Frequently Asked Questions

What is the economic situation in Romania?

How much does it cost to start a business in Romania?

What kind of modern infrastructure does Romania have to support its economy and my investment?

What is the economic situation in Romania?  

Romania is a lower middle income country with a GNI per capita of US$2,940. With a population of some 21.7 million, it is the second largest country in Central and Eastern Europe and is larger than 19 of the 25 current members of the European Union (EU).

Recent economic performance. Since 2000, the Government has implemented macroeconomic policies which are supportive of growth. A disciplined fiscal policy, which complemented a tight monetary policy and was augmented by strong advances in structural reform, led to improved financial discipline in the enterprise sector and has placed public finances and the financial system on much firmer footing. This resulted in robust GDP growth for five consecutive years. In addition, inflation and interest rates declined steadily, the fiscal deficit was brought under control, foreign exchange reserves increased to historic highs, and external debt was held to comfortable levels. Export growth remained vigorous, fuelled by private investment and the initial competitive depreciation of the currency lei. The competitiveness of the enterprise sector was boosted by productivity gains.

Romania is now a visible and attractive destination for international investors as a result of better sovereign ratings and improved access to international capital markets. Romania has a pro business government and progressive economic policies that encourage foreign investments.

Romania offers one of the most transparent and cost-efficient corporate tax environments in the world, with a simple 16 percent flat tax on profits. It has been ranked as one of the top performers in the World Bank’s “Doing Business Report” two years running. And, there are significant incentives for technology companies, which include exemption of software development headcount from all payroll and personal income taxes, duty free imports of much hardware and software, and proposed exemptions on investments in R&D.

Romania - Europe`s favourite outsourcing and production location:

• Close to any European location 
• Well (technical) educated people and a multi-lingual labour pool
• Time zone and infra structural advantages
• Cultural affinities
• Low wages
• Good work attitude
• Language skills

Romania - 6th PLACE IN THE WORLD and 2nd PLACE IN EUROPE in terms of professional competence and intellectual training

According to a global IT IQ report made by Brainbench, Romanians already dominate Europe with more than 16,000 certified specialists. The research indicated that Romania ranks 6th place in the world and 2nd place in Europe in professional competence and intellectual training

The research has studied the qualification of labour force in various fields: software, general knowledge, finances, health, industry, information technology, foreign languages and communication, management and executive. Brainbench is the world’s most important agency that makes on-line research on professional qualification

How much does it cost to start a business in Romania?

This depends totally on the type of business, the size and the goals. Generally in Romania, labour of highly intensive unskilled work is inexpensive.  Skilled, white collar workers are getting expensive in larger cities such as Bucharest but generally the salaries are still lower than in the E.U. We can do a standard set up of your Romanian company for about €500. Beyond that, it depends on how well thought out your plans are; how many options are evaluated and the particular circumstances of the location chosen.  This all can be worked out with GOMMERS & VOICULESCU MANAGEMENT.  We will work with you to prepare business plans for your venture and to ensure that your plans are well conceived, well researched and efficiently commenced.

What kind of modern infrastructure does Romania have to support its economy and my investment?

Airports:

International traffic: Bucharest - Otopeni; Bucharest - Baneasa; Constantza; Timisoara; Arad; Suceava.

Domestic traffic: Bacau, Baia Mare, Caransebes, Cluj Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Deva, Iasi, Satu Mare, Targu Mures, Tulcea, Oradea, Sibiu, Suceava.

For air transport there are several airlines, such as TAROM (Romanian Air Transports), LAR (Romanian Air Lines), JARO and ROMAVIA.

Sea transport: Ports at the Black Sea:

• Constantza (up to 150,000 dwt)
• Mangalia
• Sulina (free port).

Water transport: River traffic is almost exclusive on the Danube: from Bazias (its Romanian entry point) up to Braila it is navigable for small draught ships (up to 2 m) while the maritime Danube, between Braila and Sulina is navigable for up to 7 m draught ships. The main river ports are: Orsova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Turnu Magurele, Oltenita, Calarasi, Giurgiu, Cernavoda, Galati, Braila, Tulcea and Sulina. The Iron Gates I and II hydropower and navigation systems, which include a set of locks, facilitate a more intense traffic. About 60% of Romania’s imports and exports pass through the port of Constanta. A new port, Constanta-Sud, has been built at Agigea, on the Black Sea.

Railroad: The Romanian railway network amounts 11,385  km of which 3950 km electrified track (35.9% of the total network). Bucharest is Romania’s foremost railway junction, with 8 main railways lines most of which being connected to international routes.

Roads: National road transport network covers:

• 78492 km public roads;
• 14,686 km national roads;
• 110 km motorways (Bucharest - Pitesti).
• Max legal car speed: 50 km/h in localities; 90 km/h outside the localities; 120 km/h on motorways.
  
  

Urban transport - Bucharest:

• underground (3 lines, 41 stations, 59.2 km area).
• trams
• buses
• trolleybuses

Telephone communications:

• 38,000 km phone communication lines
• 10,000 km optical fibres;
• over 1,300,000 digital phone lines
• mobile communication (MMT/450 Telefonica, Mobifon, Mobilrom, paging operation)
• data communication network for data package communcation, data transmission on CATV network and VAT services
• private networks: VSAT operators and radio operators with multilple access.