The International Monetary Fund and the Romanian authorities have already agreed on next year's budget parameters, Jeffey Franks, head of the IMF mission to Bucharest, said Wednesday. The 2011 budget must be adjusted according to necessities, said Franks when asked by journalists about his view on the parliament's decisions to cut the value added tax level for staple food and to lift the income tax on small pensions.

*Surprise in the Parliament- with IMF reviewing the country, Parliament votes drop of VAT and tax exemptions for some pensions – in Ziarul Financiar
*Finance Ministry could refinance bonds worth EUR 1.4 billion – in Ziarul Financiar
*Polish, first expat who runs Microsoft Romania – in Ziarul Financiar
*Pestera and Cernavoda, the new wind energy villages in Dobrogea – in Ziarul Financiar
*BCR buys good.bee mobile banking services from the mother band – in Ziarul Financiar

Real estate developer Alinso Group will build an inter-modal railway terminal in Ploiesti, connecting the Eastern and Western areas of Romania, a private investment of EUR 7 million. The terminal, called Euro Gate Terminal Ploiesti, will be ready in 2011. It will be built on 10 hectares of land and it will include three railway lines with a total length of 2,200 meters.

(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.

The International Monetary Fund and the Romanian authorities have already agreed on next year's budget parameters, Jeffey Franks, head of the IMF mission to Bucharest, said Wednesday. The 2011 budget must be adjusted according to necessities, said Franks when asked by journalists about his view on the parliament's decisions to cut the value added tax level for staple food and to lift the income tax on small pensions.

*Surprise in the Parliament- with IMF reviewing the country, Parliament votes drop of VAT and tax exemptions for some pensions – in Ziarul Financiar
*Finance Ministry could refinance bonds worth EUR 1.4 billion – in Ziarul Financiar
*Polish, first expat who runs Microsoft Romania – in Ziarul Financiar
*Pestera and Cernavoda, the new wind energy villages in Dobrogea – in Ziarul Financiar
*BCR buys good.bee mobile banking services from the mother band – in Ziarul Financiar

Real estate developer Alinso Group will build an inter-modal railway terminal in Ploiesti, connecting the Eastern and Western areas of Romania, a private investment of EUR 7 million. The terminal, called Euro Gate Terminal Ploiesti, will be ready in 2011. It will be built on 10 hectares of land and it will include three railway lines with a total length of 2,200 meters.

(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.