RON 10,000 is payable. For illegal processing and revealing personal data, the fine is between RON 1,000 and RON 25,000. For failure to fulfill confidentiality obligations and apply security measures the fine goes from RON 1,500 to RON 15,000. Refusal to provide information is punishable with a fine between RON 1,000 and RON 15,000.

“The authority has paid special attention mainly to petitions about the receipt of offers for database transactions. This type of transaction makes it possible to build a database of thousands of e-mail addresses and telephone numbers and, directly or indirectly, allow the transmission of commercial communication via electronic services to people who have not given their consent,” says Lina Savoiu, spokesperson of the National Authority for Monitoring the Processing of Personal Data.

“Most of the complaints received by the authority that were solved within 30 days concerned the receipt of spam messages, the sending of personal data of the debtors of various banks to the Loan Office or the Central Credit Register, revealing personal data and illegal processing or not respecting the right to oppose of the respective person,” adds Savoiu.

What a person can do following the illegal use of their personal data is to ask the respective operator to solve the problem. If they fail to do so within 15 days, the person can then take the matter to the authority.

LINKS 15 HOW CRIMINALS USE PERSONAL DATA TO THEIR ADVANTAGE Call your credit card company and change the address of the account.

Because the bill is being sent to another address it may be some time before you realize that someone else is using your card. By this time thousands of dollars of items may have been charged to your credit card.

Get credit cards in your name.

When the impostor doesn’t pay the bills the bad debts go on your credit report.

Open a bank account in your name.

Criminals might then take out a phone or wireless service in your name.

Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks using that account.

Counterfeit checks, debit or credit cards, or authorize electronic transfers in your name.

Buy themselves a car by taking out an auto loan in your name.

Get a job, even filing fraudulent tax returns in your name.

Give your name to the police if arrested.

Get identification such as a driver’s license issued with their picture, in your name.

Declare bankruptcy in your name in order to avoid paying the debts that they have incurred, or to avoid eviction.

Oliviu Talianu, business devlopment manager at Panda Security Romania

Upcoming Azuga development showcases local tourism potential

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex

tourists.

There are two slopes and two lifts to be developed in Poiana Azuga, on an approximate surface of 14.2ha, the land between the slopes included.

How do you plan to finance the project?

The project value amounts to EUR 200 million, considering the existing concept of the project can be expanded further.

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex will be financed by identifying sources of external funding and partners to invest in Romanian tourism, which has great potential to become an important branch of the national economy.

What would be the benefits of investing in such a project?

In Romania there are very few high-class mountain resorts, few slopes, and few areas where one can spend a holiday worth their money. There are more and more Romanians travelling abroad to spend their vacations.

Such a project will benefit the investors’ return on investment; will benefit the tourists’ by offering them new options, better quality and variety; will benefit the economic growth of Azuga by creating new jobs. Also, Azuga Mayoralty will benefit from the taxes collected following an investment of such financial importance.

Poiana Azuga Tourist Project will attract tourists from all over the world. The Romanian culture and traditions will be promoted as well as the other regions of this beautiful country.

Who are you targeting with this project?

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex targets various ranges of segments. Due to the numerous locations and attractions to be developed, the new mountain mini resort addresses most ages, interests and ‘pocket sizes’.

The project is planned in such a way to accommodate the needs and wants of the tourists. As explained above, the project consists of more locations, all designed to serve different segmentation groups.

For example, one can enjoy activities as skiing, riding, fishing and tennis, as well as going to a spa, shopping or just enjoying the beauty of the surroundings.

The resort consists as well of hotels, restaurants, facilities for business tourism and residential areas with apartments and villas.

Paul Tudor, President, SC Besta Group SA

ADVERTORIAL

How did you come up with Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex concept?

Ever since 2007 when I over flown Urechea Mountain of Azuga I imagined a modern, well structured mountain resort fit to satisfy the wants and needs of the mountain lovers all year round.

The concept was developed after discovering that the Azuga Mayoralty and Council had planned the extension of the Azuga resort and ski area since 2003, and Urechea Mountain is part of the first development stage due to its neighbouring position with Cazacu and Sorica ski slopes.

Can you provide more details regarding the development of the concept?

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex is an ample project situated on Prahova Val-

ley in Azuga City, which intends to transform the area into one of the most attractive tourist regions in Romania, all year round.

The tourist complex is to be developed on an area of 72.7 ha, on an approximate total built surface of about 200,000 sqm, near Sorica and Cazacu existing ski slopes, internationally homologated.

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex is part of the first stage of the development of Azuga mountain resort and is included in all local and national programs and projects.

Poiana Azuga Tourist Complex consists of three areas to be developed which include of Poiana Azuga Resort - a mountain mini resort, Azuga Park - a tourist ensemble, and the two slopes and the two lifts (gondola and a chair).

Poiana Azuga Resort is predicted to become the new Pearl of the Carpathians.

