(Update adds details about the ruling party's declaration about the vote on the VAT reduction in the last paragraph.) Romania’s Chamber of Deputies adopted Tuesday a bill setting the value added tax on basic foods, such as bread, milk, meat, sugar and vegetable oil, at 5% instead of 24%.

Romania's economic evolution as reflected in numbers looks good for the time being, but the International Monetary Fund is only at the beginning of its analysis on Romania, said Jeffrey Franks (in picture, right), head of the IMF mission for Romania. An IMF delegation is in Romania to review the country's economic evolution. Franks and his team started meetings at the Labor Ministry this morning.

*Euribor exceeds 1% threshold after 15 months, same as BCE interest, sigh banks see recovery – in Ziarul Financiar
*Mittal brings EUR 23.5 million to share capital in Galati company – in Ziarul Financiar
*Imotrust, EUR 4.5 million financing for a residential project – in Ziarul Financiar
*La Caixa gives EUR 10.5 million loan for Laguna Residence project, developed by GEA 21– in Ziarul Financiar
*Romania, 4th place in the region on IT – in Ziarul Financiar

Romania will export this year over two million tons of wheat and a similar quantity of corn, at prices per ton ranging from EUR 180 to EUR 240, Romanian Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara told newswire Mediafax. Data presented by the minister indicate Romania will export corn of over EUR 360 million and wheat of over EUR 420 million.

Seven Romanian software companies have sent Romania on the fourth position in Deloitte's Central Europe Technology Fast 50 top, the company has announced. However, Romanian companies have registered a slower pace of growth than the region.

Austrian company Bilfinger Berger Baugesellschaft has signed a EUR 12.6 million contract with the Romanian Roads Company CNADNR to revamp the Giurgeni and Agigea bridges. The Giurgeni bridge revamping contract, worth EUR 8.8 million (excluding VAT), is more than half covered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the rest coming from the Romanian Government.

Titan, owned by Austrian Euromills, has finalized a EUR 15 million investment in its Bucharest factory which will produce rolls for McDonald's restaurants in Romania and Bulgaria. The investment was started a year ago and parts of the production will go to countries like Greece, Serbia and Macedonia as week.

OMV Petrom's electric power plant will start production at the end of 2011 and is currently being built in Brazi, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The power plant in Brazi, north of Bucharest, will feature a gas turbine. When finalized, the power plant will provide up to 9 percent of the electricity produced in Romania.

*Govt. proposes 12% flat tax and salary contribution to 41%. Is a budget possible on this data? - in Ziarul Financiar
*Will PSD and PNL manage to dismiss the Govt. under the pressure of the masses? - in Ziarul Financiar
*Titan invests EUR 15 mln in factory to produce hamburger rolls - in Ziarul Financiar
*Medcenter to put EUR 7 mln in Bucharest analysis lab - in Ziarul Financiar

Oil and gas company Petrom has signed with Canadian company PetroSantander, which will undertake investments and perform services on behalf of Petrom in nine fields in the Arad area. This is the second such contract signed by Petrom, after recently partnering HuntOil in drilling in Eastern Romania. The partnership with PetroSantander will increase production by 50 percent in the fields in the next five years.

(Update adds details about the ruling party's declaration about the vote on the VAT reduction in the last paragraph.) Romania’s Chamber of Deputies adopted Tuesday a bill setting the value added tax on basic foods, such as bread, milk, meat, sugar and vegetable oil, at 5% instead of 24%.

Romania's economic evolution as reflected in numbers looks good for the time being, but the International Monetary Fund is only at the beginning of its analysis on Romania, said Jeffrey Franks (in picture, right), head of the IMF mission for Romania. An IMF delegation is in Romania to review the country's economic evolution. Franks and his team started meetings at the Labor Ministry this morning.

*Euribor exceeds 1% threshold after 15 months, same as BCE interest, sigh banks see recovery – in Ziarul Financiar
*Mittal brings EUR 23.5 million to share capital in Galati company – in Ziarul Financiar
*Imotrust, EUR 4.5 million financing for a residential project – in Ziarul Financiar
*La Caixa gives EUR 10.5 million loan for Laguna Residence project, developed by GEA 21– in Ziarul Financiar
*Romania, 4th place in the region on IT – in Ziarul Financiar

Romania will export this year over two million tons of wheat and a similar quantity of corn, at prices per ton ranging from EUR 180 to EUR 240, Romanian Agriculture Minister Valeriu Tabara told newswire Mediafax. Data presented by the minister indicate Romania will export corn of over EUR 360 million and wheat of over EUR 420 million.

Seven Romanian software companies have sent Romania on the fourth position in Deloitte's Central Europe Technology Fast 50 top, the company has announced. However, Romanian companies have registered a slower pace of growth than the region.

Austrian company Bilfinger Berger Baugesellschaft has signed a EUR 12.6 million contract with the Romanian Roads Company CNADNR to revamp the Giurgeni and Agigea bridges. The Giurgeni bridge revamping contract, worth EUR 8.8 million (excluding VAT), is more than half covered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the rest coming from the Romanian Government.

Titan, owned by Austrian Euromills, has finalized a EUR 15 million investment in its Bucharest factory which will produce rolls for McDonald's restaurants in Romania and Bulgaria. The investment was started a year ago and parts of the production will go to countries like Greece, Serbia and Macedonia as week.

OMV Petrom's electric power plant will start production at the end of 2011 and is currently being built in Brazi, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The power plant in Brazi, north of Bucharest, will feature a gas turbine. When finalized, the power plant will provide up to 9 percent of the electricity produced in Romania.

*Govt. proposes 12% flat tax and salary contribution to 41%. Is a budget possible on this data? - in Ziarul Financiar
*Will PSD and PNL manage to dismiss the Govt. under the pressure of the masses? - in Ziarul Financiar
*Titan invests EUR 15 mln in factory to produce hamburger rolls - in Ziarul Financiar
*Medcenter to put EUR 7 mln in Bucharest analysis lab - in Ziarul Financiar

Oil and gas company Petrom has signed with Canadian company PetroSantander, which will undertake investments and perform services on behalf of Petrom in nine fields in the Arad area. This is the second such contract signed by Petrom, after recently partnering HuntOil in drilling in Eastern Romania. The partnership with PetroSantander will increase production by 50 percent in the fields in the next five years.