Business Review Issue 22/2014 June 16 - 22

ROMANIA’S PREMIER BUSINESS WEEKLY JUNE 16 - 22, 2014 / VOLUME 18, NUMBER 22

INTERVIEW: The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank(BSTDB) has ongoing loan deals worth EUR 75 million and isready to provide more financing to the local private sector,says Andrey Kondakov, the lender’s president »page 10

NEWS

Face timeLocal Facebook usersare more social andmobility oriented thantheir regional peers,Marcin Brus, the socialnetwork’s CEE head,said at ICEEfest» page 4

INTERVIEW

Reaping the benefitMauro Maria Angelini,president of Confind-ustria Romania, saysthe number of Italianowners of local farm-land is poised to increase» page 6

Electricity supplier and distributor Electrica

aims to raise at least EUR 435 million from an

IPO starting this week, which could become

the biggest in Bucharest to date and help

upgrade the local market to emerging status

» page 9

OLD CINEMAS

A NEW CAMPAIGN,LAUNCHED AT TIFF,IS AIMING TO SAVETHE COUNTRY’S INDEPENDENTMOVIE THEATERS,WHICH HAVE BEENIN DECLINE SINCETHE REVOLUTION » PAGE 8

ELECTRICA IPO FUELS BVB’S

EMERGING AMBITIONS

NEW S 3www.business-review.eu Business Review | June 16 - 22, 2014

NEWS in briefNEW S 3

ENERGYRomania forces Romgaz,Petrom to trade gas output onstock exchangeLocal gas producers will have to tradesome of their output on the commodi-ties market from July 1, with naturalgas suppliers expected to join the ini-tiative in 2015. OMV Petrom SA andRomgaz SA, the two largest gas pro-ducers in the European Union, willbe forced to trade part of their naturalgas output, and the decree applies to imported gas as well, reportsBloomberg. The measure is part of agovernment plan to increase trans-parency and liberalize the energy mar-ket.

INVESTMENTTrade between China and Romania soars 23.5 percent to USD 931 mln in Q1The amount of trade between Romaniaand China, the world’s second biggesteconomy, accelerated by 23.5 percentto USD 931 million in the first quarterof this year against the same periodof last year, said economy ministerConstantin Nita. Last year, trade be-tween the two countries amountedto USD 3.3 billion. Last week, Nitaconcluded a three-day visit to Chinawhere he attended a meeting of econ-omy and trade ministers from Central and Eastern Europe and theirChinese counterparts. Romania aimsto attract Chinese investors open todeveloping industrial parks and build-ing strategic electricity generationprojects, such as two nuclear reactorsat Cernavoda and the hydro pumpingstorage plant in Tarnita, which wouldrequire close to EUR 8 billion in in-vestments.

Romania and Bulgaria only EUcountries to post FDI hike in2013Romania led its southern neighborBulgaria as the only two EuropeanUnion member states to see foreigndirect investments (FDI) rise last year,according to new research. FDI in 23nations across Central, Eastern, andSouth-Eastern Europe fell sharply in2013 and even “alarmingly” in Slovakiaand Poland, the Vienna Institute forInternational Economic Studies (WIIW)said in its latest FDI analysis, quotedby globalpost.com. According to theAustrian financial institution, the re-gion was hit by deleveraging, and the11 newest EU member states saw their

FDI drop by an average of almost twothirds. Of these countries only Roma-nia and Bulgaria saw FDI increases,of 27.4 percent and 2.1 percent respec-tively. The overall decline across the11 new members was 64.5 percent, ac-cording to the report.

Sibiu County Council opens‘single counter’ for investorsSibiu has become the only county inthe country to have a “single counter”where investors interested in the re-gion can organize the necessary pa-perwork to make their business legal(including all authorizations, exceptenvironment permits), according toadministratie.ro. The single counter,operational since June 1, means thatinvestors are likely to pay ten timesless for consultancy and bureaucracywhen setting up a business. For in-stance, previously most investorsneeded a consultancy firm, whichcharge RON 200 for submitting thenecessary paperwork, to obtain justone permit. Since June 1, they willhave to pay only a RON 25 charge atthe single counter to secure the per-mit.

Norway to provide EUR 21.5mln in grants for local greeninnovationLocal industrial investments into greentechnologies will be backed by EUR21.5 million of Norwegian and SEE

grants. Innovation Norway, the pro-gram administrator, has approved 15projects worth EUR 14.2 million andmade recommendations for three moreseeking to receive EUR 2.2 million.Another four ventures, mainly devel-oped by SMEs, are pending clarificationand should receive EUR 1.6 million.The average grant stands at EUR825,099. Another scheme, worth EUR2 million, will back smaller projects,while EUR 215,000 has been allottedto enhancing bilateral relations. A totalof 34 projects will benefit from thegrants.

MERGERAbris Capital Partners buysUrgent CurierAbris Capital Partners investment fundhas bought Urgent Curier, which willeventually merge with Cargus, in thefund’s portfolio since 2012, reportsMediafax. Urgent Curier, owned bySebastian and Corina Balasescu,recorded a turnover of RON 115.95million in 2013. The new companywill have a fleet of over 1,800 vehicles,1,800 couriers and a logistics networkof over 142 deposits. Cargus generaldirector, Gian Sharp, will manage thenew entity, under the supervision ofa managing board that will includeAbris Capital Partners members and

the Balasescu family.

PHARMAGSK to close local plantUK-based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), thedrugsmaker, said last week it wouldshut its Europharm plant in Brasovby the end of 2015 and transfer theproduction to Poland and Spain, re-ports Mediafax newswire. Last yearthe company announced its intentionto sell the plant due to over-productionof solid oral formulas, adding that thiswas a group decision. GSK said in astatement it had gone through a “rig-orous process” to try to sell the factorybut did not reach agreement with thepotential bidders. The drugsmakerwill slash 236 manufacturing jobs fol-lowing this decision.

PROPERTYAbris CapiCefin IndustrialPark in Arad up for sale withEUR 26 mln of debtsThe industrial park built by Italiangroup Cefin in Arad, western Romania,in 2011 is now up for sale throughdirect negotiation after entering in-solvency in 2013. Debts amount toRON 114 million (EUR 26 million), mostof which is owed to Volksbank, ac-cording to Mediafax. The park featureseight modules with a total surfacearea of 44,400 sqm, 2,600 sqm ofoffice space, a three-storey unfinishedbuilding, a parking lot and 27,400 sqmof land. Offers can be submitted untilJune 25.

555 and counting

The Bucharest City Hall has set up a monument in Victoriei Square com-memorating the 555 years since existence the city was first documented.Other projects are set to follow within a larger cultural program titledBucharest 555, covering the visual arts, theater, music and dance.

Photo: M

ihai Constantineanu

MOST READ www.business-review.eu

1 Cluj-Napoca tops list of citieswith best air quality in Europe

2 Trade between China and Roma-nia soars 23.5 percent to USD931 mln in Q1

3 INS: Romania will include drugsand prostitution in GDP calcula-tions

4 Simona Halep advances toFrench Open final, will playSharapova

5 Romanian parliament rejectsRosia Montana bill, project put onhold indefinitely

4 NEWSwww.business-review.eu

Business Review | June 16 - 22, 2014

ONLINE

ICEEfest: Facebook CEE headsays Romanians ‘more social’

their brand? “Fans are important but this is not

the definition of success. What weshould be focusing now is on makingmuch better creatives and investingin their distribution and reach,” saysBrus.