It comprises of modern accommodations, entertainment and lounge centres, cultural, commercial and sports facilities with a total estimated built area of 170,000sqm.

Poiana Azuga Resort is accessed by Cazacu forest road, which merges into Mountain Drive, new road, which is now paved and will be completed with European funds.

Azuga Park is designed to be a tourist ensemble, with a total estimated built area of 30,000sqm, comprised of accommodation places and holiday suites for

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

16 FOCUS

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

Bucharest’s Faculty of Law, one of the most prestigious public higher education institutions in the country

New school of thought: local education under scrutiny “We don’t need no education,” some young Romanians seem to say, scorning the local education system, which is losing more and more students to better reputed school systems around the globe. Teachers are underpaid and unmotivated and students feel increasingly confused by the ever-changing education bill, often starting full-time jobs alongside their already full-time studies. Business Review got out its pencil case and exercise book and sat down with specialists of various backgrounds, from ministry representatives to teachers and HR managers, to see what marks they give the system and find out what lessons need to be learned.

∫ CORINA DUMITRESCU The education bill is a big issue, as it is constantly undergoing changes, leaving students and teachers alike confused.

Officials from the ministry press office say that the new education bill that entered into force this February is “the natural result of the teachers’ professionalism, the involvement of local authorities and, for the first time, the active role of the parents.” They add: “The principle of decentralization of decision-making mechanisms leads closer to students. The curriculum will be more relevant and less dense, and the exams and assessments will have a guiding role for the benefit of students. Teachers will receive three elements that can transform them into the nation’s elite: they will be well trained, properly selected and fairly rewarded.

In addition, with the entry into force of

The quality of the Romanian educathe National Education Law, political intion system has always been a conterests will not interfere in the ways of tentious issue. No Romanian institution school life.” But while this gets top marks makes it in the list of the world’s top 500 for intention, will it ever get off the page universities. Recent PIRLS (Progress in Inand into the classroom? ternational Literacy Study) results show Some of the latest changes relate to that Romanian students in their first the number of years in the elementary years of school have difficulty underschool system (which will also include standing information in a written text and ninth grade, as of the 2011-2012 school fail at basic knowledge tests, which year). A new type of baccalaureate (the fimeans that they are poorly prepared and nal exam at the end of high school in Romania) appears once every two years, lack the habit of reading at home. If students begin at such a disadvantage, what the latest proposing trans-disciplinary exhope is there for future graduates and lataminations (for example: physics, chemer professionals? Of course, there are istry and mathematics might be part of elite students who earn international acthe same test). The number of mandatoclaim, but, unfortunately, the majority ry school years has risen to ten and will lags a long way behind. So the ministry be completed at the age of 16. And the proposed a change of curriculum. number of school hours has been reduced by five for every school category “Through the new education bill and the secondary legislation accompanying it, (20 hours for primary school, 25 for elethe Ministry of Education is instituting a mentary and 30 for high school).

new conceptual framework. For the preuniversity system, there is a national curriculum devised to meet the special needs of personal development and of the workforce.”

The state-versus-private university issue is another hot topic. Professors working at state institutions have had their already precarious salaries cut on account of the crisis and austerity measures.

This is not a positive message to send to the professionals shaping the minds of the next generation. Outside Romania, in the United States, for example, it is the private universities that are the best known and most desirable. Locally, however, although many professors that teach at renowned, historical universities also give courses at private ones, the latter are considered to be of poorer quality, especially since admission is generally easier: entrance exams, if there are any, are simpler and a lot of the focus is put on the results of the baccalaureate exam or throughout high school years.

The more and more students going abroad to finish or start their higher education are another concern. The Ministry of Education’s press office attributes this to the offer and quality of local universities. The new law promises to raise local schools to international standards through the adoption of quality insurance mechanisms.

So what marks do specialists give the local system?

Talkin’ ‘bout the new generation One of the most prestigious faculties in Bucharest is the University of Bucharest’s Law School. Simina Tanasescu, deputy to the dean at the faculty, spoke to Business Review about maintaining the standards at one of the most respected faculties in Romania. “The Faculty of Law at the University of Bucharest is the only law school in the country that has preserved the tradition of written examination for admission, although, in time, the degree of difficulty of the exam has somewhat decreased. A direct consequence of this, and the still high interest in legal studies in Romanian society, is that our student base increases in number, in a modest but steady manner, every year.

Although the selection base has greatly reduced, due to lower birth rates, and so competition between candidates for admission is not as fierce, Bucharest Faculty of Law students are whittled down during their university studies, with significantly fewer students making it to the final years of the course than starting it.”

Has she observed a dip in student caliber? Tanasescu partially agrees. “Compared to the early 1990s, students today are more active and interactive, more imaginative and more open to new ideas and challenges, but much worse prepared and less diligent, and far less accustomed to meeting demanding professional standards.”

