Investors from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuweit and Qatar are interested in placing their money in Romania in sectors like agriculture, infrastructure and the financial sector, with a budget of minimum USD 20 million per project, according to Forum Invest, which will organize a business forum in this topic in Bucharest.

Swiss Daniel Bach (in picture) will be the new general manager of Holcim Romania from the beginning of April, replacing Markus Wirth, who will end his six-year mandate at the helm of the company. Wirth will stay president of the company's Board. He will also remain head of the Swiss - Romania Chamber of Commerce until March and member of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC).

The Romanian gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 1.2 percent in 2010 from 2009, according to the National Institute of Statistics. According to the early estimations, the fourth-quarter GDP was by 0.1 percent higher than in Q3 of 2010 in real terms (seasonally adjusted data).

Era Shopping Park Oradea has signed the contract with a new anchor and plans to open the shopping mall phase of the retail project this autumn. The developers, Omilos Group, have signed the lease with clothing retailer Sprider Store, which will open a 850-sqm store in the shopping galleria. The new Sprider Stores unit will be opened mid-March.

ING has agreed to sell the majority of its ING Real Estate Investment Management business (ING REIM) in two separate transactions for a combined price of approximately USD 1 billion to CB Richard Ellis Group. Both ING REIM and CBRE are present on the Romanian market. ING REIM is present in Romania and owns the Felicia Shopping Center in Iasi. CBRE took over local real estate agency Eurisko in 2008.

Romania will allot EUR 15 million to hospitals this year for IT&C projects, according to Romanian Communications Minister Valerian Vreme.The Communications Ministry will spend as much as EUR 400,000 per hospital to outfit around 40 units, said Vreme.

Romanians bought around 7 million cinema tickets last year, one third more than in 2009, which made it the biggest increase pace in the European Union. In 2009, 5.3 million cinema tickets were sold in Romania, while 6.8 million were sold last year, according to the National Cinema Center in Romania.

Romanian band Byron will launch its third album on Thursday, February 17, from 22,00 hours at the Silver Church club, where it will also go on stage, playing songs from the new album. The album will contain a total number of 16 track adaptations of popular Romanian songs performed in Byron's own manner.

Polyurethane foam and hotmelt producer Den Braven Romania registered total sales of EUR 39.5 million in 2010, an increase of 28 percent compared to the sales recorded in 2009.

Low cost airline Wizz Air will launch a new flight connecting Bucharest to Malaga in Spain, the company has announced. The new route will be operated from March 26 and will initially have one flight a week, on Sundays.

Investors from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuweit and Qatar are interested in placing their money in Romania in sectors like agriculture, infrastructure and the financial sector, with a budget of minimum USD 20 million per project, according to Forum Invest, which will organize a business forum in this topic in Bucharest.

Swiss Daniel Bach (in picture) will be the new general manager of Holcim Romania from the beginning of April, replacing Markus Wirth, who will end his six-year mandate at the helm of the company. Wirth will stay president of the company's Board. He will also remain head of the Swiss - Romania Chamber of Commerce until March and member of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC).

The Romanian gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 1.2 percent in 2010 from 2009, according to the National Institute of Statistics. According to the early estimations, the fourth-quarter GDP was by 0.1 percent higher than in Q3 of 2010 in real terms (seasonally adjusted data).

Era Shopping Park Oradea has signed the contract with a new anchor and plans to open the shopping mall phase of the retail project this autumn. The developers, Omilos Group, have signed the lease with clothing retailer Sprider Store, which will open a 850-sqm store in the shopping galleria. The new Sprider Stores unit will be opened mid-March.

ING has agreed to sell the majority of its ING Real Estate Investment Management business (ING REIM) in two separate transactions for a combined price of approximately USD 1 billion to CB Richard Ellis Group. Both ING REIM and CBRE are present on the Romanian market. ING REIM is present in Romania and owns the Felicia Shopping Center in Iasi. CBRE took over local real estate agency Eurisko in 2008.

Romania will allot EUR 15 million to hospitals this year for IT&C projects, according to Romanian Communications Minister Valerian Vreme.The Communications Ministry will spend as much as EUR 400,000 per hospital to outfit around 40 units, said Vreme.

Romanians bought around 7 million cinema tickets last year, one third more than in 2009, which made it the biggest increase pace in the European Union. In 2009, 5.3 million cinema tickets were sold in Romania, while 6.8 million were sold last year, according to the National Cinema Center in Romania.

Romanian band Byron will launch its third album on Thursday, February 17, from 22,00 hours at the Silver Church club, where it will also go on stage, playing songs from the new album. The album will contain a total number of 16 track adaptations of popular Romanian songs performed in Byron's own manner.

Polyurethane foam and hotmelt producer Den Braven Romania registered total sales of EUR 39.5 million in 2010, an increase of 28 percent compared to the sales recorded in 2009.

Low cost airline Wizz Air will launch a new flight connecting Bucharest to Malaga in Spain, the company has announced. The new route will be operated from March 26 and will initially have one flight a week, on Sundays.