The Diplomat Bucharest - Foreign Investments in Romania

French plastic is fantastic
Timisoara-based Elbromplast, a producer of plastic injection moulding products, owned by Plastique du Val de Loire, is building a new industrial facility covering 10,000 sqm, with investments of around 1.5 million Euro. The firm also plans to purchase machines and equipment worth one million Euro this year.
Retailer’s next step is Targu Mures
Retailer Auchan will invest around 40 million Euro on its second outlet in Romania, in Targu Mures, following its opening of a store in Bucharest according to Budapest Business Journal. The hypermarket will begin operations in Autumn 2007, and will have a sales area of 8,500 sqm. Auchan plans to open another three outlets in Romania, in Cluj-Napoca, Pitesti and Bucharest in Piata Sudului, in the second half of 2007. In 2008 it will open stores in Constanta and Timisoara.

Discount retailer aims for 150 stores
Discount retailer Lidl intends to open 150 shops by 2012 in large, medium and small towns with 10,000s of inhabitants, according to Mediafax. The company already started negotiations for land acquistions and the first Lidl shop will be opened in the next two years. Lidl&Schwarz Group owners are present in Romania since 2005 through Kaufland.

Mobile prepay service calls in
PayPoint group has paid 15.5 million Euro to take over mobile prepay service company Pay Store, part of Romanian-based RTC Holding. Officials said the move marks the British group’s first step outside UK’s borders since it was listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004.
DIY retailer stages western attack
DIY retailer Brithouse plans to invest 25 million Euro in the next five years in Romania and to expand its network to 15 shops by 2012. Brithouse targets a market share of eight per cent in Banat and Ardeal and has chosen Timisoara to open its first store, but also sees Bucharest and Moldavia as options for development, according to Brithouse general director, Florin Stanciu.

Cosmote ups mobile offering
Cosmote Romania has launched its ‘i-mode’ service, offering high speed mobile Internet access. The launch of i-mode in Romania is the result of the cooperation between Cosmote Romania, Cosmote in Greece and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo.

Direct Dublin flight starts in Autumn
Airline Aer Lingus will operate a direct Dublin-Bucharest flight this October, as well as extending its flight schedule with three foreign destinations: Helsinki, Agadir (Morocco) and Funchal (Portugal).

Materials firm opts for Bolintin
Construction material firm Tassulo will invest 15 million Euro in the next three years to build a factory in Bolintin, Ilfov county, where it will produce 40 types of construction materials according to Mediafax.
Business school plan from Cefin
Cefin Romania will open a management school for its employees this September, said managing director Stefano Albarosa. “Cefin Business School will offer classes in management, product information, technical information, sales and customer relations and there will be exams to help us choose the best to work for us,” he added.

Market matures for Dutch cheese
Cheese producer Gouda Gold has invested 2.5 million Euro in a cheese factory in Sambata de Sus, Brasov county. Officials said the new plant has started production tests this March and has a milk-processing capacity of 20,000 litres per day.

Biodiesel attracts new supporter
Mixed-interest firm Eurologystika said it plans to build a biodiesel refinery in Romania and acquire a local rolling stock company to create a complete transport system. Jerzy Kozlowicz, Eurologystika board president, told members of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry the firm wants to use rape seeds in Romania to produce biodiesel. “We are now preparing to be listed on the stock exchange to get the capital we need to expand,” said Kozlowicz.

Timisoara sees more cardboard
Packaging producer SCA Packaging Romania will invest ten million Euro in
expanding production capacity of its corrugated cardboard plant in Timisoara. The project is set for completion in 2008 and its first stage entails boosting the present production area from 5,000 to 17,000 sqm, and increasing the number of employees from 75 to 125.

Poultry processor takes flight
Banvit Group has completed a five million Euro investment in a bird incubator in Urziceni, Ialomita county and pledged five million Euro more to build chicken farms, officials said. “About ten million Euro is in store to build these chicken farms and a fodder factory with a production capacity of 60 tonnes per hour,” said Turkish-based general manager Omer Gorener.

Telecom firm walks business line
Cable TV and telecom firm UPC Romania has launched UPC Business to offer integrated communication packages to businesses. The package includes broadband Internet access, landline telephony, virtual private networks, intra and extra net systems, video conferences and video monitoring services.
Giant buys out combuster partner
General Electric bought out the entire stock package in Turbomecanica Combustor Products, of which it already owned 50 per cent in a joint venture with the Romanian company. The firm, registered in 2002, produces combusters for air plane engines and is a sub supplier of GE. The buyout was part of the contract which set up the joint venture.