He draws attention to one com-mon mistake: “What we see still hap-pening quite often in this region,including in Romania, is a lot of in-vestment going into developing com-plex applications. Our data showsthat only 1 percent of these applica-tions are used by more than 2,000consumers. So, if you’re heading a bigbusiness, this is a waste of money be-cause quite often these 2,000 con-sumers are very young, they oftencome to win something and theydon’t really bring sales. So, the hugecost of this development is often awaste,” says Brus.

Companies need to be budget con-scious because there are few that canafford bigger promotional budgetsevery year. “If you don’t want towaste your budget, don’t operate on abig scale. You don’t need to operateon a big scale; this is a myth. Youdon’t need to post everyday. Post forthe people that matter to you during

the time that matters to you, have agood creative and invest in reach.This is when success starts.”

To do this, companies in the CEEregion can “take a shortcut and learnfrom the best practices on marketslike the United States and UnitedKingdom,” recommends Brus.

Currently, advertisers in Romaniacan get the most out of Facebook byseeking help from ThinkDigital, theFacebook partner on the Romanianmarket. At the moment, Facebook hasa regional office in Warsaw, which hasbeen open for two years, but the com-pany does not yet have either a Ro-manian office or Romanians workingon its Warsaw team. “We are lookingfor people who have media experi-ence, client experience, who are will-ing to learn, work well together andare ethical. We have different kinds ofpeople working with us: people whowere marketing directors in big FMCGcompanies, or who were for manyyears in big media houses, peoplewho spent a lot of time working inecommerce. So they have differentsets of skills, but what I think unifiesthem is their values,” says Brus.

[email protected]

∫ OTILIA HARAGA

“If you look at mobile usage, Romani-ans are very advanced. Romanianconsumers seem to be very socialwith an above average number ofFacebook friends in regional terms.As in other markets, they consume alot of content, and check their news-feed an average of 14 times a day,which is great news for marketers,”Brus tells BR.

He is not alone in his views. A recent Google survey called In-

ternet in Day-to-Day Life, carried outin Romania, the Czech Republic, Slo-vakia, Hungary and Poland, revealedthat Romanians are the most-mobilityoriented internet users in this part ofEurope. Most local consumers starttheir day online, write on blogs andare very open to new technologies.

Approximately 67 percent of Ro-manians use their mobile phones togo online, and 32 percent use tablets.

Romanians like tablets and smart-phones more than Poles and Hungar-ians do, would want to be online evenon a desert island, and have started towatch more videos on the internetthan they do TV programs. Laptopsand PCs are the most commonly useddevices for online searches, whilesmartphones and tablets are used forsocial media. Some 97 percent of Ro-manians who use social media have aFacebook account, 75 percent use so-cial media and 72 percent communi-cate online via text messages.

“Everyone knows about mobile, sothere is nothing special in marketerstalking about mobile. What is specialis marketers who act on the mobilerevolution. For instance, now in sum-mer everyone goes outdoors. No won-der TV advertising is so cheap insummertime, because very few peo-ple are watching. To reach these con-sumers and sell, use the mobile.There are 4.9 million Romaniansusing Facebook on their mobilesevery month. This is a huge opportu-nity which we are still under-using.Some marketers already know theyneed to create ‘reach on the beach’and there is no better place than Face-book for this,” says Brus.

How is this news for advertiserswho wish Romanians to engage with

Marcin Brus, Facebook’s CEE head, pointed out some of the do’s and don’ts ofFacebook promotion for businesses

WEEK AHEAD

June 16

Electrica IPO Romanian electricity distributor Elec-trica will start its initial public offering(IPO) on June 16, to last until June 25.Shares will begin trading on theBucharest Stock Exchange and Lon-don Stock Exchange on July 3.

Focus on EnergyThe outlook for the renewable sectorfollowing the overhaul of the incen-tives system and the avenues to in-crease the bankability of energyprojects will be up for debate duringthe fifth Focus on Energy, organized byBusiness Review. Log on to the busi-ness-review.eu for more details aboutthe speakers and registration. 9.00, Ramada Plaza Hotel, Europa Hall.

June 18

Book launchZamfirescu Racoti & Partners organ-izes a launch event for The InsolvencyProcedure: The Legal implications onthe Debtor’s Contracts, authored byCozmin-Antoniu Obancia, partner withZRP law firm.18.30, Hilton Hotel, Regina Maria Hall.

June 20 - 21

Think LeadershipImpact Hub and Hipo.ro invite youngprofessionals and career-orientedgraduates to this special event, wherethey can learn and develop new abili-ties to help them achieve their profes-sional ambitions. The agenda includespanels and debates on such topics asmanagement, motivation, leadershipand inspiration. More information isavailable at hipo.ro or impacthub.ro.

June 21

DHL MarathonDHL Express Romania, with the sup-port of the Sports Council of BrasovCounty, will organize the fifth editionof the DHL Marathon Carpathian Relayin Poiana Brasov. This year’s eventwill be held on the traditional Predeal– ParaulRece – Rasnov – PoianaBrasov trail. The alternative forms ofparticipation are in a relay team (sixpeople running 7 km each; men,women or mixed) or individually. TheDHL Marathon has previously raisedfunds for charity projects, and thisyear the charity of choice is Save theChildren.Start: 10.00, Predeal Military Unit.

Save the dateAmCham Romania invites members,partners and friends to this year’s USIndependence Day Celebration on July4! Access by invitation only. ContactAmCham Romania at [email protected] or by phone at + 40 21 312 4834 to buy your invitation.

Courtesy of IC

EEfest

While Romanians’ behavior on Facebook is not much different from their regionalpeers, they do stand out by being more mobility oriented and highly social. MarcinBrus, Facebook’s CEE head, tells BR that many businesses are focusing on makingcomplex applications that few people use, instead of investing in creative ways toreach their audience.

6 INTERVIEW/WHO’S NEWSwww.business-review.eu


INTERVIEW

Cheap farmland and CAP funding luresin more Italian investors

land is owned by foreigners and out ofthis, 24 percent is held by Italian com-panies.

Are new Italian firms entering the Ro-

manian market?

Confindustria Romania has exclu-

sively represented Confagricoltura in Romania since 2013 and in this ca-pacity we continuously receive nu-merous requests for information,clarifications and concrete businessopportunities in the local agriculturesector. The interest is coming bothfrom large companies and individualslooking to invest especially in grainproduction, livestock, rice production,the processing of fruits and vegetables,the milling industry and dairy produc-tion.

And this is not surprising. Landcosts less and is widely available andthe workforce is becoming more qual-ified without getting more expensive.New investors are also attracted by thenew the Common Agricultural Policy(CAP) for the period 2014-2020 underwhich Romania has an allocation ofEUR 19 billion. In addition to this, theliberalization of the land market cameinto force on January 1, a measure thatundoubtedly attracts Italian investorsto start a business in Romania. We expect Italian investors to set up numerous small and medium-sizedbusinesses in Romania in the near future as a direct result of this.

