Almost 9 in 10 top CEOs are happy with business in Romania despite poorly rated administration

Some 88% of the 200 business leaders questioned in an AmCham Romania survey have declared that their investments in Romania were meeting or surpassing expectations, despite the poor perception they had about the public administration. “The outlook from an investment perspective in Romania is positive, 46% of CEOs saying that their companies’ investments in Romania will increase, while 49% declare they will remain the same,” according to the CEOs Survey included in AmCham Romania’s Competitiveness Report released on Tuesday, March 29. “These plans translate into similar expectations in relation to the number of employees. The outlook for Romania in the opinion of the CEOs surveyed remains positive, 75% of them saying that Romania offers some or numerous opportunities for business.” However, about two-thirds of the 200 CEOs surveyed have a poor opinion about the Government policies’ contribution to economic growth, some even considering that the Government’s economic policy has not contributed to or has actually impeded the economic growth of the country. Moreover, 95% of leaders believe that the current economic policy needs to be changed in order to sustain high levels of growth. “CEOs perceive that the poor performance in economic policy is driven by the misalignment between political parties (79%) and the use of taxation as a political tool, rather than an economic one (87%). The trust in Government among leaders is low, as 97% believe corruption is an issue that influences Government policymaking with 61% declaring that corruption has shifted the focus of economic policy-making from creating a fair and level playing field to protecting a narrow group of special interests,” the CEOs Survey indicates. The Government continues to receive low marks for the various areas of economic policy. However, with the exception of physical infrastructure development these ratings are above the ratings given by CEOs in a similar survey run in 2011. “Public administration has also been rated poorly or below average compared with other EU countries by 94% of CEOs, 54% of whom believe that 30% or more of the public budget is wasted through inefficient, ineffective or corrupt management of Government offices and programs, while more that 75% believe that the performance of public officials is not properly monitored and managed,” the report mentions. On the other hand, the CEOs have a good opinion about the human resources available in Romania. “On a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best), the CEOs rate skilled labor at a 3.45 average,” the report states. “The workforce is described as being above average in education and creativity and slightly below average in self-motivation, discipline, accountability, and decision-making.” What are the main drawbacks to Romania’s growth story? Only 3 expats among the 21 top executives in the race for the 11 spots on AmCham Romania’s board