But Tanasescu adds that the cream of the crop is unchanged. “While the number of students admitted to the Bucharest Faculty of Law has increased steadily, the number of those who meet the extremely high standards of professional exigency remains constant. If, previously, there were on average five excellent students in each group of up to 25, their number today is the same in groups of 40 students. This is not necessarily worrying in itself, depending on your inter-

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

pretation: excellence remains constant, to continue this work.”

Another problem for Romanian uniwhile more people have access to eduversities is brain drain. Today’s trend is for cation and training, because populations young people to pack their bags and grow and larger numbers of people are instudy abroad, focusing on the immediate cluded in the higher education system. In advantages and not the long-term diffiother words, my conclusion is that, overculties, says Tanasescu, in spite of the all, the public are becoming more eduuniversity’s efforts to help them realize cated, even if the percentage of excellent their future career paths. These efforts students in universities appears to be have however proved inconsistent, since falling. This may be a paradoxical conthe system should deal with this issue clusion, but in the context of international reforms, it should not come as a surprise, first and foremost – local and private initiatives are just “palliative solutions to but as proof of their success. Naturally a systematic issue,” argues the deputy this has implications, including the teachdean. However, an estimated 4,000 Roing methods used, but that's another manian students opt to study abroad, matter.” ten times less than in other European Alexandru Ofrim, social studies procountries, according to data from Edfessor at the Faculty of Letters of the Uniucativa Group, organizer of Romanian Inversity of Bucharest, observes, with some ternational University Fair. Thus, the sadness, “In the last three or four years, I phenomenon is not as worrying as it have come across a sharp deterioration in the caliber of students on several levels. may seem.

But Petre believes that contempoFirst of all, there has been a dramatic derary students of the 2.0 world have a difcline in the general culture. It is disturbing to have the feeling that, in a lecture, ferent frame of reference and that professors should be the ones adapting to your words have no echo. It is becoming change. Tanasescu, however, says of toharder to find a common language or refday’s youth versus their predecessors, erences. I can no longer rely, as I could before, on a shared cultural universe. For ex- “What impresses about the new generation is not specific to them alone, but is a conample, names of writers, books and stant for all young people, namely their movies that once were familiar to stuself-confidence (sometimes going bedents are now unknown.” yond reality) and their small dose of reNot only are today’s students essponsibility, which are, in the end, exchewing books, but they also lack intelcellent premises for training and profeslectual curiosity. In spite of their exposure to information from a myriad of sources, sional fulfillment.” students are less tolerant or open to the new. “In my anthropology courses, I am Those who can… teach? amazed to see that many of my students And what about the next generation of are not willing to accept differences. This teachers? Tanasescu outlines the main is paradoxical, since young people, thanks deterrents for young people thinking of to the internet, should be open to the regoing into the profession: lack of resources for the education system, limited funding for research (theoretical or ap“The public are becoming plied) and low institutional collaboration.

However, the professor cites participation more educated, even if in congresses and international projects plus her yearly experience with colthe percentage of excelleagues and students as factors that may lent students in universipersuade a young person to enter the proties appears to be falling,” fession.

Dan Petre, who holds a PhD in SociSimina Tanasescu, deputy ology and is a specialist in communicato the dean at the Faculty tion sciences, as well as managing partner and director of the qualitative studof Law, University of ies department of D&D Research, gives Bucharest the example of his own area of teaching, communication, advertising and marketing. “All these are vocational subjects.

In this area, being a teacher is not only alities of other geographical areas and difdiscouraging, but actual spokes are put ferent cultures. When you introduce othinto one’s wheels. Not in an active way, er ways of life, many of them react with but through passivity and inertia, not rejection, disgust and disapproval.” More only for those who are already in the edworryingly, Ofrim says, “In addition to ucation system, but also for those who genuine students, there has appeared a would like to join it. Those who have the new species of ‘pseudo-student’ whose practical skills to teach advertising canconstitution and aspirations mean they should have no place in higher education.” not obtain the formal qualifications required by the ministry. And those who But Ofrim also sees the good side of hold formal qualifications lack practical the younger generation. “I am someexperience. And when they go to advertimes impressed by the receptivity of stutising agencies to remedy their lack of exdents. When they are truly interested in perience, they never return to teaching. a topic, they progress very rapidly. I apThere is no solution and the school syspreciate the high expectations they have and the high regard they hold teachers in. tem is not attempting to address this.”

