FINANCIAL RATINGS
MOODY's rating raised to A1 (May 2008) from A2 (May 2006) / long and short term raised to Baa3 (May 2008)
FITCH RATING long term raised to BBB and short term F3 (Sept 2006)
COFACE (Fr.) rating lifted from B+ to A4 (Jan 2006)
JAPAN CREDIT RATING long BBB minus; short at BBB (Jan 2006)
STANDARD & POOR rating BBB- (long) /A-3 (short) (Apr 2007)

INTERVIEW - with Varujan Vosganian, Minister of Economy and Trade, Romania / February 2007

COMMENTARY - Oil Politics: Romania at Crossroads (more)

RECENT THEMATIC ARTICLES:
Aero: GE Sets Up First SEE Operations in Romania (Je 1, 2006) (see)
Agri: EU - Agriculture's Future (Dec 20, 2005) (read)
Agri: Genetically Modified Crops Banned in 14 Communities (Mar 28, 2007) (more)
Agri: Organic Farming: A Romanian Opportunity (Je 13, 2006) (more)
Agri: Meat Processing (Feb 2005 + Sept 2005) (read)
Auto: Delphi to Set Up Diesel Plant in Iasi, Romania (July 23, 2007) (see)
Auto: Ford Bids $500M for Auto Craiova Plant (July 16, 2007) (see)
Auto: Renault to Built Euro 500M Tech Center (Sept 4, 2006) (more)
Auto: Industry: Renault Success (Aug 18, 2005)(read)
Auto: Industry (Apr 4, 2007; Jan 2005) (read)
Aviation: GE Sets Up First SEE Operations in Romania (May 2007) (see)
Banking: Profits 60% Higher (Dec 20, 2005) (read)
Construction: Rate puts Romania 5th in the EU (Aug 3, 2007) (see)
Economy: IMF: Economy "Strong", "Fragile Fiscally" (Oct 11, 2007) (see)
Energy: Market Update (Aug 30, 2007) (see)
Energy: Nuclear Bids for 3rd and 4th Reactors at Cernavoda (Oct 26 & Aug 3, 2007) (see)
Energy: Nuclear 2nd Reactor Starts at Cernavoda (May 7, 2007) (see)
Energy: Electricity Distr. Privatization Continues (May 10 2006) (see)
Energy: Oil Winners and Losers in 3.6 Bil Euro Market (Aug 23, 2007) (see)
Energy: Oil Petrom Gas Discovery in Romania (May 15, 2007) (see)
Energy: Oil Pipeline Big Earner for Romania (Feb 15, 2006) (read)
Energy: Oil Equipment (Feb 2005) (read)
Entertainment: Filmmaking in Romania (Oct 2, 2005)(more)
Entertainment: Music - UMGI Sets up in Romania (My 10, 2006) (read)
EU: Romania Becomes Member (Jan 1, 2007) (more)
EU: Impact - Gas prices Could Triple (Feb 13, 2006)(read)
EU: Entry: $36 billion for Romania (Jan 2006) (more)
EU: Accession Treaty Signed (Apr 25, 2005) (read)
Finance: Brand Name Brokerage Firms Enter Market (Feb 2007) (read)
Foreign Investment: Increases 75% from 05 to 06 (Feb 16, 2007) (more)
Foreign Investment: 50% of SEE Goes to Romania in 05 (Oct 18, 2006)
Foreign investment: Moves East (Aug 14, 2005) (read)
Foreign Investment: US in Romania (2004) (read)
Import-Export: Update (Aug 18,2005) (read)
Investors: Top 100 (Mar 15, 2005) (read)
IT: Industry Update & Harry Potter Software (July 30, 2007) (see)
IT: Romania Competes with India (Sept 21, 2006) (read)
IT: Support Centers - HP (Mar 29, 2006) (read)
IT: Jobs in Romania (Nov 2005) (read)
IT: Romania Heats-Up (Oct 18-19, 2005) (read)
Labor: Costs Jump 23% in Oner Year (Dec 14, 2007) (see)
Labor: Salaries Update (Feb 2007 & Oct 10, 2006) (more)
Mergers & Acquisitions (My 18, 2006) (read)
Pharmaceuticals: (Apr 4, 2005) (read)
Real Estate: Updates 2005-2007 (read)
Real Estate: Malls to Employ 200,000 (Nov 26, 2007) (read)
Retail: Big Retailers Target Romania for High Growth (Oct 8, 2007) (see)
Retail: Hypermarkets Booming (Jan 30, 2006) (read)
R&D: Centers: Oracle & Renault to Open (Feb 21, 2006) (read)
Stock: Buch Index Grows 612% in 5 yrs - Business Week (see)
Tech: Skilled Romanians (Je 12, 2005) (read)
Telecommunications: Market 06-07 (Dec 29, 2006) (more)
Tourism: Comments by Hilton Gnrl Mgr (Feb 23, 2007) (more)
Tourism: Rprt by World Travel & Tourism Council (Mar 2006)
(see) & (Apr 2006) (read)
Wine: Exports: Murfatlar (read); more: (Mar 29-06 & Nov 8-05) (read)
World Competiveness: (Je 1, 2005) (read)

