Rohan pessimistic at the end of his term: Economy will fall by another 0.5-1%

The Romanian economy will not come out of recession next year, either, but will fall by a further 0.5-1%, Mihai Rohan, general manager of Carpatcement, the local subsidiary of German group HeidelbergCement estimates at the end of his term.

“There is political uncertainty, there is a shortage of money and of decision-making,” said Rohan, the most experienced manager in the cement industry, explaining why Romania will not be able to experience an economic rebound next year.
The Romanian economy fell by 7.1% in 2009 against the previous year, with the latest forecasts expecting a decline of up to 2% for this year. However, optimistic notes as far as 2011 is concerned have been sounded, with several analysts expecting economic growth of between 0.2% and as much as 2% next year.
Rohan, 65, who on January 1st 2011 will hand over management of Carpatcement to the company’s current deputy general manager, Florian Aldea, added that the cement market would return to pre-crisis levels as late as in ten years’ time.
The company’s sales fell by 12% in terms of value in the first three quarters of the year, according to the company representative, who added that the price of cement sold by Carpatcement fell by around 5-6% in 2010 against the preceding year.