Romania: Press review

January 18, 2010

Romania: Press review - January 18

Bucharest, Jan 18 /Agerpres/ - The Romanian dailies on Monday give main coverage to a visit to be paid by an International Monetary Fund mission to Bucharest this week, the constant appreciation of the national currency to the euro, the prospects for property to be taxed for its real value, a cut in the number of the active brokers in the capital market last year and the need to link the higher education to the job market demands.

What happened to the government of investment, asks Gandul. Although Prime Minister Emil Boc announced at the end of last year that he would assign at least 20 percent of the budget to public investment, it seem not a single leu will go to new projects. The daily cites 52 most important public investment projects planned by the Boc cabinet.

'This government is a government of the investment and of saving the Romanians' jobs. It is by investments that we find solutions to upgrade the Romanian infrastructure and to keep and create jobs', Boc had said in last May, adding that investments such as the infrastructure upgrading 'will bring Romanians a safe tomorrow, /.../ things will go to the right direction and we'll be able to further have the financial resources for the payment of wages and pensions in Romania'.

The rate of exchange of 4.1167 lei to the euro announced by the National Bank of Romania on Friday is a 12-month low, as the leu rose significantly in the first part of the inter-banking session, following in the footsteps of the regional currencies, Gardianul reports.

The national currency kept on appreciating last week up to a 3 percent advance in a month, but the future development of the exchange rate remains uncertain, given that the banks make predictions ranging from 4 lei to 4.6 lei to the euro, the Bucharest-based economic dailies write.

Some analysts expect the euro to slide in the upcoming period to 4-4.1 lei, given that the domestic political crisis has been left behind and that the chances for the agreements with the IMF and the European Commission to be resumed are very high.

An IMF mission headed by Jeffrey Franks will visit Romania over Jan. 20-27 for the second time and for the third revision of the standby agreement, in order to release the third and fourth tranches worth a combined 2.3 billion euros, Ziarul financiar reports.

Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu hopes that after the IMF experts conclude their visit, Romania's credit rating could be upgraded. 'I have discussed with no credit rating agency. I hope that after the IMF experts conclude their visit, Romania could enjoy the rating agencies' attention and benefit from a rating upgrading', the minister is quoted by Romania libera as saying.

The tax on the Romanians' homes and land could go up from the current tens or hundreds of euros to several thousand euros in the coming years. Finance Minister Sebstian Vladescu said he wants property to be taxed for its real value, which could see the taxes surge to thousands of euros, Evenimentul zilei reports.

The number of the brokers still active in the capital market has dropped dramatically last year to nearly 1,200, by 309 less on the prior year, mainly due to the low Stock Exchange liquidity.

While 2009 was a year full of opportunities for the resilient investors, who saw their stocks doubling or even trebling their value, for the brokerage offices 2009 meant a prolongation of the difficult situation seen in 2008, when the Stock Exchange had collapsed, Ziarul financiar says.

Six years late, the Romanian state signs the building and 30-year management of the Snow Motorway with a foreign consortium, namely a 55 kilometres stretch linking Comarnic to Brasov (central Romania), Gandul announces.

The construction put at more than 1.5 billion euros could be commissioned at end-2014, the daily adds.

Every year Romania produces thousands of university graduates in fields that the job market has long ceased to demand. Such universities preserve the teaching staff's jobs, but offer the graduates small chances to work in the profession they trained for, Adevarul writes.

'Romanian film is a merchandise for export that receives standing ovation', headlines the Capital weekly; it reports that a new wave of Romanian films has taken the international film market by storm, scoring success from Tokyo to Hollywood. AGERPRES

[www.romaniapress.com]

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