What are the challenges?

Even though the industry has reportedstrong growth in recent years and hasbecome, alongside industrial produc-tion, a leading sector in the Romanianeconomy, some Italian investors arestill discouraged by the existence ofstructural issues. Investments are par-ticularly impeded by the excessivefragmentation of land, which forcesItalian entrepreneurs to consolidateland in order to reach the number ofhectares required by a farming busi-ness. This is a rather challenging en-deavor, both in legal and bureaucraticterms, due to the lack of a land registryuntil 2007. The low level of mecha-nization, the reduced storage capacity,the current lack of skilled labor andunderdeveloped infrastructure areother issues. On one hand this detersItalian investors, but on the otherhand it shows the hidden and still un-exploited potential of Romania’s agri-culture, where an investment madetoday can be an advantage for the fu-ture, especially in terms of land avail-ability and its competitive price.

[email protected]

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

What sectors of local agriculture inter-

est potential Italian investors?

Given that we are talking aboutmedium- and long-term investmentsand not about speculative operations,among the most attractive sectors wewould mention the wine industry, es-pecially considering that the govern-ment’s investment program for thissector provides funds of over EUR 48million through to 2018.

Looking at the Italian investmentsmade in recent years, sunflower pro-duction, which last year was up byhalf y-o-y, and grain production ingeneral remain sectors of interest. An-other one is soybean production, es-pecially as Italian companies activelocally have recently implemented anew technique which increases yieldsto three times the national average.

How many Italian companies are active

in the local farming sector?

Italian investors represent about 6.5percent of the sector’s total turnover.About 8.5 percent of Romania’s farm-

Foreign investors control about 8.5 percent of Romania’s farmland, and out of this, almost a quarter is owned byItalians. Their presence is about to increase even further, Mauro Maria Angelini, president of Confindustria Romania, told Business Review.

Monica Biota has been pro-moted to assur-ance partner byPwC. She is agraduate of theAcademy of Eco-nomic Studies inBucharest and a

member of the Romanian Chamberof Auditors and ACCA. In her newcapacity, she will be responsible formanaging the company’s office inTimisoara as well as driving newbusiness.

Diana Coroaba has been pro-moted by PwC toleader of the taxand legal servicesfinancial servicespractice and co-leader of the VATpractice in Roma-

nia. She will also develop new solu-tions for banks and insurers.

TV’s program di-rector. Hofer hasover 15 years ofexperience inmedia, havingpreviouslyworked for ORF – Austrian

Broadcasting Corporations. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Vienna.Budinschi stepped down from the position.

Francesca Postolache has been pro-moted by PwC

to assurancepartner in Romania. She will also take over leadership of

the assurance practice in the Republic of Moldova, her nativecountry. Postolache has a PhD in financial analysis.

WHO’S NEWSCoroaba is a certified tax advisor.

Olga Grygier-Siddons is the new CEO of PwC Central and

Eastern Europe (CEE), to be based inWarsaw. She is taking over from MikeKubena, who has served two four-yearterms as CEO, the maximum allowedunder PwC CEE’s governancearrangements. Siddons is the firstwoman and the first local professionalto serve in this position. Her previousrole was managing partner of PwCPoland, to which she was appointed in2009. She has extensive experience inadvising governments and interna-tional energy and infrastructure com-panies.

Paul Markovits has been appointed marketing VP ofUnited Romanian Breweries Bere-

prod (URBB). He is replacing RoccosCosmatos, whose term has ended af-ter he had held the position since 2012.Markovits will be responsible for mar-keting strategies for all of the brewer’s

brands. He has over20 years of experi-ence in marketing,having worked forcompanies such asP&G and Vodafoneas well in the beerindustry. Markovits,

46, has a master’s degree in interna-tional marketing communication fromCalifornia State University, Chico.

Viorica Mileais the new marketing director ofCarpatica Asig. She is returning to thecompany after working for GroupamaAsigurari as marketing specialist andresearch and market analysis man-ager for the past seven years. Mileahas been working in the insurancesector for nine years and has a 20-yearprofessional background in marketing.Her last position at Carpatica Asig wasdevelopment director.

Wolfgang Peter has replaced Anca Budinschi as Pro

BR welcomes information for Who’s News. Submissions may be edited fo r length and clarity.

Get in touch at [email protected]

8 FOCUSwww.business-review.eu


Lindab wants double-digitgrowth, open to acquisitions

Energy efficiency requirementsdrive up demand for AC systems

Swedish building materials producer Lindab has not ruled out the possibility of expanding through acquisitions, and Romania is on its list.

Most of the Bucharest office buildings built more than three years ago need to up-grade their AC/heating systems, which in turn can reduce energy costs by up to 30percent, says the founder of AVI Compact.

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

After posting total sales of EUR 20 mil-lion in Romania last year, Lindab plansto boost its turnover by at least 10 per-cent in 2014, according to Andrei Sulyok,general director of the producer’s localbranch. The growth will not be gener-ated by market expansion but by thecompany’s organic growth, especiallyon the roofing tile sheet segment, thelaunch of new products and higher

sales of ventilation systems, he added.The manufacturer has seen sales climbover the past few years, but the level re-mains at half of the 2008 peak.

The building materials market hasbeen showing signs of gradual growthsince last year and the trend is expectedto continue, especially on the non-resi-dential segment, said company repre-sentatives.

“The signs we are seeing suggest thatthe market is gradually, step by step, re-bounding. The heyday of 2008 (…) wasnot a normal state. What we see todayin Europe is the new normal and this iswhat we need to work with,” said An-ders Berg, the new CEO of the Lindabgroup, two weeks ago in Bucharest.

Countries like Hungary are expectedto post more consistent growth due togovernment support, something that isnot happening in Romania, addedRickard Lindqvist, Lindab’s CEE re-gional director.

Even if growth rates similar to pre-crisis levels are no longer possible in thecurrent context, “there is business to do”and the entire region has a positive out-look, added company representatives.The producer did not rule out the pos-sibility of expanding across the region.

“If there are good opportunities we

will always be interested in Romania aswell as the other countries where we areactive. If the business climate is a littlebit slower, that is usually frustrating butit also brings fantastic opportunities,”said Berg.

Lindab Romania has recently cele-brated its 20-year anniversary. The com-pany employs 89 people locally and hastwo production facilities with a capacityof 5.5 million meters of product per year.Over the years it has invested some RON95.4 million.

Some 30 percent of the firm’s 2013turnover was generated by roofing tilesheet sales. On this segment Lindab hasa market share of around 8 percent inRomania. Other products it sells locallyinclude rainwater systems, profilesheeting and ventilation systems. Theresidential sector generated around 75percent of Lindab Romania’s turnoverlast year, against a CEE average of 20percent.The entire Romanian roofingsystems market is estimated at aroundEUR 120 million, with tile sheets repre-senting around 60 percent.

The Lindab Group is present in 32countries, with over 120 branches and4,300 employees.

