XPRIMM News No. 156, May 20th, 2010

Is it worth to scare "the average Romanian" with an SMS?

by alex.rosca@mxp.ro

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Interview with Rangam BIR
CEO
ALLIANZ-TIRIAC Asigurari

by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro

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Rangam BIR
CEO
ALLIANZ-TIRIAC Asigurari

VIDEO: Feel the rush of FIAR preparations at XPRIMM.TV
FIAR - International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum 2010 is getting closer every day. However, the members of the organizing team stepped for a few moments out of the FIAR rush to offer some details on the conferences and special events that await you this year at the most important insurance event of the European spring.
Click here to read more!
by andreea.ionete@mxp.ro, 20.05.2010

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EIU estimates 0.8 per cent economic growth rate for Romania
The harsh austerity measures in Romania will affect its development and there is a risk recession is prolonged, according to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which reduced by 0.2 points its estimate for Romania's economic growth, at 0.8 per cent. EIU warned, as early as March, that Romania risked facing new austerity measures, which might prolong recession, but maintained at that point its economic growth estimate at one per cent, Mediafax informs. For the Balkans, in which the institute includes Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia, EIU maintained its estimate of an economic growth of only 0.8 per cent for 2010, given that countries in the region remain vulnerable to crises. Moreover, states in the Balkans are exposed to the effect of economic problems in Greece, because of their investment, trade and banking ties. As far as Bulgaria is concerned, EIU anticipates its economic performance will be slightly below the region average, as the country's capacity to oppose recession has been limited by the peg of the leva to the euro, within a monetary council.
by nineoclock.ro, 19.05.2010

Pensions under FinMin pressure - Pillar II transfers cut to 0.5 pc
BNR warns: Too late for contribution cut time-table; if ever enforced, decision should be cancelled as soon as possible.
Transfers to compulsory private pension schemes will be cut from 2.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent of the gross salary, Finance Minister Sebastian VLADESCU announced recently.
Minister VLADESCU brought the argument that the measure was needed for putting the pension sector in a state of equilibrium and said it would be applied by the end of 2011. A number of private pension fund managers interviewed by Mediafax say the measure will generate insignificant savings to the budget, while being expected to impact future pensions and the existing five million insured individuals in a negative way. The proposed cutting of the contribution made to compulsory private pension funds (Pillar II) equals "knowingly"' pushing the private pension system - both managing funds and the five million contributors - into bankruptcy, Romanian Pension Funds' Association (APAPR) president Crinu ANDANUT said during a seminar discussing the subject.
"Implementation of the measure will destroy 12 years of legislative and institutional construction in the area of private pensions, will be an admission to the default of the public pension system and will paradoxically annihilate the handiest solution available", ANDANUT said. The APAPR representative added the introduction of the Pillar II system had been the most successful reform done in Romania lately.
"Unions act against the interests of the workers they should be representing. In western countries, unions support private pension funds and are interested in that they are massively financed with contributions. (...) Any attack on Pillar II is an attack on the financial security of the current generation of workers when they are old", ANDANUT also said.
The reduction of the contribution to compulsory private pension schemes will defer migration from a public to a private pension system where the amount of the pension is commensurate with the amount of the contribution made, BNR governor's adviser Lucian CROITORU stressed at the same event. He further noted the central bank was a supporter of the private pension funds' market and voiced hope that, should it be made and enforced, the decision to cut Pillar II contributions would be cancelled as soon as circumstances allow it. "I can understand the state has no money and that, temporarily, the subscription to the private pension funds will not be in the amount established but, at the same time, the time-table for the reduction of contributions is belated and the recently announced measure adds new massive delay", CROITORU said.
According to the BNR official, the forecast social security budget deficit is going to be approximately EUR 2 billion this year, but it may get as high as EUR 3 billion "if we refine calculations". This decision will enhance participants' losses induced by the level of the cap in 2009 to 2 pc and the failure of increasing from 3 pc in 2010, said in her turn the president of ING Pension Fund, Cornelia COMAN.
by nineoclock.ro, 19.05.2010

PETROM, DACIA and BCR rank first in corporation responsibility
DACIA ranks two in Romania and 23rd in Central and Eastern Europe in the B&P Braun & Partners consultancy company top chart of responsible corporations, according to a press release, PETROM ranks first (69 per cent), and the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR), third, on 44 per cent. The assessment took into account the turnover on the Romanian market, as well as that in such countries as Austria, Hungary and Poland. The methodology of the CSR 24/7 followed seven areas: transparency, corporatist governance, relationship with co-interested parties, environmental responsibility, economic responsibility, relationship with civil society and human resources policy. The survey was based on public information on official company websites. According to the consultancy company, DACIA has had the most robust evolution, from 21 per cent in 2009, to 50 per cent in 2010.
by nineoclock.ro, 19.05.2010

