May 2004
Romania ranks third on the European market as regards its number of mobile phone subscribers, with 7.3 million subscriptions scored late in Q1 of 2004, Communication and IT Minister Dan Nica said.
Phone subscribers' quota will grow so that there will be about 8 million cell phone subscribers and 5 million clients of land telephony, late in 2004, Minister Nica added.
Around 41.7 percent (3.5 million) of the households have a cell phone with an average figure of two cell phones per household, National Communication Regulatory Authority (ANRC ) president Ion Smeeianu said. Out of the 2.5 million fixed phone cards 1.4 million were used in the city and 1.09 million in the countryside, in 2003. As for the mobile phones there were made use of 3.5 million cards, out of which 2.75 million in the urban area.
(source: Romanian Business Journal )
Trade deficit stands at 1.01 bn euros
Romania 's FOB/CIF trade deficit stood at 1.01 billion euros in Q1, 2004, versus 763.5 million euros in Q1, 2003. Moreover, the March 2004 deficit stood at 421.9 million euros versus 320.3 million euros in the year-ago period, the National Institute of Statistics reports. Calculated in FOB/FOB prices, the deficit stood at 604.7 million euros in Q1, 2004 and 265 million euros in March 2004. The FOB exports made in Q1 were worth 4.32 billion euros, 14.6% higher than Q1, 2003.
The CIF imports in Q1, 2004 totaled 5.34 billion euros, 17.7% higher than Q1, 2003. Calculated in FOB prices, the imports in Q1, 2004 stood at 4.94 billion euros. According to data released by Romania's Central Bank, the exchange rate of the national currency leu in end-March 2004 stood at 40,891 lei for one euro (-0.5% versus end-2003) and 33,440 lei for one dollar (+2.6% versus end-2003).
EU-Romania's main foreign trade partner
Romania's exports to European Union countries stated in euros rose 12.5% in Q 1 2004 year on year, standing at 67.6% of Romania's total exports, show data with the Romanian National Statistics Institute.
Exports to Central and Eastern Europe increased 48.5%, representing 10.1% of the total exports.
The main destinations for Romanian exports in Q 1 2004 were Italy (22.8% of the total exports), Germany (15.5%), France (8.5%), Turkey (6.8%), the UK (6.8%), Hungary (3.6%), Austria (3.3%), the Netherlands (3.2%), Greece (2.6%) and the US (2.3%). Q 1 2004 FOB exports totalled 4.32 billion euros, up 14.6% compared with the similar period of 2003. March 2004 FOB exports stood at 1.61 billion euros, up 20.5% from March 2003, 24.3% higher that the 2003 averages and 8.2% higher on a monthly basis, the highest monthly value since 1990.
Q 1 2004 CIF imports reached 5.34 billion euros, up 17.7% year on year. Imports from EU countries stated in euros advanced 13.2% year on year in Q 1 2004, making up 53.8% of the total imports.
Imports from Central and Eastern Europe rose 23.4%, making up 10.6% of the total imports.
Romania's 10 main trade partners in terms of Q 1 2004 imports were Italy (16.9% of the total imports), Germany (13.8%), the Russian Federation (8.0%), France (7.0%), Turkey (4.3%), the UK (3.6%), Austria (3.4%), Ukraine (3.4%), China (3.2%) and Hungary (3.2%). March 2004 CIF imports totalled 2.03 billion euros, up 22.6% year on year, 15.3% higher on a monthly basis and 15.4% higher than 2003 averages.
(source: Romanian Business Journal )
GeCAD sets up independent companies for specialised services
One year after the successful sale of its antivirus technology to Microsoft , USA , GeCAD Software announces its new development strategy, based on the set up of independent companies for each of its products and services.
"We will maintain a central structure which will support the business while we will develop an independent company for each of our products and services, so as to better respond to the needs of our customers, from telecommunication companies to banks and transport companies. This way we will be able to extend our operations significantly above the current capacity of the company," said Radu Georgescu, chairman of GeCAD Software.
Expected to rise rapidly, GeCAD Software entered the service and security sector and developed new technologies, not related to the antivirus sector, as well as software solutions. GeCAD plans to continue diversifying its offering of products and services.
The new GeCAD products will be launched gradually in the coming months, along with the new companies which will produce them. Since its set up by Radu Georgescu, in 1992, and since the launch of its first antivirus product, in 1994, GeCAD developed into an internationally acknowledged company, with dealers in over 60 countries in 2003.
(source: Nine O'Clock )