Romania’s economic growth to woo more French investors

Eric Faidy, president of the administration council of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania (CCIFER), whose members have a combined turnover of EUR 19 billion, says that Romania is on the watchlist of French investors, given the 3.9 percent expansion of its economy in the first quarter of this year.

Ovidiu Posirca

He predicts more French investments in IT, agriculture and industry, adding that the country needs enhanced infrastructure and stable regulation to remain attractive for French capital.

How has the business environment evolved in the last year from CCIFER’s perspective?

The CCIFER produces an analysis of the economic situation on a quarterly basis – the Barometer of Economic Conjuncture. It is carried out among managers of companies that are CCIFER members and aims to gauge the sentiment and confidence of member companies, indicating at the same time the short-term perception of the Romanian-French (e.n. investment) community of the local business environment.

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The barometer from November 2013, which involved 150 managers of CCIFER member companies, was a retrospective of the whole year and showed a generally positive trend, indicating the most optimistic value since the start of the survey last year.

This result was especially determined by the economic performance of the analyzed companies and gave an optimistic view of the economic perspectives, capturing the positive perception of Romania’s attractiveness. The barometer confirmed that the energy and IT (new technologies) sectors hold the most development opportunities.

What are the main challenges for French investors that have businesses in Romania?

They are interested in the enhancement of Romania’s competitiveness from the point of view of the quality of human capital, the innovation level in productive sectors and the diversification of services. Romania will continue to be attractive for investments provided that it develops an economy that generates added value while being innovative and durable.

In this context, fiscal and legal predictability, investments in education, the improvement of infrastructure and a strategic approach to economic growth are all essential factors in maintaining Romania’s attractiveness.

What are some of the initiatives undertaken by the CCIFER aimed at improving the local business climate?

By adopting a proactive attitude, the CCIFER has constantly undertaken initiatives to improve the business climate in Romania through a close dialogue with public partners and constant feedback from companies. This is done through various work groups that represent synergies between member companies: agriculture and agri-business, EU funds, human resources and IT (new technologies).

The CCIFER encourages competitiveness through education and professional training programs. Since 2008, over 1,000 people have been trained using 25 programs within the CCIFER’s training center.

In addition, since 2013, the CCIFER has been helping high-potential managers to become leaders through an EMBA – an Executive Management Programme (ExMP), which is carried out in partnership with a prestigious school in France, ESCP Europe.

The CCIFER also organizes various events to attract new investments on the local market and consolidate the existing ones, by constantly identifying business opportunities.

CCIFER events generated 2,000 business interactions in 2013 and 5,000 business cards were exchanged within the community. In addition, in the last two years, over 30 French companies have been assisted with the process of prospecting the local market. The CCIFER also supplies a business incubator service (providing residence for the headquarters and collaborators in a professional environment with logistics infrastructure provided) for 10 companies looking to develop on the local market.

What are your expectations for Romania’s economic growth in 2014?

The revision of Romania’s economic growth to 3.9 percent in the first quarter places us on the list of countries of interest to French investors. The French state has taken a series of measures to support French companies aiming to go international. This makes us confident that we will continue to register an increase in the number of French investments in Romania, in various sectors, mainly industry, agriculture and IT.

From which sectors have you had signals that French investors would like to consolidate their presence?

We can certainly say that the most dynamic sectors are retail, IT & telecom, agriculture, automotive, transport and logistics.

What are the attractive sectors for a French company that would like to set up shop in Romania now?

The economic sectors that are on a growth trend, and still attractive to investors, are industry – especially service providers in the automotive sector, agri-food and textiles – plus the IT sector – software development and apps for companies – agriculture, construction, transport and logistics.

How many members does the CCIFER have and how much have they invested in Romania?

The CCIFER currently has over 400 member companies, whose combined turnover amounts to EUR 19 billion, or 14 percent of GDP. The member companies have 125,000 employees in total and are active in a wide array of sectors that compose the local business environment: industry, agriculture, IT & telecom, energy, retail, construction, tourism, real estate, banks, outsourcing, law firms and others.

ovidiu.posirca@business-review.ro

CV Eric Faidy

March 2014 – date president of the administration council at the CCIFER

January 2014 – date president of the new Michelin region, Central and Southern Europe

2011 – 2013 president, general director, for Michelin Romania and Balkans

2007 – 2010 general director of Michelin for the Russia area and former Soviet countries

He graduated from the Faculty of Commerce.

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