The local retail market was down 12 percent in the first half of the year, according to Nielsen Romania. The drop was higher – 15 percent - excluding the sales of discount stores. Traditional trade was the most affected, but still covered the bulk of the market in Romania, although hypermarkets and discounters have gained more ground in the meantime.

Romania needs to regain the trust of foreign investors and avoid a third year of economic crisis in the country, said Mariana Gheorghe, Petrom CEO and head of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in Romania. The council has launched a 80-measure plan to send Romania back on the economic revival path. The council estimates such measures could allow the country grow its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 11.6 percent, should these measures be applied by 2015.

Octogon Gas & Logistics received a EUR 9.4 million financing from Banca Transilvania to build the largest Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marine terminal in the Midia – Navodari harbor. The terminal was scheduled to officially open on Thursday, October 7. The project took around a year to be completed.

A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission which will review Romania's economic performances will come to Bucharest on October 20 and stay until the beginning of November, according to Mihai Tanasescu, Romania's representative to the IMF, quoted by Agerpres.

Multinational companies are interested in relocating their production activity from Romania to the Republic of Moldova to take advantage of the lower workforce and operations costs, according to the Moldavian Economy Minister Valeriu Lazar.

Romania’s economy will shrink at the fastest pace among emerging states in Europe this year, while its estimated growth of 1.5 percent for 2011 will be the smallest in the region, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest global outlook report. The IMF forecasts Romania's gross domestic product will decrease 1.9 percent in 2010, from a steep contraction of 7.1 percent a year earlier.

Futureal and Immofinanz will open the EUR 100 million Gold Plaza shopping center in Baia Mare on November 4, after previously setting the opening date for September this year. The developers had been planning to finalize the shopping center in 2008, but the project was delayed for 2009 and finally for 2010. The shopping mall has been 80 percent financed through a loan from MKB Bank.

UPDATE: Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said the toxic residues from Hungary have not reached the Danube yet and when they will, on Friday evening, they will not be dangerous. “It is not true. I have spoken with the head of Hungarian Waters last night, who said the authorities there have built a dam to stop the toxic residues from spreading. The residues have not reached the Danube and when they will, they will not be dangerous,” said Borbely for a Romanian TV station.

With coal, gas, nuclear and large hydropower plants largely under state control, investors have found it hard to tap the European Union (EU) member state's energy market as successive governments have stalled reforms, privatizations and public-private partnerships, wrote newswire Reuters in a recent analysis about the Romanian wind projects market.

Romania plans to support young investors who will start a business by offering them state guarantees, as well as exemptions from social security payment and a state aid of 20 percent of the value of their projects, up to EUR 10,000. The Romanian Government has put up for public debate the ordinance project and plans to enact it later on.

The local retail market was down 12 percent in the first half of the year, according to Nielsen Romania. The drop was higher – 15 percent - excluding the sales of discount stores. Traditional trade was the most affected, but still covered the bulk of the market in Romania, although hypermarkets and discounters have gained more ground in the meantime.

Romania needs to regain the trust of foreign investors and avoid a third year of economic crisis in the country, said Mariana Gheorghe, Petrom CEO and head of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in Romania. The council has launched a 80-measure plan to send Romania back on the economic revival path. The council estimates such measures could allow the country grow its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 11.6 percent, should these measures be applied by 2015.

Octogon Gas & Logistics received a EUR 9.4 million financing from Banca Transilvania to build the largest Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marine terminal in the Midia – Navodari harbor. The terminal was scheduled to officially open on Thursday, October 7. The project took around a year to be completed.

A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission which will review Romania's economic performances will come to Bucharest on October 20 and stay until the beginning of November, according to Mihai Tanasescu, Romania's representative to the IMF, quoted by Agerpres.

Multinational companies are interested in relocating their production activity from Romania to the Republic of Moldova to take advantage of the lower workforce and operations costs, according to the Moldavian Economy Minister Valeriu Lazar.

Romania’s economy will shrink at the fastest pace among emerging states in Europe this year, while its estimated growth of 1.5 percent for 2011 will be the smallest in the region, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest global outlook report. The IMF forecasts Romania's gross domestic product will decrease 1.9 percent in 2010, from a steep contraction of 7.1 percent a year earlier.

Futureal and Immofinanz will open the EUR 100 million Gold Plaza shopping center in Baia Mare on November 4, after previously setting the opening date for September this year. The developers had been planning to finalize the shopping center in 2008, but the project was delayed for 2009 and finally for 2010. The shopping mall has been 80 percent financed through a loan from MKB Bank.

UPDATE: Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said the toxic residues from Hungary have not reached the Danube yet and when they will, on Friday evening, they will not be dangerous. “It is not true. I have spoken with the head of Hungarian Waters last night, who said the authorities there have built a dam to stop the toxic residues from spreading. The residues have not reached the Danube and when they will, they will not be dangerous,” said Borbely for a Romanian TV station.

With coal, gas, nuclear and large hydropower plants largely under state control, investors have found it hard to tap the European Union (EU) member state's energy market as successive governments have stalled reforms, privatizations and public-private partnerships, wrote newswire Reuters in a recent analysis about the Romanian wind projects market.

Romania plans to support young investors who will start a business by offering them state guarantees, as well as exemptions from social security payment and a state aid of 20 percent of the value of their projects, up to EUR 10,000. The Romanian Government has put up for public debate the ordinance project and plans to enact it later on.