After 4 months of decline, foreigners bring rise to forex market
Dealers on the Bucharest forex market traded a little over 29 billion euros in June, compared with around 24 billion euros in May, with this being the first rise after four consecutive months of decline in volume. However, the rise in volume was mainly prompted by foreign players becoming interested in the Romanian currency again, while operations conducted by commercial clients remained modest. “Behaviour differed significantly from one category of client to the next. I saw greater interest from abroad and somewhat of a revival in terms of volumes achieved by big companies. As far as small and medium-sized companies are concerned, transactions were much smaller, it was a month that scared me,” said a dealer of a major bank on the Romania market.
Although June saw a 20% rise in the volume of transactions conducted on the interbank forex market against May, it remains significantly lower than last summer. In June 2008, transactions totalled almost 35 billion euros. In fact, the volume of imports and of exports continues to go down, reflecting the slowdown of the entire economy, so the volume of forex transactions conducted by companies is smaller, as well. ZF
Generali up 70% on auto liability insurance segment
Generali, one of the top ten companies on the Romanian insurance market, posted a 70% rise on the auto liability segment in the first six months of the year, while on the comprehensive insurance segment, gross underwritten premiums remained at the same level as in the first six months of last year. “In the context of the crisis, comprehensive insurance was expected to fall. The auto liability market is seeing a rise because second-hand cars are brought in from abroad. We were aware that 2009 would be the year of auto liability insurance, and not of comprehensive insurance,” says Radu Ionescu, auto insurance manager of Generali. He did not specify the value of gross premiums underwritten on the two segments, which will be published in August. Adrian Marin, general insurance manager of the company, says the decline of comprehensive insurance policies sealed with leasing companies – which sell 70% fewer cars, was largely offset by retail sales. ZF
MedLife owners and Mihaela Leventer build first plastic surgery hospital
MedLife, the largest private clinics operator on the Romanian market, has signed a partnership with Dermastyle, a clinic developed by Mihaela Leventer in view of setting up the first private dermatology and plastic surgery hospital on the Romanian market, a market which currently accommodates only private clinics. “The two companies are making equal investments, with the current clinic to be relocated and expanded. The current team will be the hospital’s core, but we will hire more staff for each department,” said Mihaela Leventer, 53, a senior dermatologist, currently at the helm of the Dermastyle Clinic. The investment will be conducted in two stages, with a 1 million-euro investment necessary for the first stage, while its value will reach 2.5-3 million euros within the next three years. The project will be launched in October and cover 1,500 square metres in Northern Bucharest. Service costs will remain the same. “For instance, a visit to a specialist doctor costs 100 RON, while one to a senior specialist costs 200 RON. These fees will be preserved,” says Leventer. ZF
Yazaki Ploiesti hires back one third of employees made redundant
Japanese auto equipment manufacturer Yazaki, with two plants in Romania, has rehired 274 staff that had been made redundant in the November 2008 – March 2009 period at the plant in Ploie[ti. The company took this step after orders from its main clients, Ford and Toyota saw a 25-30% rise. “Starting in April this year, based on a rise in orders, we resumed hiring, with 274 people being rehired. The plant currently has 3,500 employees, and the monthly personnel turnover is covered by the group previously made redundant,” said Roxana Bogan, human resources manager at Yazaki Ploie[ti. According to the data supplied, 1,000 people left the company from November last year until the end of the first quarter of 2009, 600 of whom were made redundant. The rest had fixed-term labour contracts, which were not renewed. “Orders from our clients are now almost at the same level as before the crisis, but we are very sensitive to market variations and dependent on the duration of the Government’s anti-crisis programmes,” added Bogan. ZF