The largest insolvencies in Romania last year based on company turnover include ELCEN - the state-owned company that produces the heat and hot water distributed in Bucharest, the Bucharest thermal energy distributor RADET, pharma distributor Polisano SRL (a private company), energy mammoth Societatea Complexul Energetic Hunedoara, and the CET Govora thermal power plant.

In total, some 333 companies with a turnover of over EUR 1 million became insolvent in 2016. The number went down compared to 2015, when 577 firms entered insolvency, according to Coface Romania, reports local Agerpres.

The number of insolvencies decreased overall in 2016, reaching the minimum of the decade. In total, some 8,000 new companies became insolvent last year, down 21% over 2015.

Despite the volume drop, there was a perceived increased in insolvencies for companies with more employees, compared to 2015. This could have been related to the gross minimum wage increase last. The minimum wage went up 12 times in the last eight years, and rose faster than the average productivity, according to Coface.

The regions most affected by insolvencies in Romania are Bucharest and the north-west region.

editor@romania-insider.com