The main competitive advantages of Romania for the foreign investor are related to an internal market of 23 millions of consumers (the second biggest market in Central Europe) and to the geo-economic advantage: the country is the crossroads of the traditional commercial traffics, which allow the access to 240 millions of consumers within a 1000-kilometeres radius. As member of the EU since 01.01.2007, Romania is a secure nation from a economic-financial and political point of view; GPD and consumptions are growing and growing, therefore there are no doubts about the safety of the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).

According to the ancient Asian wisdom, the word ‘crisis’, regardless of its nature, rather than a ‘great danger’, refers to the ‘most significant chance of starting up’ everybody should not miss. Actually, glancing at both Chinese and Japanese ideograms of the word ‘crisis’, they both are a combination of two concepts which, as a matter of fact, might look paradoxical from our Western point of view: ‘dangerous situation’ and ‘great chance’.

On the 26^th – 27^th of February 2009 the second meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee for the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2007-2013 was organised in Bucharest , at the seat of the Ministry of Regional Development and Housing. Representatives from the ten participating countries in the programme (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova , Russia, Ukraine ) and officials of the European Commission were present at the meeting.

In 2003, through a revision of the Constitution (law n.54, 1998), any discrimination between Romanian and foreigners in terms of land ownership in Romania has been prohibited; property rights have been declared inviolable. This turning point has produced a boom of investments.

During the latest 20 years, Romania has learnt to re-think itself under a renewed Europe-oriented prospective. As long as Romania has been a work-in-progress country desirous of redemption on the international level, in particular throughout Europe, nobody would have thought Romania could have became a sightseeing place able to appeal tourists from abroad.

Despite of the fast and strong growth, during the period from 2004 to the summer of 2008, the international banks’ credits and the strong investment of the European enterprises, Romania is back into a less favorable and bright reality compared to the last fall’s one.

On 4 June 2009 the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Private Enterprises in Romania  (CNIPMMR) organized a conference at the Siqua Hotel in Bucharest to discuss on internationalization and problems linked with the economical and financial crisis.

The renewable energy sources European Market will develop, reaching, within the end of next year, an overall revenues value of 8,89 billion of euros from the current value of 15,54 billion of euros. For the Chinese market the perspectives of growth are even brighter, since its revenues from the current overall value of 11 billion of dollars will go up to 17,9 billion in 2013; therefore the profit will be 11 billion of dollars and biodiesel market will develop at a14% yearly rate.

Despite the legislative framework about Franchising is in place since some years (the current legislation is the n.52/1997 ordinance, approved by n.79/1998 Law), the sector has had a slow development in Romania mainly due to the value of the initial investment required, and knowledge of the concept of franchising among entrepreneurs Romanians, the difficulty in finding local franchisees.

Export data offers some surprises. In local currency terms, exports in January-May fell by just 8.7% year on year. However the sharp fall in the leu’s euro exchange-rate from September 2008 to March 2009 has distorted the leu-denominated figures. In the first five months of 2008 the average exchange rate was Lei3.67: €1; in the first five months of this year it was Lei4.23: €1—a depreciation of around 15%.

Raiffeisen estimates that the Romanian economy activity will reach the lowest point in the QIV, but they also think that a slow recovery will be possible in 2010.

The economic climate of this period pushes the companies to reduce their costs. In order to maintain the human resources and to continue the high-level activities and projects, a first step of many groups in Romania is to adapt the cost structure, services and utilities. For this purpose, the easiest solution is to change the offices location, by using the benefits of subleasing process.

The industry of IT has been representing up to last 5 years one of the main source of growth of Romanian economy. In fact the IT Romanian market has been the second, after Poland, in Central Eastern Europe. According to current data, the enterprises within the IT Romanian market, are approximately 130000; these ones has taken advantage of an IT infrastructural system extended and continuously  upgraded  by the major Companies in the financial sector, in services, in telephony fixed system (Telecom), and in manufacturing market.

Considering that 2009 was a very unstable year concerning investments, according to several economic analysts, also 2010 has been announced as quite difficult for investors. According to international media agencies researches, such as a Thomson Reuters focus, the trend will be related to an ex ante profitability series of analysis of each economical sector, in order to obtain the best results in Romania.

The Romanian network infrastructure is lagging behind the rest of Europe: firstly, the system design of highway connections, now covering just over two hundred kilometers, and with completion expected to take place between 2020 and 2030; and secondly the antiquated road network, to be modernized.

Romania is one of the fastest-growing information technology (IT) markets in eastern Europe. The coun­try has made significant progress in all of the informa­tion and communications technology (ICT) subsec­tors, including basic telephony, mobile telephony, the Internet and IT.

The International Museum of Naïve Art (MIDAN, www.midan.org), in collaboration with Startitalia Consulting, Sibiu Association 2007 (www.sibiu2007.ro), GMP (www.gmp.ro) and the Romanian Red Cross (www.crucearoise.ro), will present in Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture 2007, a Naïve Art exposition for charitable purposes.