Romania’s economic growth of 3.4% estimated by the International Monetary Fund in 2015 is not big enough to truly matter, said Nicolas Maure, president of the local car producer Automobile Dacia, which is part of French group Renault.

Romania needs an economic growth at least twice higher compared to the current one to have a say at regional level, he said.

“We need a growth of 7% to catch up with the Czech Republic or Poland,” Maure added, cited by local Ziarul Financiar.

Dacia has become the largest company in South-East Europe for the first time, with revenues of EUR 4.2 billion in 2014, according to a ranking of the biggest 100 companies in the region carried out by SeeNews in Bulgaria. The company is also the largest exporter in the country, with a 10% share of the total exports, which reached a historic high of over EUR 50 billion last year.

Maure also said that neither Dacia nor Romania can wait forever for the construction of the Pitesti-Sibiu highway, which is vital for local exports. “We can only hope,” he added.

editor@romania-insider.com