Tincuta Baltag, general manager of Contact with students who demand a lot the Dinu Patriciu Foundation, a local from their professors is highly motivatNGO with an annual budget of USD 7 miling for those who teach. Usually, these lion dedicated to the support of the local students are attending two courses or are education system, argues, “Salary is not taking master’s studies and have very that important in the big picture. Sure, we strong motivation to perform. They have need to pay our teachers significantly already found their way and know what more so they can live decent lives off their they want. Unfortunately, they are quite paycheck, but that alone will not make few in number, but their presence is like them good teachers. That’s because fia breath of fresh air that gives me strength

FOCUS 17

www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 6 - 12, 2010

18 FOCUS nancial motivation is but a part of employee motivation. Teachers also have to be respected and made aware of their crucial role. We need to turn our teachers into an elite social stratum.” She gives the example of Finland, “the country with the best education system in the world – where only the top 10 percent of graduates are eligible for entry into the Master of Education program that would qualify them to teach. And what are their salaries? Decent, but nowhere near as substantial as those of their counterparts in South Korea, a country with an education system almost as good. But could we even dare to ask the best 10 percent of our graduates to become teachers when the starting salary is in the range of EUR 150? I think not: non-financial motivation exists, but it cannot exist alone,” she concludes.

Entering the world of work Virginia Otel, HR manager at Garanti Bank, dismisses the current belief that Romanian students are underprepared for their careers as an unfair generalization.

“There are very well prepared students in the younger generations, some of whom are absolutely exceptional. They are very versatile and have a different openness than their predecessors,” Otel argues.

More surprisingly, what the young have in common with their more experienced colleagues is the focus that they all put on family, she adds.

However, when confronted with a choice between two otherwise identical employees, one with local studies and another who studied abroad, Otel would opt for the latter. Why so, when the HR man-

ager is an avowed advocate of local graduates and their capabilities? “Because someone who studied abroad who opts for a job locally should be encouraged to stay here.”

Graduate studies also hold some relevance in the eyes of employers, despite the skepticism of many graduates on this matter. Baltag comments, “It depends on the employer. In the public sector, for instance, it matters quite a lot as

“Some HR departments of large corporations just don’t care about a diploma. I know people who have embarked upon impressive careers without ever graduating from college,” Tincuta Baltag, general manager of the Dinu Patriciu Foundation there are positions you can’t access unless you have a BA or even an MA. However, it’s quite different in the private sector where opinion is split. On the one hand, some HR departments of large corporations just don’t care about a diploma. I know people who have embarked upon impressive careers without ever graduating from college. On the other hand, some private sector employers ask for technical or economic degrees for some positions. Anyway, I believe we are witnessing employers adapting to an edu-

cation system that is almost completely disconnected from industry. Unless we change this, more and more employers are likely to put less weight on a degree.”

Practical experience should feature in school years, yet not replace theoretical education entirely. Adriana Miu, senior consultant at Ensight Management Consulting, says, “School is important to any prospective employee, because it ensures the accumulation of knowledge and the basics, regardless of the field.

However, practical experience during school can be an advantage for a new graduate. In this respect, many companies provide well organized, on-site internships, where students have the opportunity to become familiar with the working environment, put into practice the knowledge they have already gained, and acquire more.” Miu’s colleague, Ion Ghimbovschi, manager at Ensight Management Consulting, adds, “The weakest part of the education system is the lack of practical information transmitted in many faculties. At the same time, teaching techniques are sometimes outdated and motivate students to memorize, and not necessarily to think.”

All in all, education could be a blooming business in Romania, if managed properly. Romanians are showing more and more interest in post-graduate training courses, from languages and IT to a plethora of personal development. Education is a path to information that can open a lot of doors, professionally speaking. But this relies on the Romanian authorities instituting a system that is fit for the 21st century.

corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro

ROMANIAN EDUCATION in short 750,000 students enrolled in Romanian universities* 84 accredited institutions of higher education (56 state ones, made up of 49 civil and 7 military institutions, and 28 private ones)* 21 private universities have temporary authorization and five more are in the course of being accredited.* An estimated 4,000 Romanian students opt to study abroad, ten times less than in other European countries** Top five reasons for studying abroad**: creativity development, long-term investment, access to the most recent technology, access to scholarships and sources of financing and better career opportunities Top domains chosen by those wishing to study abroad**: economics (28 percent), communication (19 percent), engineering (14 percent), law (10 percent), architecture (9 percent) and medicine (8.5 percent) 60 percent of those seeking to study abroad rely on personal funds, while 33 percent are willing to take part-time jobs to support themselves financially *data from the Ministry of Education **data from Educativa Group, organizer of Romanian International University Fair

www.business-review.ro Business Review | September 6 - 12, 2010

INTERVIEW 19 CV Ingo Nissen February 2008 managing director of Sonae Sierra in Romania.

2000 joins Soane Sierra in Germany 1987 obtains a PhD in Massive Construction from the Technical University of Munich cannot announce anything yet. Bucharest itself has room for some more shopping centers like for example ParkLake Plaza.

In the eastern part of the capital especially there is room for more.

In terms of land acquisition we are looking in Romania to find dominant locations. One can see that all the shopping centers with a good dominant location, a broad range, a good tenant mix and a good entertainment range are not suffering as much as those that haven’t adapted to the new demand.

