The value of payments using foreign-issued cards to Romanian traders climbed to a record EUR 94 million, 25 percent above the previous quarter's level.

German drug producer Boehringer Ingelheim expects the Romanian subsidiary to grow its sales by 14.6 percent this year, to around EUR 23.3 million, according to the company's general manager in Romania, Franz Zinsberger.

Valvis Holding, a company owned by serial investor Jean Valvis, has invested EUR 12.5 million in technologies for the new mineral water brand Aqua Carpatica and expects it to reach a market share of 10 percent in the next two years

Hewlett Packard (HP) Romania plans to hire 600 people in 2011 for its Bucharest-based services center Global eBusiness Operations (GeBOC), which is similar to the number of people the company hired in 2010, GeBOC general manager Alexander Weigl has said.

*How did entrepreneur Ioan Ciolan restructure the Ambient business, from EUR 20 mln loss – in Ziarul Financiar
*Airports with under a million passenger traffic a year need EUR 150 million to develop – in Ziarul Financiar
*Large stock market players invest millions of lei in Fondul Proprietatea – in Ziarul Financiar
*The Government sets up the Fiscal Police – in Ziarul Financiar

Romania and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a budget deficit target of 1.3 billion for the first quarter of next year, one third lower compared to the same period of 2010.

Ursus Breweries will close down one of its oldest production centers in Romania, the 130-year old Cluj – Napoca factory, which employs 161 people, the company has announced. The factory had the highest operating cost of all Ursus' production units in Romania and was located downtown, which made it harder to run logistically wise.

*State debt jumps to EUR 5 billion in an year, while banks' debt down by EUR 1 billion – in Ziarul Financiar
*Alro makes the profit planned for the entire year in the third quarter – in Ziarul Financiar
*More expensive drugs ups profits for Antibiotice and Zentiva – in Ziarul Financiar
*Orange offers access to news websites for EUR 2 a month – in Ziarul Financiar

Despite the crisis, Romanians started to travel by plane more often while travelers from other countries in the EU reduced the frequency of their flights. Still, Romanian travelers are below the EU level when it comes to the frequency of their flights. In Romania, in 2009, the number of flights per inhabitant was approximately 15 percent higher than in 2007, according to AT Kearney.

The most valuable 100 Romanian companies have a total market value of EUR 56 billion, almost the same as in 2009, according to a recent ranking drawn up by Romanian daily Ziarul Financiar. In 2007, the market value of the best-traded companies stood at EUR 100 billion, but in 2010 the value halved, as indicated by data with the National Companies Registry Office.

The value of payments using foreign-issued cards to Romanian traders climbed to a record EUR 94 million, 25 percent above the previous quarter's level.

German drug producer Boehringer Ingelheim expects the Romanian subsidiary to grow its sales by 14.6 percent this year, to around EUR 23.3 million, according to the company's general manager in Romania, Franz Zinsberger.

Valvis Holding, a company owned by serial investor Jean Valvis, has invested EUR 12.5 million in technologies for the new mineral water brand Aqua Carpatica and expects it to reach a market share of 10 percent in the next two years

Hewlett Packard (HP) Romania plans to hire 600 people in 2011 for its Bucharest-based services center Global eBusiness Operations (GeBOC), which is similar to the number of people the company hired in 2010, GeBOC general manager Alexander Weigl has said.

*How did entrepreneur Ioan Ciolan restructure the Ambient business, from EUR 20 mln loss – in Ziarul Financiar
*Airports with under a million passenger traffic a year need EUR 150 million to develop – in Ziarul Financiar
*Large stock market players invest millions of lei in Fondul Proprietatea – in Ziarul Financiar
*The Government sets up the Fiscal Police – in Ziarul Financiar

Romania and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a budget deficit target of 1.3 billion for the first quarter of next year, one third lower compared to the same period of 2010.

Ursus Breweries will close down one of its oldest production centers in Romania, the 130-year old Cluj – Napoca factory, which employs 161 people, the company has announced. The factory had the highest operating cost of all Ursus' production units in Romania and was located downtown, which made it harder to run logistically wise.

*State debt jumps to EUR 5 billion in an year, while banks' debt down by EUR 1 billion – in Ziarul Financiar
*Alro makes the profit planned for the entire year in the third quarter – in Ziarul Financiar
*More expensive drugs ups profits for Antibiotice and Zentiva – in Ziarul Financiar
*Orange offers access to news websites for EUR 2 a month – in Ziarul Financiar

Despite the crisis, Romanians started to travel by plane more often while travelers from other countries in the EU reduced the frequency of their flights. Still, Romanian travelers are below the EU level when it comes to the frequency of their flights. In Romania, in 2009, the number of flights per inhabitant was approximately 15 percent higher than in 2007, according to AT Kearney.

The most valuable 100 Romanian companies have a total market value of EUR 56 billion, almost the same as in 2009, according to a recent ranking drawn up by Romanian daily Ziarul Financiar. In 2007, the market value of the best-traded companies stood at EUR 100 billion, but in 2010 the value halved, as indicated by data with the National Companies Registry Office.