„Romania is a country of quality“ this is the mantra of my term office and my entire investment related activity including the proactive promotion campaign that I truly support and conduct. We’re in a transition period towards high added-value investment projects, as our country has been chosen by some of the biggest players in the world in various sectors. For example, Romania’s capacity to ensure competitive profit margins for the auto industry and to position itself as a profitable destination on the world map is proven by the presence of players such as Daimler, Pirelli, Michelin, Yazaki, Draxlmaier, Schaeffler, Siemens, Honeywell, Valeo, Ford and some important R&D centres, such as the Bosch and Porsche centres in Cluj or Renault’s R&D facility, the largest outside of France, or the Continental centres in Iasi and Brasov.
In close connection to the auto sector, the development of the IT sector in recent years has turned it into a facilitator for Industry 4.0. Through the creation of new partnerships or the consolidation of existing ones between universities and the business environment, through the establishment of the National Authority for Dual Learning, the government has been supporting the expansion of the available talent fund and the creation of a new generation of entrepreneurs. This way, the development of digitalization in our country’s auto industry will be seen more and more in product concepts, technology optimisation, logistics, lean production. Prime examples of this are two companies in InvestRomania’s portfolio: BMW, which finalised in 2017 a selection project of Romanian IT companiesto develop software for the German group, and Audi, through a partnership with InvestRomania and AHK, wants identify the best Romanian startups in order to conduct projects related to 5G services, in-car entertainment, smart home & smart living networks. At the same time, Premium Aerotec’s aeronautical components for A 350-900 aircraft are made in Romania with highly qualified workforce.
London Stock Exchange Group, also part of InvestRomania’s portfolio, entered the local market this year with a Shared Service centre, while Amazon expanded its presence with a new development centre in Bucharest, following the one in Iasi.
Romania continues to be an attractive country for solid investments, targeting markets that allow the development of long-term projects. This is supported by the ratings from international agencies like Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, which have placed our country in the „recommended for investments“ category, as an important positive signal for the international business environment and the external financial markets, where trust in Romania is very high, especially as a result of the latest developments in the European economic context.
We had the largest economic growth in the EU28 in 2017 and we’re one of the most important recipients of fDi in Europe, taking the 10th spot in the Financial Times’s 2018 FDI Report, with USD 5.8 billion in foreign investments in 2017.
Through InvestRomania, a „one-stop-shop“ for foreign investors, we ensure the coherence of a complete services cycle of the highest quality: technical assistance starts from scratch, supporting investment projects throughout the decisional process, including in the post-implementation phase. Major players are present in our portfolio: VIAVI, ADP, Schaeffler, Procter & Gamble, Garret Advancing Motion, Renault, Microsoft, Huawei, Bosch, Emerson, Yazakki, Calsonic Cansei, IBM, etc.
What I want most out of my term is for Romania’s concrete offer, developed at both a county and a regional level, to reach foreign investors’ tables, and to be able to promote business opportunities in front of the international business environment. That is why, together with my team, I’ve started to scan the potential of investment projects at the local community level and have launched a presentation platform for them – www.businessromania.gov.ro. This will allow the establishment of B2B/B2G-type contacts, offer specific information about financing options, legal and fiscal framework for commercial enterprises, promote greenfield and brownfield projects that can be developed within public-private partnerships as well as the business opportunities in Romania’s eight development regions.