[email protected]

EUR 7.5 mln Bucharest villa is country’s most expensive property forsaleA Bucharest villa up for sale for EUR7.5 million is currently the most ex-pensive property available for purchaseon Romanian real estate portal Imo-biliare.ro. The 2,000 sqm villa (carpetarea) is located on a 1,200 sqm plot ofland in the capital’s historic center,close to the headquarters of the Na-tional Bank of Romania. Two similarproperties with asking prices of EUR6.5 million and EUR 7 million are alsoup for sale in the Romana and Univer-sitate areas. Outside the capital, pricesare significantly lower, dropping toEUR 1.2 million to EUR 2.3 million forsimilar properties.

Wienerberger to build e4brick house concept inCorbeancaBricks manufacturer Wienerberger willstart this month the construction ofits first local ‘e4 brick house’, an energyefficient residential concept. The housewill be located in Corbeanca, close toBucharest, and the beneficiaries are afamily with two children. The conceptwas launched in 2012 in Austria as asustainable and energy-efficient build-ing that meets the energy requirementsfor new constructions that will comeinto force in 2020 (Directive 31/2010).Under this directive, by December 31,2020, all new buildings will need tohave “nearly zero-energy consump-tion”.

EC approves EUR 47 million investment for road infrastructureThe European Commission (EC) hasapproved the allocation of EUR 47 mil-lion from the Regional DevelopmentEuropean Fund for the developmentof road infrastructure (DN56) connect-ing Craiova and Calafat in south-easternRomania. DN56 is part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)and is the only connection betweenCraiova and the Calafat-Vidin bridgewhich links Romania and Bulgaria.

Cefin Industrial Park inArad up for sale with EUR26 mln of debtsThe industrial park built by Italiangroup Cefin in Arad, western Romania,in 2011 is now up for sale throughdirect negotiation after entering in-solvency in 2013. Debts amount toRON 114 million (EUR 26 million), mostof which is owed to Volksbank, ac-cording to Mediafax. The park featureseight modules with a total surface areaof 44,400 sqm, 2,600 sqm of officespace, a three-storey unfinished build-ing, a parking lot and 27,400 sqm ofland. Offers can be submitted untilJune 25.

BRIEFS

∫ SIMONA BAZAVAN

As office developers and tenants startto pay more attention to reducing util-ity costs and energy efficiency, sales ofair conditioning (AC) and heating sys-tems are expected to go up, said Florin Radulescu, founder of AVICompact, last week. By contrast, onthe residential market, which is split between premium solutions and the cheap “made in China” products, sales continue to stagnate,he added.

The company saw its turnovergrow by 10 percent in the first semes-ter, after reporting sales of EUR 4.3million last year. About 90 percent of

its business is generated by the corpo-rate segment where the average valueof a project is EUR 50,000 – EUR100,000. This is lower than a year ago,but the firm now has more projects.

Demand for new AC systems hasalso been driven by the coming intoforce last year of EU directive 2009/125on eco design requirements for en-ergy-related products, under whichthe sale of non-inverter AC systems isno longer permitted.

With the exception of office proj-ects delivered over the past threeyears, most office buildings need toupgrade their AC/heating systems,which in turn can reduce energy costsby up to 30 percent, said Radulescu.One example, added company repre-

sentatives, is the BCR headquarters onVictoriei Road. The building’s 15-year-old AC/heating system consumed 700Kw/hour. After a new system was in-stalled, consumption dropped to 530Kw/hour while the chilling capacityincreased by 5 percent, said MarianPandele, AVI Compact’s executive di-rector. Maintenance costs also weighin the decision to invest in a newAC/heating system. “If such an invest-ment is not recoverable in five years,few buyers will do it,” he said.

Company representatives estimatethe AC systems market at around EUR30 million, although there are no con-crete statistics.

[email protected]

Anders Berg, Lindab Group CEO

FOCUS 9www.business-review.eu Business Review | June 16 - 22, 2014

Government aims toraise over EUR 400 mlnfrom Electrica IPOThe government is poised to start to sell a 51 percentstake in Electrica Group, the electricity supplier anddistributor, which could become the biggest offeringon the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) since itsfounding. The process is due to begin on Monday.

Local stock exchange ontrack to emerging status

The prospect of the Romanianstock exchange moving from thestatus of frontier to emerging

market in 2016 is “realistic”, providedthat trading barriers are removed, saidLudwik Sobolewski, CEO of theBucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), lastweek. He tipped Romania to make thewatch list of the MSCI Emerging Mar-kets Index in the middle of 2015, andjoin the elite club the following year.Romania would rank alongside otherCEE-based emerging countries such asPoland and Hungary.

Sobolewski said that in order tomake it onto the list, the local marketneeds three companies with a marketcapitalization above USD 1 billion anda free float of around USD 500 million.In addition, their shares would haveto be very liquid – the sole criterionwhere Romania is falling behind. Hementioned oil major Petrom, gas pro-ducer Romgaz and lenders Banca Tran-silvania and BRD Groupe Societe Gen-erale as the listed companies that couldsecure Romania emerging status.

The initial public offering in Electrica,the state-owned electricity supplierand distributor, would also help thecountry in this regard. The governmentaims to raise over EUR 400 billion fromthis listing. “With respect to marketcap and free float, we will meet re-quirements after the Electrica IPO, andfor liquidity we have to eliminate thebarriers to clear a highway throughthis jungle for investors with money,so international guys,” Sobolewski toldreporters.

He warned of a one-year gap in thelisting of state-owned companies afterElectrica, because hydroelectricity pro-ducer Hidroelectrica will be ready foran IPO sometime in 2015. The company,which is currently in insolvency, is partof the privatization program agreedwith international lenders.

The government is set to approve anemergency government ordinance thismonth designed to cut red tape andease access to the market, accordingto Sobolewski. The bill was written bythe Financial Supervision Authority(ASF) with contributions from the BVB,Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Fi-nance.

Wooing private companies The CEO said convincing private com-panies to go public on the BVB re-mained a priority, predicting that list-ings will come once the legislation isstreamlined and more investors enterthe market.

“Access to the market must be easier,so we will have a more liquid marketand better secondary trading, whichwill lead to better valuation. This willbe another incentive for private busi-nesspeople to come to the market,” saidthe CEO. He added that the BVB isworking on turning its Alternative Trad-ing System (ATS) into a market forsmall firms in the second half of thisyear.

Sobolewski did a similar thing duringhis tenure as head of the Warsaw StockExchange, where he set up the newConnect Platform. More than 400 smallcompanies were listed here, some ofwhich even listed on the main market.

He outlined some of the changeshe has made since coming to Romaniain late 2013, such as the pilot programfor extending trading hours and therestructuring of BVB indices.

According to BVB data, the value oftrading for the regulated market, publicoffers included, rose in the first monthsof this year by 25.8 percent comparedto the same period of last year to EUR1.1 billion. The market capitalizationon the regulated market amounted toEUR 29.7 billion last month. ∫

Ovidiu Posirca

Razvan Nicolescudelegate minister of energy

Ludwik SobolewskiBVB CEO

∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA

The company will go through a duallisting in Bucharest and London, similarto the IPO of Romgaz, the state-ownednatural gas producer, which raised EUR391 million last November.

