The European Commission has approved a €358 million (1.772 billion RON) Romanian scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs') affected by the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictive measures that the Romanian government had to implement to limit the spread of the virus. The public support was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants for investments in productive activities, up to a maximum amount of €1 million (4934.3 RON) per beneficiary. The scheme will be open to SMEs active in sectors particularly affected by the coronavirus outbreak, such as processing industry, construction, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, transport and storage. In order to be eligible, companies must have been established in Romania by 31 December 2018 and must have recorded operating profits over 2019. The scheme is expected to benefit 4,000 companies. The Commission found that the Romanian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €1.8 million per beneficiary; and (ii) will be granted no later than 31 December 2021. The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU State aid rules.
Romanian energy group OMV Petrom (BVB: SNP) announced its sales revenues dropped by 7% y/y in Q2, resulting in a 1% y/y contraction to RON 17.0 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) in the whole H1, while its net profit plunged by 17% y/y in Q2 and 21% y/y to RON 2.1 billion in H1, according to […]
The volume of building permits for retail spaces in Romania, measured in square meters, surged by 53% y/y to 303 thousand square meters in H1, according to data published by the statistics office INS. The number of projects rose by 42% y/y to 261. The residential construction segment, driven by the individual (as opposed to collective) […]
Romania has completed the renegotiation process of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) with the European Commission, a process that has been going on for more than a year, Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragoș Pîslaru said on July 31, during a press conference, according to
Wizz Air will add a route connecting Brașov, in central Romania, to Katowice, in Poland, beginning next year, the Brașov International Airport announced. The route will become operational on March 31, 2026, with flights operating every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. In the upcoming winter season, the airline will operate seven routes to five countries from […]
IT Genetics, a company specializing in digitalizing services, aims to have its shares tradable at the Bucharest Stock Exchange by the end of this year, with the amount to be raised estimated at approximately EUR 2 million. The ITG group will be listed, not just IT Genetics, which is nevertheless the main pillar of the […]
Romania’s current transport minister, the Social Democrat Ciprian Șerban, offered bribes to representatives of a forest district in Iași County as a young businessman in 2012, according to recently surfaced documents and recordings. Șerban gave bribes at least six times before reporting the offense to the National Anticorruption Directorate. He did so only after being […]
