Copos sets eyes on Georgia

The four biggest companies part of Ana Holding group controlled by George Copos in the first quarter of this year posted turnover worth almost 36.4m RON (8.7m euros), down 25% from a year ago. Moreover, the number of employees in these companies dropped by 400 people, to 1,500. “This year will be, as I’ve said before, more difficult than last year. In the first three months of this year, the turnovers of the four companies I own in tourism, the food industry and industry registered declines of more than 20%. I therefore believe 2010 will be a very difficult and complicated year in every respect,” specified businessman George Copos. In 2008, the peak year of the Romanian economy, the businesses controlled by Copos had reached turnover worth around 100m euros, but the crisis fallout was rapidly reflected in the results of the group of firms controlled by the Romanian entrepreneur. “We have no other solution but to go abroad. We’ll go to Georgia with the food industry and real estate investments, a country where we’ve seen a high openness from the part of the Government. Whereas we have lots of taxes, they only have five,” Copos said.