EXAMPLES OF U.S. BUSINESSES IN ROMANIA:
Bechtel - California (home)
Bunge Oils, Inc - Illinois (in Romania)
Cooper Cameron Corp - Texas (in Romania)
GE Aviation - Ohio
Hewlett Packard - California (in Romania)
Modern Engineering - Illinois (in Romania)
Oracle - California (in Romania)
Smithfield Foods - Virginia (in Romania)
Solectron California (in Romania)
Timken - Ohio (in Romania)
Zapp Qualcomm California (in Romania)

MAJOR COMPANIES IN ROMANIA:
Listing and links

U.S. FILM PRODUCTION IN ROMANIA (more)
Examples:
Cold Mountain w. Nicole Kidman
The Mermaids Singing w. Jessica Lange
Youth Without Youth by Francis Ford Coppola (more)

EXAMPLES OF U.S. BUSINESSES IN ROMANIA: FULL LIST
Bechtel - California (home)
Bunge Oils, Inc - Illinois (in Romania)
Cooper Cameron Corp - Texas (in Romania)
GE Aviation - Ohio
Hewlett Packard - California (in Romania)
Modern Engineering - Illinois (in Romania)
Oracle - California (in Romania)
Smithfield Foods - Virginia (in Romania)
Solectron California (in Romania)
Timken - Ohio (in Romania)
Zapp Qualcomm California (in Romania)

MAJOR COMPANIES IN ROMANIA:
Listing and links

BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES

Business Romania
English language weekly with good, reliable reporting and sources on business activity
www.businessromania.com

Romanian Business Digest
Excellent for Current News, Information, Legislation link

Real Estate Market Reports - Colliers International
Uptodate Reports on RE Market Data-Trends - more

American Chamber of Commerce (Bucharest, Romania)
Very useful site for news and economic data; influential in lobbying US corporate interests - more

ING Financial News (Romania)
Very useful site for news and economic data - more

ARIS - Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments
Government agency created to facilitate foreign businesses - more

ARIES - Romanian Association for the Electronic and Software Industries - 380 member organization more

United States Government Commercial Services (in Romania) - more

Environmental services (useful links) - (more)

Foreign Investors Council (Bucharest, Romania)
Very useful summary (English) of economy/business related articles with original attached - more

OPIC Investor’s Information Gateway (useful links)
Thorough listing of data sources related to Romania - more

Romanian Statistical Yearbook
Best source for official government economic and other statistics - more (English/Romanian)

Romanian Press Sources
For a partial listing of media in Romanian and English - more

Romanian Media Landscape
Explanation of who’s who in the printed media - more

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE DATA:
2006: 6.5 %
2005: 3.7 % (slowed due to flooding costs)
2004: 8.3 %
2006 Economy: Significant Advances (see)
Macro Economic Forecast 2007-2010 (more)
Economic Forecasts by ING 2006 Forward (more)

NEW - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - RESOURCE LINKS - more