Would you say this is a good time for retailers to consider expansion?

Courtesy of Sonae Sierra

Recession reshapes meaner mall market Shopping center developer, manager and owner Sonae Sierra is hoping to begin its Adora Mall project in Craiova this year. It will be the company’s first greenfield project on the local market after it started operations here in 2007 by acquiring River Plaza in Ramnicu Valcea. Ingo Nissen, managing director of Sonae Sierra in Romania, told BR about some of the developer’s plans for the local market. ∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN What were your company’s expectations when you first came to Romania and what are they now?

When we entered Romania in 2007 the market was booming and we planned to have three projects in development and start them very soon. Back then, the expectations were that this market would continue to boom, that it was still an upcoming market. The crisis came and changed the situation everywhere, not only in Romania. Unfortunately it has made it very difficult to get financing.

Last year brought more stability and has also cooled down the overheated real estate market. The recovery will happen in a much more sustainable way. The question is, will this recovery happen very soon, this year, or will it take a little bit longer? This is difficult to say but I have no doubt that Romania will come back.

As for present expectations, we will continue our work. We a have stabilized our

position in Ramnicu Valcea with River Plaza, improving the center in many ways. We have significantly improved our environmental performance in the shopping center and we are working to better our tenant mix. We are still on the right track to starting the Adora Mall project in Craiova. We have successfully signed several lease contracts and we hope that we can seal the financing very soon.

How will this year be different from 2010? Where do you see growth?

I think that by the end of 2011, banks will restart financing which is very seriously needed in Romania and not only in real estate. I think there will also be some companies going into insolvency. This is unfortunately something that I expect.

How did you see the local retail market change since you came to Romania?

It has changed a lot. In the beginning one could see many international brands coming through franchise. What we’re

seeing now is that tenants like Inditex and H&M come here directly and run operations themselves. Retailers understand the local demand much better than they did a few years ago. This also means that they are more demanding. For example, there are retailers who ask for the explicit vicinity of other retailers and want to make sure that there will be a certain tenant mix in the shopping center they plan to expand to.

What are your plans for the capital?

I have no doubt that we will have some three or four more large-scale shopping centers in Bucharest in the distant future.

There are projects, but their development depends on the recovery of demand, and financing is still difficult. But once the situation improves, this will change.

One benefit of the crisis is that the price level for new developments in the capital has come down. We are investigating several locations, not only in Bucharest but also in other towns, but I

Actually, seen from the offer side, the market is ideal for new tenants to come because the rent level is as low as it has ever been here in Romania. I do not believe that we will see much lower rents because that will mean that nobody will invest here anymore. And retail is not different from housing and logistics. We are at a level where the return on any investment is not very attractive. The rents barely cover the cost and the interest so there isn’t much profit. Romania is not actually a very profitable destination. International investors have to ask themselves whether they should go to Romania to make a profit of let’s say 5 or 7 percent, or to China or Brazil for a return of 15-20 percent.

What are Sonae Sierra’s current projects and targets in Romania this year and in the long run?

At Ramnicu Valcea we are coming closer and closer to the ideal tenant mix and we have managed to improve the environmental performance of the shopping center significantly. It was an investment of EUR 120,000 which had a payback time of seven months. We certified the shopping center: River Plaza was the first shopping center to be certified energy efficient in Romania. We also signed up eight more tenants.

Coming to our second most advanced project, in Craiova, we have the building permit and 35 percent of it leased. We are in very advanced discussions with banks for the necessary loan and when we have this in place and signed we can start construction, hopefully very soon. Some of the tenants will be Cora, Altex and Cinema City. The tenant mix has a very strong entertainment component and through our concept we will focus very much on this. Our project in Ploiesti is on hold, as unfortunately there isn’t the necessary demand from the tenant side to start that project. We have not given up on it, but there is little hope of beginning the shopping center in 2011.

Our third project is ParkLake Plaza in Bucharest. We are still in discussions with Caelum Development to find a new basis for our partnership and since we have agreed on confidentiality for all our discussions I cannot tell you anything about this now. We still have some money invested in the project so we are not out.

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

20 MONEY

Banks wrestle for Romanians’ savings Lower or fixed interest rates, slashed commission and co-branded cards are just a few of the products used by banks to lure individuals into entrusting them with their savings, as specialists say that this year the level of saving is expected to drop. Are their strategies showing results? ∫ DANA VERDES In a time when the financial and economic crisis seems a never-ending story, commercial banks are sparing no effort to gain new customers for both savings and loans.

Since the beginning of the year banks have been scrapping for every RON, and everywhere you turn your head you can see outdoor banners or commercials for banking products.

Saving their skins on a mean market

Look after the pennies: Romanians are putting some money aside for family security, retirement, holidays and special purchases

many of the customers,” Alpha Bank officials tell BR. Meanwhile, BCR also took measures to stimulate saving last year, which resulted in the bank increasing its market share of savings products for individuals.

