British electro pop group 'We have band' will perform in Bucharest on November 5 in Control Club in the capital city (19 Academiei St., Victoriei Passage). MAP

Medical group Romgermed has appointed Razvan Stefanescu general manager, who joins the company after spending 17 years in management positions of multinational companies. Stefanescu will oversee the implementation of the company's EUR 5 million investment plan and continue expanding the company's chain of laboratories.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania), which represents 300 member companies, has called for maintaining the flat tax in Romania, along with capping social insurance contributions. These should become the central element for the country’s regional competitiveness, especially as Romania competes with countries having more favorable, stable and predictable fiscal regimes.

(Update adds details about the management contract and about the measures planned by Asesoft group in the last paragraph)

Romanian company Asesoft group has taken over the management of Realitatea Media group and plans to invest EUR 75 million in the group in the following five years, according to Asesoft. Realitatea Media was controlled by media mogul Sorin Ovidiu Vantu. Realitatea Media runs Realitatea TV, The Money Channel TV station, as well as several media products in print.

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has issued two metallic coins to celebrate the centennial

The planned Samantha Fox and Sabrina concert due for November 26 in Bucharest was canceled due to changes in the two singers' schedules. Those who have already bought tickets for the Bucharest gig will be able to recover the money from the point of sales where tickets were acquired.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Romania has resumed its training programs with several events planned for the autumn. The next RICS Romania continuous professional development event will be held on Wednesday, October 27, when Bryan Jardine, the managing partner of the Bucharest office of international law firm Wolf Theiss & Associates, will speak on “Legal aspects of Project loan financing, Insolvency, Enforcement, Recovery and Restructuring”.

U.S. Ambassador to Romania Mark Gitenstein said that he will give an answer to the question when will the Romanians be able to enter the U.S. without a visa as soon as the Romanian economy improves. He would like to see this wish fulfilled during the two years left of his current tenure as Ambassador, Gitenstein has also said.

The airline traffic in Romania reached a volume of 4.57 million passengers for the first six months of the year, according to data from the Transport and Infrastructure Minister. Only 715,000 of these passengers used internal flights, while the rest went on international routes.

*Bank deposits will be guaranteed up to EUR 100,000 – in Ziarul Financiar
*US Ambassador to Romania: “Americans are sitting on billion so of dollars they could invest here, but you have to take the country out of the crisis” – in Ziarul Financiar
*IMF expects Basescu's decision on the VAT drop and tax exemption for pensions – in Ziarul Financiar
*Google looks for Romanians with marketing background for its Ireland headquarters – in Ziarul Financiar
*Romanian – German investment (HD Automotive International) close to Ford in Craiova – in Ziarul Financiar
*Bicycle producer with EUR 23 million business wants to float on Sibex – in Ziarul Financiar

The EU structural funds absorption represents an opportunity to sustain economic growth and to reduce the development gap, which under the circumstances of international financial crisis becomes a new challenge for Romania. Romania-insider.com takes a look at the operational programs designed to improve the economic and social conditions in Romania.

Romanian writer Liliana Lazar was awarded the Prize of the five continents of Francophonie, on Friday, during a ceremony held at the Château de Chillon, Montreux (Switzerland), in the context of the 13th Congress of the Francophonie.