The offering will be split into threetranches for small, large investors andinstitutional investors and will have astarting price per share of between RON11 and RON 13.5. The company aims toraise at least EUR 435 million from thedeal. According to Razvan Nicolescu,delegate minister of energy, the offeringwill run through to June 26, while the actual trading of shares will start onJuly 3.

Ludwik Sobolewski, CEO of the BVB,told reporters last week that the key as-pect in Electrica’s IPO is the ratio ofshares to global depositary receipts(GDRs), which will be sold in London.

“We are aware of the requirements tochoose between these options, but wewant to have – and I am sure that we willhave – international investors that wantto buy shares. Essentially this is the pur-pose: to sell as many shares as possibleto international investors and get themdirectly involved in Romania,” saidSobolewski.

The listing of Electrica is included inthe privatization program agreed by Ro-mania with the International MonetaryFund and the European Commission,the executive arm of the EU, under a

EUR 4 billion stand-by agreement.Last year, the government raised

close to half a billion euros from the list-ing of Romgaz and Nuclearelectrica, thestate-owned nuclear producer. Along-side Electrica, 2014 should have seenthe IPO of Hidroelectrica, the state-owned hydroelectricity producer. Thecompany, however, went back into in-solvency earlier this year and analystsexpect it to be listed sometime in 2015.

Electrica distributed 16.1 TWh ofelectricity last year, 39 percent of all theelectricity distributed in Romania, toaround 3.6 million users. It has also sup-plied 9.7TWh of electricity, accountingfor 22.1 percent of the total electricitysupplied in the country, to around 3.6million customers. The companymainly does business in central Roma-nia. The group reported a net profit ofaround EUR 13.4 million in the firstquarter of this year, slightly below thesum registered in the same period oflast year. Last year the group generatedconsolidated revenues of around RON5.2 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) and a consol-idated EBITDA of around RON 749 mil-lion (EUR 168 million) from itsoperations.

Citigroup, Raiffeisen Bank and Soci-ete Generale have been appointed jointglobal coordinators and joint bookrun-ners for the offering. BRD was mademanager, while SSIF Swiss Capital willserve as distribution agent.

[email protected]

Electrica avenue: global depositary receipts (GDRs) will be sold in London

Courtesy of gov.ro

Photo: M

ihai Constantineanu

10 INTERVIEWwww.business-review.eu


BSTDB aims to boost lendingto local businesses and banksAndrey Kondakov, president of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), says the lender has approved loan agreements worth EUR 307 million in Romania, out of which EUR 75 million constitutes ongoingdeals. He says the bank is targeting an array of sectors nationwide, ranging from agribusiness to infrastructureand energy efficiency, adding that the BSTDB is seeking to increase its loan exposure locally.

∫ OVIDIU POSIRCA

How much did the BSTDB register in

profit last year, and what is your forecast

for this year? What is the level of non-

performing loans?

The BSTDB has been consistently prof-itable for nearly a decade since 2005, in-vesting those profits back into itsoperational activities. 2013 was a solidyear of progress for the bank opera-tionally and institutionally, with netprofit exceeding EUR 13 million. We areexpecting another good year in 2014. Atthe same time, I must say that profitmaximization is not an objective in it-self for us. As a development institution,we pay prime attention to the develop-ment impact of our investments.

Maintenance of portfolio quality hasalways been a key feature of BSTDB op-erations. The bank’s portfolio develop-ment has taken place against abackdrop of conservative risk manage-ment and comprehensive due diligence.We have been making due provisionsfor losses and non-performing loans(NPLs). Furthermore, with NPLs, we al-ways work closely with the client to finda mutually acceptable solution to savethe operation. This approach has re-sulted in limited financial losses andgenerally low levels of non-performingloans. Naturally, the financial crisis andits consequences hurt all businessprocesses, generating higher opera-tional risks and amplifying probabilitiesthat a borrower may not be able to serveobligations under a loan agreementfully or in a timely manner. The BSTDBfaced increased levels of NPLs in 2010-2012, peaking at over 8 percent of theportfolio. The bank’s prudent practicesand joint efforts with our clients helpedus to substantially reduce this level toaround 5 percent at end 2013. Overall, in15 years of operations, the bank has hadonly 11 NPLs. Most of them were suc-cessfully restructured and recovered.From the total sum of over EUR 2.6 bil-lion disbursed by the bank to its clientsin the region, the amount written offunder NPLs is a negligible 0.02 percentof the portfolio.

How has the BSTDB developed since its

founding? Has its lending strategy

changed at all?

This month the bank marks the 15th an-

been sustained and enhanced over theyears, forming the bedrock for all thebank’s achievements.

Since the start of its operations in1999, the BSTDB has approved nearly300 operations totaling about EUR 3 bil-lion. Over EUR 2.6 billion has been dis-bursed to support national economicpolicy priorities in member countries,focusing on key sectors generating eco-nomic growth and employment – man-ufacturing, energy, transport,telecommunications, agribusiness,trade and the financial sector. Today,the BSTDB is recognized as a regionalsuccess story, having established itselfas an attractive partner for clients, spon-sors and co-financiers active in theBlack Sea region.

Support to small and medium-sizedbusiness (SME) development has beena significant cross-sector priority. SMEsaccount for the vast majority of opera-tional and employment growth acrossthe region.

Under its SME support program, the

bank has approved more than EUR 875million in SME financing.

Regional infrastructure develop-ment is key for economic development.The lender has approved financing tosupport transport and telecommunica-tions projects exceeding EUR 510 mil-lion. The BSTDB has assisted in a rangeof energy sector activities, including oiland gas, power supply and distribution,renewable energy and energy efficiency,having approved projects exceedingEUR 475 million.

In recent years, the bank has becomeincreasingly active in supporting mu-nicipal initiatives to develop local infra-structure, transport and public utilities,having approved municipal projects ex-ceeding EUR 200 million.

The bank’s trade finance programhas supported the development of re-gional exports as well as import trans-actions among member states, to thetune of EUR 600 million.

Since securing its initial investmentgrade rating from Moody’s in 2004, theBSTDB has been upgraded three timesand currently possesses an A2 long-term rating. The lender has also ob-tained a long-term rating of A- fromStandard and Poor’s. Today it is the bestrated institution in the Black Sea region,and one of the highest rated in Centraland Eastern Europe. These ratings at-test to the bank’s solid financial funda-mentals, portfolio quality and strongshareholder support.

Over the 15-year period, the BSTDBmandate has remained unchanged, ashave its strategic objectives to supportregional cooperation and growth inmember countries. Nevertheless, thebank has developed and implementedseveral four-year strategies and busi-ness plans, in close collaboration withmember states’ governments, adjustingpriorities and business targets to thechanging economic environment andneeds of governments and clients.

As the sophistication of firms in theregion has grown, the bank has broad-ened its array of activities, providinglonger horizons and accommodatingmore complicated financial productsand loan structures. The bank is extend-ing its outreach to less well establishedfirms which show growth promise,management quality, and vision. TheBSTDB is increasing its activities target-ing public and quasi-public sector enti-

Courtesy of B

STDB

niversary of its operations in the BlackSea region. During this period, theBSTDB has sought to fulfill its dual man-date to support economic developmentin its member countries and to promoteregional cooperation between them byproviding financing for investment op-erations and trade transactions.