The lender removed the minimum sum for long-term deposits; charges nothing for the establishment, management or liquidation of monthly deposits; offers attractive interest rates for deposits in campaigns throughout the entire year; and guarantees the best interest rates for term deposits for customers whose pension or salary is paid into their BCR account.

Bank specialists tip the RON to offer the best returns this year. “Our prediction for the end of the year is a significant fall in inflation to 4.3 percent and a slight appreciation of the RON which could reach 4.1. All this shows us that those who bet on the RON will stand to gain, taking into account the current interest rates for deposits.

Also, during this period, bank customers can take advantage of promotions for deposits which raises their attrac-

tiveness,” says Florin Eugen Sinca, analyst in BCR’s macro and market research strategy department.

Who’s saving money?

Bank specialists say that the big savers are those who are financially disciplined, individuals who rationally plan their lives and are mostly over 35 years. Zincenco adds that different savers have different reasons for putting away the pennies.

“For most savers, the major motivation is to put aside money for a rainy day, with a time horizon of three-month periods.

Generally, here we find families with young children who run their finances responsibly, with the money needed for a minimum level of security. For them, both the perceived safety of using the services of a trustworthy bank and obtaining a minimum gain on their savings are important,” says Zincenco.

She adds that there is another category of saver who uses short-term deposits (one-three months) to save for immediate and specific needs such as the purchase of a certain product or vacation

Courtesy of Dreams

For instance, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) officials tell Business Review that the bank continues to encourage saving, developing a series of promotional campaigns for long-term deposits.

“Currently, there is a three-month ongoing campaign for deposits in both RON and EUR. This deal offers clients 7 percent interest for RON deposits and 3.5 percent for those in EUR. Additionally, for deposits made through alternative channels, customers get a bonus of 0.25 percent,” says Catalina Zincenco, chief of the retail products management department at BCR. Other players are equally ambitious.

Garanti Bank officials add that the lender’s “strategy for his year is to get into the top ten banks with more attractive investments.” Cornel Fratica, retail banking manager at Garanti Bank, tells BR that at the beginning of the year it was “decided to remove some fees for all types of credit, which had a positive impact on the number of credit applications received.”

He adds: “Among the measures taken last year to support savings we launched a savings account with attractive interest rates comparable to those of deposits, for both EUR and RON. We estimate that the saving rate will decrease this year.”

Elsewhere, Alpha Bank representatives say that they have recently launched a new campaign for refinancing and a cobranded card campaign with telecom company Cosmote. “In mid-2010, Alpha Bank Romania launched the Alpha Tax Protect product, which addressed the basic need of the consumer at the time of its release, namely protection from tax on interest. Alpha Tax Protect was by far the bank’s most successful product portfolio in 2010, judged by the interest from

expenses. These customers look for promotional interest rates.

Cornel Fratica, retail banking manager at Garanti Bank, tells BR that at the moment “Customers are looking for credible banks that can offer a certain level of safety for their savings. They prefer to keep their money with more than one bank, given the limited coverage offered by banks. The most important terms are the interest rate and cost of cash withdrawals, as well as the advantages of other banking products,” says the Garanti Bank official.

Bank insiders say that people who regularly have spare cash are saving even more, putting their money away for minimum six months and up to several years.

Saving is also popular among people approaching the end of their working lives. Over-50s plan on accruing additional income to meet their retirement or health needs. “For this type of client, the safety of the investment and minimum returns are the most important aspects,” says the BCR official.

dana.verdes@business-review.ro

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

CITY 21

RESTAURANT REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

… AND A LITTLE WINE WITH YOUR FOOD, SIR?

Black Swan

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

A lot of bottle: the unpromising exterior hides a vintage wine collection

Restaurant Ginger, 194 Calea Grivitei, tel 021 223 4715, 0752 167703 MICHAEL BARCLAY My night started off badly, as I was going to Restaurant Ginger in the wrong part of town. I drove past Gara de Nord and straight on in a depressing area, and saw the House next to the giant underpass and opposite the Jaguar showroom.

Given the rundown location, I was tempted to return home, but then again, having made the effort, I thought ‘what the hell, I may as well go in’. Little did I know that I was about to encounter one of the greatest surprises of my culinary life!

The décor is not to my taste at all. I will leave it at that. Blondie and I sat in far from luxurious surroundings, and perused a menu where all dishes were so inexpensive, with main courses priced around RON 30 lei, I thought it was simply a normal neighborhood eatery for the apartment block residents – but no, I was in for a surprise. For when I asked for

the wine list I thought it was a bluff. For it would be the equal of the finest restaurants and hotels anywhere in the world.

For instance, my eyes fell on a Chateau Petrus 2001, yours for EUR 3,300.

