Israeli companies look at RomTelecom

Israeli companies operating in the IT and telecom sector are very interested in the privatisation processes scheduled for these fields in Romania, including the national operator RomTelecom, Yehezkel Pollyack, first secretary – economic & commercial affairs with the Israeli Embassy to Bucharest, told Ziarul Financiar.

“There is interest in RomTelecom privatisation, but also in other state-owned companies,” Pollyack explained. Internet service providers are another possible target.

The Communication and IT Ministry (MCTI) has recently announced it had finalised the task book for the selection of a consultant to advise the sale of up to 65 percent in the telecom operator capital. According to analysts’ estimates, the selection of the consultant may be operated by the end of next year.

On September 12 and 13, 23 Israeli IT&C companies will arrive to Bucharest, in search of potential business partners and investment opportunities in Romania.

The event will be hosted by the World Trade Plaza and is the second of this kind to be organised in Romania. Last year, another 30 Israeli companies came to Bucharest looking for partners in the fields of telecommunications and agriculture.

“All 23 companies to come to Romania are operating in the IT and communications fields, but can also be grouped into sub-categories, such as networks, wireless communications, network security, access solutions or software,” Pollyack added.

The interest displayed by the Israeli companies is not confined only to the establishment of local subsidiaries.

“Several companies are willing to invest in national projects related to IT and communications. Other companies would like to develop here concepts that are working great in Israel, such as ‘IT-cities’ that include professional training centres, high-tech incubators, producers of high technology and research centres,” the embassy official stated.

Among the Romanian companies to attend the event are RomTelecom, mobile telephony operators, cable companies, Internet service providers, system integrators such as Omnilogic or ICG, UTI, Agnor Technologies and Total Technologies.

The event will also be attended by MCTI representatives and consultants of other local companies. “We want to dissect the market in order to find the right companies that can strike partnerships with the Israeli firms,” Pollyack maintained.

“Deputy Varujan Pambuccian is right when he says that the IT industry may come to account for 30% of the entire Romanian industry in a couple of years, provided the state applies legislative measures to attract foreign investors and retain qualified labour force in the country,” says Yehezkel Pollyack.

It all depends on the measures to be enforced by the state. For instance, Israel passed from agriculture to hi-tech in 7-8 years, the Israeli official also told Ziarul Financiar.

“We are not planning to teach lessons to Romania, we just want to share our experience with the local companies. However, I believe that certain methods that were applied in Israel may be right for Romania as well, such as the passing of laws granting certain fiscal incentives to investors. The ordinance on income tax exemption for programmers is very good, but more exhaustive laws are also needed. You need a system that can eliminate the brain drain, but this can only be accomplished by initiating many projects that can secure good jobs for specialists in Romania,” Pollyack stated.