Starting from scratch, the bank hasdeveloped a broad range of financialproducts and services for banks, firmsand agencies active in all its elevenmember countries – Albania, Armenia,Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece,Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, andUkraine.

The initiative to establish the BSTDBwas undertaken in the 1990s, a stressfulperiod of systemic transition, macro-economic constraints and occasionalpolitical turmoil for many of the bank’smember states. Despite these difficul-ties, the shareholders remained com-mitted to the idea of the creation of awholly locally owned and focused de-velopment bank. This commitment has

July 2010 – present BSTDB president2007-2010 BSTDB vice-president,banking2003-2007 member of the BSTDBboard of directors for Russia

Graduated from the Economics Faculty of Moscow State Universityand has a PhD in Development Economics

CV Andrey KondakovAndrey Kondakov

July 2010 – present BSTDB president2007-2010 BSTDB vice-president,banking2003-2007 member of the BSTDBboard of directors for Russia

Graduated from the Economics Faculty of Moscow State Universityand has a PhD in Development Economics

INTERVIEW 11www.business-review.ro Business Review | June 16 - 22, 2014

ties, including municipalities and re-gional authorities, as well as public-pri-vate partnerships and other types ofconcessions.

What are the strongest markets for the

lender at the moment and how do you

perceive Romania? How much has the

BSTDB granted in loans to local compa-

nies and institutions to date?

Currently, Turkey and Russia representthe largest markets for the BSTDB. Ro-mania’s share is about 7 percent of theportfolio, similar to that of Bulgaria.

It must be noted that the BSTDBused to be more active in Romania be-fore the country joined the EuropeanUnion and got access to cheaper moneyand special EU funds. As a developmentbank, we pay prime attention to coun-tries with fewer financing opportunities.

Cumulatively, the bank’s board of di-rectors has approved 31 operations forover EUR 307 million in Romania. At themoment, eight operations are being im-plemented under signed agreementsexceeding EUR 75 million. The BSTDB isworking on several business proposalsand we expect to increase our financingto Romanian enterprises and banks inthe coming years.

What sectors are you financing in Roma-

nia? Do you still consider the renewable

industry an attractive sector given the

changes in the local incentives system?

Under the BSTDB country strategy forRomania drawn up in cooperation withthe Romanian government for 2011-2014, the bank is supporting growth andinvestment with a special focus on in-frastructure, energy efficiency,telecommunications, agribusiness andSME support.

It is considering support for the re-newable energy sector in Romania, andrecently signed a EUR 10 million financ-ing for a solar energy generation project.However, this sector receives plenty ofprivate investment and is growing rap-idly without a pressing need for financ-ing from development institutions.

Agribusiness is one of Romania’smain income and employment genera-tors. There are idle capacities in thisfield that still need to be utilized by en-trepreneurs. The BSTDB has provided atotal of EUR 52 million to three agribusi-ness projects in Romania. This amountdoes not include small operations fi-nanced by Romanian financial institu-tions using BSTDB credit lines for SMEsupport.

The BSTDB will consider any bank-able project, paying special attention toactivities corresponding to the govern-ment’s strategic priorities. The bank isconstantly exploring business opportu-nities in cooperation with our partnerdevelopment institutions.

How have the tensions between Ukraine

and Russia impacted your lending activ-

ity? How much has the bank financed in

Ukraine and Russia? Will you stay in

these two countries?

Over its 15 years, the bank has operatedin a regional economic and political set-

ting that has experienced both good andchallenging times. The shareholdersclearly realized the importance of com-mon goals and demonstrated a joint willto promote regional projects of mutualinterest, while leaving aside politicaland economic disputes. Despite thechallenges, the BSTDB has not experi-enced significant problems from the po-litical tensions arising from time to timebetween some member countries. Ourshareholders represented on the bank’sgoverning bodies have always demon-strated commitment to the bank’s de-velopment mandate to support growthand economic cooperation in the region.

At the moment, Russia and Ukraineare the second and third largest BSTDBborrowers, with active portfolios ex-ceeding EUR 200 million and EUR 140million, respectively. The bank main-tains close relations with the govern-ments of both countries, and we aremonitoring the situation. So far, theevents have not materially changed ouroperational outlook. Russia andUkraine both have financing needs thatcan be served well by an IFI (e.n. inter-national financial institution) like theBSTDB, and so we remain prepared todevelop further the bank’s businessthere.

Has the financing environment in Eu-

rope changed since the start of the year

– as the EU economy has begun to return

to growth – albeit still timid? (I am refer-

ring to banks’ appetite to finance private

companies.)

We are cautiously optimistic as re-gards the financing environment in Eu-rope, including, of course, EasternEurope. The upturn in the economies ofthe EU is a key factor in this regard, andwhat we have observed in an increasedappetite for the bonds of EU sovereignsextends to the corporate sector as well.

Another important factor is thatbanks are adapting to new EU regula-tions – especially as concerns capital re-quirements – and while there may yetbe ‘tweaks’ here and there, for the mostpart there is much less regulatory un-certainty today than there was in theprevious post-crisis years. This willmake it easier for banks to extend creditto companies over the next few years,although we wouldn’t rule out occa-sional hiccups. Caution is also neces-sary because financial markets are moreresponsive than ever to external distur-bances or shocks.

We are aware that the Romanianeconomy registered the highest growthrate of all EU countries in the first quar-ter of 2014, continuing on the path ofhealthy growth recorded in 2013. If thisstrong rebound in economic activitycontinues, it may exceed the availabilityof credit from private sources. Againstthis backdrop, the bank will considerenhancing cooperation with Romanianprivate companies in the context of itsnew medium-term strategy and busi-ness plan for 2015-2018 currently beingdrawn up.

[email protected]

12 CITYwww.business-review.eu

Business Review |June 16 - 22, 2014

The fight to save Romania’s silver screens

OANA VASILIU

Award-winning director and Transyl-vania International Film Festival(TIFF) organizer Tudor Giurgiu hadwanted to make a documentary aboutthe state of Romanian cinemas, butafter hearing some of the great stories of cinema employees, he expandedhis scope. The next step was to launchan online platform, www.salvati-mareleecran.ro, a database where de-tails of all the country’s cinematheatres could be introduced, withstories and pictures from then andnow, to give a complete map of thesituation past and present. The web-site worked well as a showcase,Giurgiu told BR. So he and his teamdecided to launch a campaign to savethe big screen, first outlining their in-tentions at the Gopo Awards in Marchand now making concrete steps atTIFF. The Save the Big Screen cam-paign aims to prevent the further clo-sure of state-owned movie theatersand rebuild a network of cinemas tohelp revive the distribution of domes-tic films.

The campaigners want to raiseawareness and put pressure on the government to ensure that at least a dozen cinemas are restoredand digitalized within the next twoyears.

Statistics: past & present 1989 appears to be the golden year interms of picture houses, when almostevery town in Romania had one, anda total of 156 million tickets were sold.Nowadays, Romania has the fewestcinemas per capita in Europe, andonly 9 million tickets sold in 2013.

