Financial Press Review, 16 June

A large printed title opened the first page of the Bursa: ‘Strikes and violent protests in Greece.’

The Bursa reported also about a commentary of the Japanese credit institution Nomura under the title ‘Crisis in Greece will have significant consequences in Romania and Bulgaria.’

The study presented several possible scenarios, of which the least negative one would be the severe reduction of the credit granted by the subsidiaries of Greek banks in Bulgaria and Romania, as a result of the growing demands for funding from parent banks.

‘This “anti-increase” scenario and has already begun to develop, the Japanese bank said. ‘Who ignores the possibility of contagion of the situation in Greece, would be wrong,’ the Bursa quoted in another article Lucian Croitoru, adviser of the NBR governor.

The article’s title: ‘Standard & Poor’s - Four Greek banks in our country have been rated “extremely speculative”.’ The weekly Economistul published a commentary entitled ‘Dangerous turn’, signed by Mircea Coşea.

‘The austerity measures in Greece and Romania are at the limit of affordability in terms of purchasing power and life standards. Keeping them indefinitely might generate a high degree of social instability.’

Also in the Economistul, Constantin Boştină believed that ‘the IMF can be a real opportunity for Romania to overcome the economic crisis only if the rescheduling of the first agreement loan is succeeded without using the amounts from the second agreement.

Maintaining the current schedule of debt repayment to the IMF may create major financing problems in the economy, as budgetary and private investments funds lack.’

The Bursa published an article entitled ‘Romania needs five billion euros to improve the thermal system,’ in the next ten years.

According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, nearly 30 percent of the heat produced in our country was lost before reaching the consumers; the losses were three times higher than in other European countries.

As a result of the inefficient central heating system, the cost of the gigacalory in Romania is 20 percent higher than in other European Union countries.

‘The average value of subsidies nationally awarded reaches 40 percent of the approved distribution, which leads to budgetary costs of up to 500 million euros.

Despite the high level of the subsidy, the most operators in the industry reported losses and high indebtedness, which prevent financing investments, which is necessary in the rehabilitation and optimization of the system, according to the report,’ the Bursa wrote.

‘In the absence of alternative ways to distribute the heat support towards the vulnerable populations, the heating costs could even surpass the affordability level of 10 percent of the average income per household up to 12 percent nationally, or even 14-15 percent in some regions,’ consultant Bogdan Belciu revealed as quoted by the Bursa.

The issue was also covered by the Curierul Naţional in an article entitled ‘Private companies, only chance for rehabilitation of district heating systems.’

The Ziarul Financiar published an article entitled ‘After doctors’ exodus followed pilots: for 10 000 dollars per month, Romanians lead aircrafts in French Guiana or Dallas.’

‘Low wages and low employment opportunities were the main factors that determined the Romanian pilots to seek jobs abroad. The pilot profession is very similar to that of a doctor in Romania.

As doctors, pilots leave to work abroad for higher salaries. If in medicine the exodus began a few years ago, I think in aviation it began last year,’ the newspaper quoted Adrian Marinescu, general director of the Civil Aviation College, founded in 1999.

Translated by: Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University