No, I refused to believe it. A further glance at the wine list revealed hundreds of fine wines from every serious wine nation on the planet ranging from all of Europe, South Africa, the USA and Latin America. It was not simply a vast selection, but it was the finest wines that those countries produced.

I demanded of the manager to see the wine cellar, and the smile on his face oozed so much confidence that I realized I was in for a beating. And that is what I got. For not only were there cases of Petrus, but next to them was my favorite wine, Opus One – a wine so rare I have problems getting it in London because the Yanks buy up every bit of it from the Mondavi vineyard… and so reasonably priced at RON 2,500. I looked around the cellar and saw some of the finest wines in the world – all here in grubby Bucharest. There was also another of my favorite wines, Chateau Margaux Gran Cru Classe 1991, with all wines piled high to the ceiling!

For Champagne lovers there was Lanson, Tattinger, Heidseck, Moet, Roederer, Krug and Cristal. That covers the entire Champagne market.

My head was spinning after the cellar, so I had to eat. The menu can best be described as ‘Romania meets Europe – just’.

So away I went to a starter of foie gras terrine. It was fine, but what made it memorable was the bargain price of a mere RON 23.

I passed on other starters, such as a choice of five bruschettas topped with a selection of cheese and tomato, or smoked chicken, or feta cheese with herbs and nuts, or roast beef, or smoked duck. And all of them priced around RON 6.

But I needed wine and although I have told you of their premium stuff, they had normal wines at the normal starting price of RON 19 for a Chianti, or RON 29 lei for a Spanish Tempranillo. Even the House’s normal wine list at reasonable prices would put every restaurant in the country to shame. For under the French section alone, they had Bordeaux represented by St Esteph, Haut Medoc, Pomerol and St Julien, all of which were dated around 2003-4. I defy you to find a quality supermarket bottle of wine in this Godforsaken country which is older than a 2007! But the House had them all.

So I settled for a bottle of Bulgarian Enira Reserva 2006 at RON 46, and it was magnificent.

Back to the food. Blondie ordered a turkey breast with buttered vegetables, baked potato and green pepper sauce, at a bargain price of RON 28. It was fine, but she was not adventurous enough to order the sexier ‘mutton baked in a pastry crust with baked potato and berry sauce’ at RON 39.

I wanted to go for beef, but given the size of their two offerings, a T Bone kicking in at 700 grams or a Porterhouse at 800 grams… I knew I could not tuck into that fabulous size of ‘real man’s food’. It was too large for my newly dieted, slim athletic body! So I settled for a roasted duck breast which was also huge. It came with a trio of cheeses made into a light sauce together with vegetables and baked potato at a mere RON 39.

We both passed on their fish section, which included a ‘grilled salmon with black risotto and garlic sauce’, weighing in at 400 grams, but at RON 29. But now a word of warning. Many of their dishes include a baked potato. If you choose this, you have wait for some 20 minutes. But it will be worth it.

If you know your wine, you must – must – go there even if you do not intend to eat. Do not let the location or appearance put you off. Go! They are closed on Sunday and Monday.

Few directors explore self-destruction as unflinchingly as Darren Aronofsky.

Mickey Rourke’s excruciating sacrifice of health and happiness for last-chancesaloon glory in The Wrestler was a cakewalk alongside the misery the director heaped on his characters in Requiem for a Dream. So the denouement of Black Swan was unlikely to see a beaming Natalie Portman taking a triumphant curtain call as flowers rain down upon her.

Should you have missed the Oscars brouhaha, Portman plays a troubled New York ballerina on the verge of making the breakthrough to company star. Troubled is perhaps putting it mildly: Nina is a bulimic, schizophrenic self-harmer prone to hallucinations. But she is still in the running for the top role in Swan Lake. The company director Thomas (played by über-Frenchman Vincent Cassel, his face etched into a sneer of pure Gallic contempt) knows Nina’s beauty, control and fragility make her perfect for the White Swan part of the role. He urges her to find a sensual, dark side to give life to the wicked Black Swan, a part to which her vampish understudy Lily (Mila Kunis) seems far better suited.

Pressure from her controlling mother (Barbara Hershey), the bitchy ballet cadre, demanding Thomas and her own quest for perfection send Nina deeper into paranoia, and the film deeper into melodrama and absurdity. The dancer’s hallucinations at times seem drawn from a horror movie, as Aronofsky cranks up the theatricality and exaggeration. There’s also a hint of camp: Black Swan can be seen as the 1995 Paul Verhoeven trashfest Showgirls given a tutu, ballet points and high-culture pretensions. It could also be accused of misogyny, with the female characters variously jealous, catty, sly, hysterical, promiscuous and frigid.

Aronofsky’s directorial singularity and excess ensure that though his films are not always enjoyable, they are at least unusual and intense. And Black Swan, for all its bizarreness, gives the impressive Portman a meaty role in which she convinces, both as actor and dancer.

