Services

Having a lot to offer in terms of natural resources (oil, gas, coal, wood, mineral waters – actually Romania comprises 30% of the mineral waters of Europe – and many other) and having sectors with great potential of development, Romania represents an attractive destination for investors, in the last years these coming mostly from Western Europe. Year 2006 represented a record in terms of volume of foreign direct investments in Romania (9,082 billion euros, according to The Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment).

The leading investors in Romania are Austrian companies (OMV and Erste Bank acquired the two biggest companies in Romania – Petrom and BCR) followed by French, German, U.S. American and Italian companies. The most attractive sector for investors until now has proved to be the industrial area (50.6% of the total FDI) – production facilities for telecommunications and automotive components, wood processing, packaging, construction materials, household products and food processing have been established –, followed by services (26%), trade (13%), transportation (6.4%), constructions (1.6%), tourism (1.5%) and agriculture (1%) (National Trade Register Office, 1990-2006).

Privatisation processes are already advanced. However, there are companies still on the privatisation list such as the two airports of Bucharest, CEC (Romanian Savings House), Romanian National Post, along with companies mostly from energy and production sectors.

Industrial and logistics parks have been created and developed over the last years in order to support industrial development in areas of interest for foreign investors. In this respect they have been located nearby well-developed cities all over the country and especially in western and central part of Romania (Timisoara, Arad, Sibiu, Cluj, Brasov).

Romania is becoming a favourite destination for the companies active in business processes outsourcing services from all over Europe. Being considered a nursery of talents and taking into account its technological and modern communication environment, all these transform Romania in one of the major players of Europe in the BPO business. A big number of international suppliers of outsourced services and also the top 10 players have already opened their centres in Romania.

Romania has beautiful landscapes (mountains, long sea coast) and, being a country which has been inhabited since earliest times, having numerous historical places and medieval towns. Therefore tourism is expected to develop in the coming years. The City of Sibiu, declared European Capital of Culture in 2007 and situated in Transylvania, is an important Romanian industrial, commercial, cultural and tourist center and preserves even today the mark of a medieval town. Brukenthal Museum from Sibiu is the oldest museum in Romania and among the first in Europe. Open for public in 1817, it has departments of art, history, natural science, folk art, as well as a library with valuable books.

The real estate market has boomed in Romania lately and major foreign developers have entered the market. Due to migration of population towards big cities and especially towards the capital, Bucharest, a strong shortage of new office spaces and apartments has arisen. This led to constant increasing of prices for both apartments and land, which is anticipated by specialists to grow as well in the coming years.

Along with the increasing of purchasing power of the population, major international retail players have either already entered the Romanian market or are about to do so.

Due to strategic geographic location of Romania, together with the possibility of finding qualified managers, many foreign companies have already established in Romania their regional headquarters offices for the Balkan Peninsula and/or south-eastern European markets.

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