Statistics presented by Giurgiu atTIFF show that currently just 25movie theaters out of 30 are still ac-tive in the state-owned RADEF Roma-

nia Film network, including just sixmodernized halls with digital equip-ment. Last year, 450 movies werescreened in Romania, out of which198 were premieres. In terms of ad-missions, ranked by the origin of first-release feature films, 250,000 peoplewatched Romanian made films in2013, only 315,000 movie goers selected European productions,whereas almost 8 million peopleviewed American movies.

Movie matters: the Save the Big Screen campaign is backing a local initiative to restore an abandoned state film depot in Cluj, which needs EUR 7,000 to become ascreening venue and, eventually, a museum of Romanian cinema

Supporting role: actress Debra Winger Reel shame: more than 400 cinemas have closed since the revolution in 1989

All photos: Nicu C

herciu / TIFF

Paradoxically, the decline of Romanian cinemas, from 630 in 1989 to 76 in 2013, has come at a time of growingworldwide recognition for the achievements of local filmmakers. One of them, director Tudor Giurgiu, hasstarted a campaign to save the silver screens, an attempt to revitalize a once-loved local pastime: going to thecinema.

With only 76 cinemas across Ro-mania, a figure that includes bothstate-owned cinema houses and mul-tiplexes, the situation is dire, be-moans Giurgiu. “Unfortunately, theMinistry of Culture does not talkabout the subject because responsi-bility belongs to another entity, theNational Center for Cinematography.This body should have drawn up a na-tional strategy for movie theaters bynow, but they avoid the discussion,

CITY 13www.business-review.euBusiness Review | June 16 - 22, 2014

arguing that the halls aren’t undertheir jurisdiction, and somehow thedebate moves onto RADEF RomaniaFilm, a company that has 30 theatersunder its control but no money andalso DNA problems,” Giurgiu toldBusiness Review. Under these condi-tions, he concluded someone had totake the initiative and come up with asolution.

Ideas emerged at the debate thatGiurgiu initiated at TIFF, with thehelp of some foreign guests who hadmanaged to revitalize the silverscreens in their countries. In conclu-sion, Giurgiu told BR that he seesthree major solutions: movie theatersgrouped into geographical regions toattract European funding, nationalfunding if the cinematography law ischanged in order to secure moneyfrom the National Center for Cine-matography, and a partnership basedon collaboration and communicationbetween local authorities, film dis-tributors and movie theater managers.

The actual investment will not besteep, if the public authorities offer tohelp with renovations. A digital server,a screen, sound installations and aprojector cost from EUR 50,000, de-pending on various factors, saysGiurgiu.

Eastern European approaches to preserving picture housesSpeaking at TIFF, Marta Materska-Samek, board president of the PolandCinema Development Foundation,described some solutions that Polandhad implemented, such as premieresand high-quality exhibitions, 3D pro-jections, famous cultural content (LaScala, Opera de Paris, METropolitanOpera, Bolshoi Theater, NTL Live) livein HD, a media literacy program, so-cial activity center and easy access forelderly viewers and those from ruralareas, as well as financial supportfrom the Ministry of European Funds.

“In small towns, the responsibility forhaving a cinema lies with the city hall,because the local authorities mustprovide cultural services as a citizens’right. We managed to refurbish thecinemas and fully equip them withmodern technology with Europeanfunding, a convergence solution toeliminate the discrepancy betweenPoland’s rich and poor regions, a sim-ilar situation to what you have here inRomania,” added Materska-Samek.

Ivo Andrle, founder and managerof Aerofilms from the Czech Republic,explained the model that he imple-mented for movie theaters, whichnow offer content for all types of con-sumers, from babies to senior citizens.Moreover, the country is very market-ing savvy, offering the public “a blinddate with the cinema,” where viewersdo not know what movie will beshown; the “adopt your seat” scheme,allowing viewers to pay in advancefor a permanent seat in the cinema;cinema cuisine, or a food and bever-ages menu, and senior screenings forpensioners.

Tina Hajon of the Audio-visualCenter of Croatia said that her countryhad only two private distributioncompanies, with 100 digital screens in

cities with over 250,000 inhabitants.The other 46 cinemas were independ-ent, with only one screen, none ofthem digitalized, so the center imple-mented a national program with thesupport of the Ministry of Culture.Thanks to this project, 153 screenshave been revitalized, out of which137 were digitalized, and in return,audiences were up fourfold on theprevious year, with a 50 percent risein the number of projected movies.

Supporters of the “Save theBig Screen” campaignAmerican actress Debra Winger, whowas presented with a lifetime achieve-ment award at TIFF, said she decidedto adorn it with a Save the Big ScreenCampaign sticker, partly throughhabit, as she admitted to being super-stitious, and partly because she sup-ports Giurgiu’s campaign, havingvisited the abandoned state filmdepot in Cluj and been at the screen-ing of some sections of Cinema, monamour.

Asked by BR about Giurgiu’s initia-tive, Mihai Chirilov, artistic director ofTIFF, said that to launch a campaignsuch as Save the Big Screen, weshould first ask what culture meanstoday and who is still consuming cul-tural products. He pointed out thatthe cinema used to attract big audi-ences but, somehow, they stoppedgoing. An important question to askthese people is why they moved awayfrom the movie theater. He concludedby saying, “Movies were made for thebig screen, and this is an absolutetruth, which is why this campaignmust be supported.”

Emil Boc, mayor of Cluj-Napoca,declared himself a supporter ofGiurgiu’s campaign, pointing to the re-vamping of an old cinema in Cluj-Napoca which is now functionalcourtesy of the local community, whodecided to restore the location to howit used to be.

Moreover, Giurgiu told BR thatsince the official campaign launchseveral city mayors had contacted himin order to find together a solution tosave their cities’ silver screens.

Gherla city cinema gets a life-buoyThe municipality of Gherla modern-ized the town’s movie theater at a costof EUR 170,000, long before this cam-paign, but still they had issues in mak-ing it work, so the mayor, Marius CalinSabo, asked Giurgiu for help. “He con-tacted me because he didn’t knowfrom where to get the movies,” saidGiurgiu at TIFF Talks. The Gherla cin-ema will open in July 2014 with 220seats and a 3D audio-video system,managed by the city hall and widelyopen for cultural purposes. “It is alsovery important to be the mediatorsbetween all these entities, and to tryto convince the Ministry of Culture toget involved,” concluded Giurgiu.

[email protected]

Photo: C

atalin Georgescu / TIFF

How did this project start?

The initiative came from Tudor Giurgiu,who is very concerned about the dreadfulconditions and the decline of Romaniancinemas, so he asked me to do a docu-mentary about it. I started to search onthe internet and in local newspapers.Then, we made a website, www.salvati-mareleecran.ro, a complete mapping ofthe cinemas. While working on this proj-ect, I realized that nobody really knewthe actual situation of all the Romaniancinemas, which was a real surprise, sowe did the job ourselves: locating cine-mas, collecting data, taking photos and,of course, recording all the stories of thecinemas that still have a bit of life thanksto the people who work there. This is thereason that my documentary is aboutthe people inside the cinema, who dis-appear along with the actual building,not about the cinema itself.