That visual panache wins out over credibility takes nothing away from her turn.

mab.media@dnt.ro

editorial@business-review.ro

Swan song: Oscar winner Portman

∫ DEBBIE STOWE Directed by: Darren Aronofsky Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis On at: Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Sun Plaza, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, The Light Cinema

www.business-review.ro Business Review | March 14 - 20, 2011

22 IN TOUCH

QUOTE of the week

ROMANIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON

Romania from the sky

Reed it here first: AFP dubs Danube Delta plant latest must-have roofing material

Otilia Haraga Senior Journalist

Danube Delta reed is the new ‘it’ roofing for luxury homes in Europe, AFP reports.

With thatched roofs back in fashion around Europe due to a renewed interest in sustainable construction, water reed from the Danube Delta, a UNESCO preserved site, is seeing increasing interest from builders. Only two construction companies are allowed to harvest the reed from the delta, which hosts the largest compact reed stretches in the world. Almost the entire lot is exported to Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Britain.

European thatched roofs are mainly made of reed and straw, with thatchers using material not only from Romania and other Eastern European countries but also from England's Norfolk coast, the Camargue region in the South of France and China.

Besides its eco credentials, reed roofs are known for their sound and thermal insulating properties. Reed is harvested between mid-November and mid-March.

The trend is not new: under former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime it was harvested so intensively that environmental damage occurred.

Reed all about it: the Danube Delta plantlife is the hot new roofing

EVENTS, BUSINESS & POLITICAL AGENDA March 14-16 14:00 The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency organizes the Korea-Romania business partnership conference for environmental projects at Intercontinental Bucharest. By invitation only.

March 15 The Romanian Association for the Club of Rome (ARCoR) organizes a conference at the headquarters of the National Bank of Romania. By invitation only.

March 15-16 Century 21 organizes the sixth edition of the Real Estate Career Days job fair at the Belvedere building on Baba Novac Street.

is working on an article about the strategy of companies towards cloud computing. As their clients embrace the new technology, IT companies will adapt to this new trend by allocating more time, resources and people to offering it. otilia.haraga@business-review.ro

Corina Dumitrescu Journalist is preparing a piece on the local luxury market.

There may still be a financial crisis, but Romanians appear to be making no compromises when it comes to bling-bling brands.

Corina is researching which are currently the most sought after luxury products in Romania and why. corina.dumitrescu@business-review.ro

Photo: Laurentiu Obae

“If you ever want to see Romania, don’t go by road. I recommend taking a helicopter,” President Traian Basescu told investors from the Gulf area, present in Romania last week. “An interest area of Romania is tourism. We have outdated tourism infrastructure in need of modernization, and exceptional potential to develop it. I am someone who has traveled throughout the country a lot but I never discovered Romania the way I did from a helicopter,” said Basescu. He also mentioned the country’s agricultural potential, saying that in Romania “the green comes from nature, from God.”

March 16 11:00 Stirixis organizes a press conference for the official launch of its local business at Capital Plaza Bucharest.

By invitation only.

March 17 ∫EVENT BR organizes the third edition of the Greek Business Forum event at Capital Plaza Hotel. For more information about registration and future Business Review events, please visit www.business-review.ro/events.

March 22 ∫EVENT Business Review organizes the sixth edition of the Annual Investment Awards at Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel.

For more information about registration and future Business Review events, please visit www.business-review.ro/events.

March 28 The 2011 Business of Luxury Forum will take place in Bucharest at the Epoque Hotel. By invitation only.

Simona Bazavan Journalist is writing an article on the expansion plans of supermarkets and hypermarkets in 2011.The recession has delayed the investment projects of many local players, but as confidence that consumption will eventually pick up recovers, retailers are preparing for battle once again. simona.bazavan@business-review.ro

STAY CONNECTED WITH US Join BR Group on LinkedIn Fan BR on Facebook

March 21 18:00 FPP organizes the launch of a book on entrepreneurship written by Marius Ghenea. The event will take place at InterContinental Bucharest. By invitation only.

April 7 10:00 The Dinu Patriciu Foundation organizes a conference on the return to Romania of young people who studied abroad. The event will take place at Athenee Place Hilton. By invitation only.

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ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

FOUNDING EDITOR Bill Avery EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor SENIOR JOURNALISTS Otilia Haraga, Dana Verdes JOURNALISTS Simona Bazavan, Corina Dumitrescu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe COLLABORATORS Anca Ionescu, Michael Barclay ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean PHOTOGRAPHER Laurentiu Obae LAYOUT Beatrice Gheorghiu

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George Moise SALES & EVENTS DIRECTOR Oana Molodoi MARKETING MANAGER Adina Milea SALES & EVENTS Ana-Maria Nedelcu, Claudia Munteanu RESEARCH & SUBSCRIPTION Lili Voineag PRODUCTION Dan Mitroi DISTRIBUTION Eugen Musat

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