Insolvencies down 10% in first quarter, counterbalanced by new company registrations

Fewer Romanian companies went insolvent in the first quarter of this year: 6,800, down around 10 percent on the same quarter of 2013. The biggest number of insolvencies was recorded in Bucharest, Bihor and Prahova. In Bucharest, the number of insolvency was however up by almost a quarter, to some 1,100. The smallest number of insolvencies was recorded in Calarasi, Neamt and Giurgiu counties. Retail continues to be the segment with the biggest number of insolvencies, with 1,800 firms, but slightly down, followed by constructions, 730, again slightly down. Last year, 29,500 Romanian companies went insolvent, leading to a total of 130,000 insolvent firms since the start of the crisis. Some other 5,100 firms chose to suspend their activities, a quarter fewer than in the first quarter of 2013. On the other hand, 29,200 new firms were created during this period, most of them in retail. Overall, there was a drop of 2 percent on new firm registrations. Romania had around 1 million companies active at the end of March 2014. editor@romania-insider.com