What was the most impressive story

that you heard?

Every cinema has a story which is a taleof loneliness, friendship, expectation orunfulfilled dreams, as well as a story ofthe people who gave years of their livesto that place, spent most of their livesinside its walls, in the projection roomor ticket booth. I found an impressivestory in Piatra Neamt, where the movietheater manager refuses to join his fam-ily who immigrated to Italy and have beenwaiting for him for years, as without himthe theater would not survive. The storyis incredible because the theater has be-come his new home; his two employeesare his new family.

When is the premiere of the movie?

Given the amount of material that wehave gathered for this movie, I could eas-ily finish it tomorrow, but we want to addmore value to it so the official launchwill take place at TIFF 2015, everyoneexpects.

[email protected]

3QAlexandru Belcdirector ofCinema, monamour

Active cinemas 76Seats 57,248Screens 264Admissions 9,048,257Gross box office RON 160,523,144Average ticket RON 17.74priceNumber of 397,802screenings

*statistics presented by TudorGiurgiu at Transylvania InternationalFilm Festival (TIFF) 2014

Cinemas in Romaniain 2013*

Short cuts: Romania currently has just 30 single-screen picture houses

14 CITYwww.business-review.eu


FOUNDING EDITOR Bill AveryPUBLISHER Anca IonitaEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Simona Fodor JOURNALISTS Otilia Haraga - seniorjournalist, Simona Bazavan, Ovidiu Posirca, Oana Vasiliu COPY EDITOR Debbie Stowe PHOTO EDITOR: Mihai ConstantineanuLAYOUT Beatric e Gheorghiu ART DIRECTOR Alexandru Oriean

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR George MoiseSALES & EVENTS DIRECTOROana MolodoiSALES & EVENTS

Sales managers: Ana-Maria Nedelcu,Oana Albu, Raluca ComanescuMARKETING

Ana-Maria Stanca, Ana Maria Andrei,Iulia MizganPRODUCTION Dan MitroiDISTRI BUTION Eugen Musat

PUBLISHERBloc Notes Media ADDRESSNo. 10 Italiana St., 2nd floor, ap. 3Bucharest, Romania LANDLINEEditorial: 031.040.09.32Office: [email protected]@[email protected]

ISSN No. 1453 - 729X

DEBBIE STOWE

Director: Doug LimanStarring: Tom Cruise, Emily BluntOn at: Cinema City Cotroceni, CinemaCity Cotroceni VIP, Cinema City SunPlaza, Grand Cinema Digiplex, GrandCinema Digiplex Ultra, Grand CinemaDigiplex VIP, Hollywood Multiplex,Movieplex, Romtelecom IMAX, TheLight Cinema

Time travel would certainly explainwhy Tom Cruise, now in his secondhalf-century, still looks about 35.Doug Liman’s sci-fi thriller gives himthis ability, making Cruise’s characterlive the same day over and over in abid to – what else? – save the world.

Earth is under attack from aliens.Not dopey ones, that Will Smith couldknock out with one punch, but smart

“mimics”, with a capacity to “reset”the day repeatedly, so they can workout our battle plan and thwart us. Re-member in Groundhog Day, when BillMurray used the time loop he wasstuck in to build up an encyclopedicknowledge of Andie MacDowell so hecould get her into bed? Well, thesealiens are doing the same thing butwith the goal of world dominationrather than seducing a TV producer.

Into this cauldron comes OfficerCage (Cruise), a shallow admanwhose televised blandishments havebeen used to recruit more cannonfodder for humanity’s war effort. Fortrying to blackmail his way out offilming propaganda on the battlefield,Cage finds himself unceremoniouslydemoted and dispatched to the front-line to kick some alien butt.

One of the rules of Hollywood –that in a war you will probably sur-vive unless you make the mistake ofshowing another soldier a photo ofyour sweetheart back home – isswiftly broken, as rookie fighter Cageis fatally injured in combat. But as helies dying, some acid from a strickenmimic seeps into his bloodstream, en-

dowing him with the enemy’s abilityto start the day again – and over timefine-tune his tactics.

The premise is appealing, if notoriginal. As well as the classicGroundhog Day, the time-loop con-ceit was employed recently (and mil-itarily) in 2011’s Source Code, wherewounded pilot Jake Gyllenhaal used asimilar trick to hunt a terrorist, and2013’s saccharine fest About Time. Bynow we’ve all seen the time travelerwin over the skeptic by accuratelypredicting who’s about to phone upand detailing the biography of a ran-dom passer-by.

But Edge of Tomorrow rises aboveits unoriginal basis. With apt timing,given the recent D-Day anniversary,the Normandy beach scenes are strik-ingly rendered (especially in 3D), con-veying the carnage and chaos of war.

Comic relief and good one-linerspunctuate the action sequences.

But the biggest surprise is howprogressive the movie is. Cruise hasan attractive younger co-star (EmilyBlunt). No surprise there. It wouldnormally be her job to be saved, tryand dissuade Cage from acts of hero-ism and look concerned. Not here.Blunt’s character, fellow soldier RitaVrataski, is more than Cage’s equal;indeed, she spends much of the filminstructing him in the art of combat.

This refreshing spin on a fun, butderivative, idea, combined withCruise’s star quality, an impressiveBlunt, good chemistry between themand a deft script, gives what couldhave been hackneyed multiplex fod-der a real edge.

[email protected]

Blunt force: Tom Cruise takes the lead from Emily Blunt in this progressive sci-fi

FILM REVIEW

Edge of TomorrowReady, steady, Urbatlon!

OANA VASILIU

The National Arena will be transformedinto a sports-fun arena on June 21, whenfitness fans will gather to take part in acompetition that will challenge athletesover five kilometers and seven tasksnamed specifically after urban activi-ties: urban cooler, garage adrenaline,height show, traffic jam, labyrinth,Arena assault and move & be happy.Participants will run, do slalom, crosscorridors, climb stairs and vault obsta-cles, in an adrenaline-packed race.

The competition tests various phys-ical abilities through such challenges as:climbing a wall, shinning down a rope,crawling through a tight space, com-pleting a series of cross-fit exercises andrunning 1.2 km. Contestants must applytheir arm strength to swing along a setof monkey bars 2 meters from theground, scale obstacles, carry a back-pack through a maze made of cars,climb stairs and stretch elastic cords.

Gabriela Szabo, minister of youthand sports, said that according to thelast Eurobarometer released by the Eu-ropean Union, half of Romanians do nosports, whereas the European averageis 39 percent. Unfortunately, the Min-istry of Youth and Sports has no con-crete statistics, but believes the mostactive cohort is men aged 25-39 yearsold, whereas women are most active at40-54 years old. Supporting the compe-tition are Gabriela Szabo, a former ath-lete, trainer Zsolt Gyongyossy, formergymnast Andreea Raducan, cyclo-crosswinner Razvan Juganaru, former ath-lete Kallina Visoiu and fitness trainerMihai Dragomir.

The event takes place on June 21, at the Na-tional Arena. Participation costs RON 90.

[email protected]

Business Review Issue 22/2014 June 16 - 22

Documents

Transcript of Business Review Issue 22/2014 June 16 - 22