EUROMONITOR: The number of foreign tourists in Romania to rise 18% by 2014
The international tourism receipts in Romania will rise 18% by 2014 compared to 2009, to 9.6 million visitors annually, according to the international market intelligence company, EUROMONITOR.
Romania will thus be the fifth largest East-European market by tourism receipt, after Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Croatia.
"As for tourism expenditures in the country, Romania takes the last but one spot in the region, with EUR 125 per visit, outranking Lithuania", Mantas KALUNIA, EUROMONITOR expert said at the Hospitality Forum organized by HRB Expert magazine.
Expenditure by non-resident tourists in Eastern European countries averaged EUR 334/person last year, down 5% from 2008. "Tourists from UK in Romania spent the most, EUR 900 in average", said the representative of EUROMONITOR.
Hungary has been the main market of origin and accounted for almost a quarter of international tourism receipts in Romania. Moldova ranked second with 15% followed by Bulgaria with 14%.
As for business tourism, the segment has a potential of 3.6 million international receipts per year in Romania by 2014.
"However, the event and conference segment took a heavier loss compared to other sectors", KALUNIA added.
According to EUROMONITOR data, the low-cost segment doubled over the past five years in Romania, to a market share of 30%. "Low-cost carriers have prevented the market from taking a heavier blow from the financial crisis in 2009", EUROMONITOR representative added.
EUROMONITOR International has eight offices across the world and a team of over 600 analysts.
by wall-street, 20.05.2010

Only 32 pc of urban residents make card payments
About 85 per cent of Romanians living in urban areas have a bank card, yet, only 32 per cent use it for payments at least once a week, while 16 per cent pay their purchases by card at intervals longer than three months, according to a study commissioned by the Electronic Payments Association in Romania (APERO). Ten per cent of card owners use it to make payments two to three times a week, and 22 per cent, once a week, Mediafax reports. Twenty-four per cent of card owners pay by card two to three times a month, 20 per cent, once a month, and 8 per cent, once every two to three months.
"The higher frequency of card payments is correlated with a larger income per family member, over RON 900, and, also, a higher degree of openness towards new products and services in general", APERO President Adrian APOLZAN said.
The APERO index in Romania's large and medium-size cities posted a moderate scoring with respect to the population's attitude towards cards. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 marks lack of trust and intention to use the card, and 10 a high level of the two indicators, the index matches 7.2 among card users and 2.7, non-users. Per market total, the level of trust and intention to use the card registers a scoring of 6.5. As to the type of card used, 71 per cent of the respondents indicated the simple debit card, 7 per cent, authorized overdraft card, 4 per cent, credit card, and 3 per cent, purchasing card.
As to the frequency of the types of transactions made by card, 39 per cent of card owners operate cash withdrawals to three times a month. Also, 24 per cent of interviewee card owners make weekly withdrawals to pay their bills, loan instalments or online. However, roughly one-fifth of card owners only use the card once a month to pay bills and loan instalments. Card owners pay attention to the amount they have in their account, with 90 per cent of them checking the balance at least once a month. The study was conducted in urban areas exclusively March-April 2010.
A National Bank of Romania (BNR) study shows the value of card payments up 4.64 per cent in the first quarter, while ATM cash withdrawals down 6.86 per cent, yet the value of card payment transactions remains nearly six times than that of cash withdrawals. Payment transactions by card totalled RON 3.5 billion in the first quarter, with debit cards making the bulk, 85 per cent. Debit card payments rose 9.24 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to December 2009, and 20 per cent against the year-on-year period. The value of credit card payments fell nearly 16 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last three months of 2009, and 6.3 per cent from the corresponding interval in 2009, to RON 531.3 million. The number of credit card transactions rose 11.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, to 22.98 million operations. The number of payments rose 24.3 per cent from the year-earlier period.
by nineoclock.ro, 19.05.2010

87 pc of local companies promote business on Internet
The bulk of Romanian companies, 87 per cent, use the Internet to promote their business, according to a survey conducted by the local subsidiary of CISCO, a US-based manufacturer of networking equipment, Mediafax reported the company's General Director Cristian POPESCU as saying.
"The study also shows that not only that 29 per cent of respondents have their own website, but also use the Internet to develop their business and relations with their customers, partners and suppliers. Also, 15 per cent of Romanian companies use social networks (like Facebook) for business purposes", POPESCU said.
Fifty per cent of respondents are logged to the Internet for more than eight hours a day, 36 per cent, between four and eight hours, 12 per cent, two to four hours, and 2 per cent, one to two hours a day, the CISCO Romania General Director said. Also, 96 per cent of respondents use the Internet during their working hours, 95 per cent, at home, and 56 per cent use Internet mobile connection services. In the spare time, the bulk of respondents, 90 per cent, use the Internet for seeking information, 88 per cent, for communication, and 87 per cent for reading news. The Internet is also used for banking services, 60 per cent, entertainment, 58 per cent, purchases of goods and services, 54 per cent, access to social networks, 37 per cent, downloading content, 29 per cent, and creating content, 24 per cent.
by nineoclock.ro, 19.05.2010

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