TC - Club - Stiri - Romanian business news JANUARY 2012

Exports have increased over 15% in November 2011
Romania's trade deficit expected to increase in 2012

Romania's exports have increased 15.1% in November 2011 compared to November 2010, according to preliminary estimates of the National Statistics Institute (INS). During the same period, imports have increased 11.2%.
Compared to October 2011, November's exports increased 1.4%, and imports increased 3.5%.
In November last year, the trade deficit amounted to approximately 3.9 billion lei, down 151.3 million lei compared to November 2010.
For the current year, the forecasts expect a trade deficit of greater than the one of 2011, of 10.58 billion Euros, compared to 9.4 billion Euros, according to Mihai Ionescu, the secretary general of the National Association of Importers and Exporters of Romania (ANEIR). In 2012, imports are expected to increase 11.3%, whereas exports are expected to increase 11% compared to 2011.
In the first eleven months of 2011, compared to the January 1st-November 30, 2010 period, exports have exceeded 176.6 billion lei, a 23.2% increase, and imports reached 213.1 billion lei, an 18.5% increase, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS).
During the reviewed period, the trade deficit reached 36.472 billion lei, down 30.7 million lei.
In the first eleven months of 2011, machinery and export equipments held significant weights when it comes to machinery and transportation equipment (41.5% for exports and 34.3% when it comes to imports) and by other manufactured products (33.4% for exports and 30.7% for imports).
For the current year, exporters are moderately optimistic, Mihai Ionescu recently said. According to him, companies in Romania doing foreign trade are faced with three major problems. The first of them is that vital sectors such as metallurgy and fertilizers, "where our major producers haven't been able to get their stocks for 2012 at prices comparable to those of the competition". Exporters' second problem is that of lack of labor, whereas the third problem which troubles companies involved in foreign trade is financing.


About 850,000 Romanians make 3.8 mln online card transactions in 2011

About 850,000 Romanians made 3.8 million online card payments in 2011, according to a release Netopia mobilPay sen to Agerpres.

The online card payments market recorded a 60-pct increase in 2011 in the number of transactions against 2010. Following various estimations of several companies, the all-in volume of online purchases exceeded 200 million euros, according to Netopia mobilPay.

The Romanians made 1.4 million more online payments in 2011 compared to 2010, with the increase higher than in the period 2009-2010, when the transactions stood at 1.1 million. In addition, 4.5 payments have been recorded on every card used for online transactions. Taking as a reference one card for each online shopper, Netopia mobilPay considers the number of online buyers amounts to nearly 850,000.

'The last year's advance was greatly influenced by the explosion of discount sites. Roughly 800,000 transactions have been made on these sites alone, while Romanians spent nearly 15 million euros on online discount coupons. Significant increases of over 15 percent were registered in tourism, payments of utilities and the IT service,' Netopia mobilPay Managing Director Antonio Eram said.

The Netopia mobilPay service recorded about 1.4 million transactions in 2011, with an average value of 29 euros.

'2011 meant for us an advance of nearly 30 percent in the market share. We are currently processing almost 40 percent of the Romanian online transactions and this year we target the leading position,' he also said.

Netopia mobilPay attracted 1,000 trade companies in 2011. The firm is the leader on the Romanian market in the field of SMS communication and micro-payments with the mobile phone. In June 2010, Netopia became the first Romanian company to have received an award in a competition in Silicon Valley.


Three consortiums have submitted bids for the intermediation of the listing of Romgaz on the BSE

Three consortiums which include major financial groups - JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Citibank - as well as brokerage firms, have yesterday submitted bids at the headquarters of the OSPI for the intermediation of the listing of Romgaz on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the biggest IPO ever conducted in Romania.
One of the consortiums includes Goldman Sachs, Erste, BCR, Raiffeisen Capital&Investment and Intercapital Invest, (only as a subcontractor, because the company had already participated with BCR in the offering for Transelectrica and there were some restrictions stipulated in the tender book).

A second bid was submitted by the consortium consisting of JP Morgan - UniCredit CAIB - Alpha Finance - Alpha Bank-BT Securities, and the third was submitted by Citibank - Société Générale - BRD and ING Bank.
The deadline for submitting tenders for the sale of 15% of the shares of Romgaz expired on January 16th, at 10:00.
In mid-December, the head of the Office For The State's Interests and Industrial Privatization (OPSPI), Florin-Laurenţiu Vlădan, was saying that the IPO may be launched in June or September 2012, Mediafax informs.

According to the letter of intent signed by the Government with the IMF in the latest negotiations, in the autumn of 2011, the procedure for the IPO of Romgaz on the BSE will be completed by the end of June.
The IPO of Romgaz will be the greatest in the history of the BSE. Analysts predict that the state could earn about 300 million Euros.
The Ministry of the Economy owns 85% of the shares of Romgaz, and the Proprietatea Fund (FP) owns 15% of the shares. Romgaz has a share capital of 383 million lei, divided into 38.3 million shares with a face value of 10 lei.
The government has made the commitment to the IMF to sell 15% of each of the following: Romgaz, Transelectrica and Transgaz, at least 10% of Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica, 10% of OMV Petrom, a 20% stake of CFR Marfă and up to 20% of Tarom.

The brokerage firms for Transelectrica and Tarom have already been selected, and the offerings are expected to take place in February and by the end of April, respectively. The operation in Transelectrica will be intermediated by the consortium made up of BCR, Intercapital Invest and Swiss Capital, and the IPO of Tarom will be assisted by brokerage firms Carpatica Invest and Swiss Capital. In fact, the two consortiums were the only ones to submit bids for the selection of the intermediary.
In the case of Transgaz as well, the only bid received by the government came from the consortium consisting of Raiffeisen Capital & Investment, BT Securities and Czech brokerage firm Wood& Co., but it hasn\'t announced whether the syndicate in question would intermediate this offering. The offering is expected to take place in the March-April period. 

source : www.bursa.ro
           www.actmedia.eu 

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