The Nova Group, a company owned by Romanian businessman Dan Adamescu, has bought the 50 percent share package in Medien Holding, the publisher of Romania Libera newspaper, from German Waz, the company has announced. The Nova Group thus became the sole owner of the media group.

The Romanian banking system is most likely to end 2010 posting a loss, believes Dominic Bruynseels, executive president of BCR (in picture), the biggest bank on the Romanian market. “It is pretty possible to end on loss due to the pressure we've been discussing, according to RAS (the local accounting standards),” said Bruynseels when asked whether he thinks the banking system will post a loss this year.

Romanian businessman Gigi Becali would have to pay EUR 3.3 million worth of taxes for real estate deals carried on between 2004 and 2008, the Romanian fiscal authorities (ANAF) have established, according to Mediafax, quoting unnamed sources within ANAF. The EUR 3.3 million represent VAT and penalties.

Gabriel Resources, the majority shareholder in Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), has spent EUUR 11.6 million on the Romanian mining project in the first half of the year, when the company posted a loss of EUR 21 million.

Drug producer Zentiva posted a net profit of around EUR 6.3 million in the first half of the year, three times higher than the figure registered in the same period of last year. The company's turnover stood at almost EUR 30 million, up 35.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2009.

Telecom operator Romtelecom, subsidiary of Greek OTE, posted an operational loss of EUR 38.2 million in the first half of this year, while during the same period of last year it had posted a EUR 12.3 million profit. The company's revenues went down by 11 percent in the second quarter of the year, to EUR 178.7 million, while its EBITDA was 59 percent lower, to EUR 24.4 million.

Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein (the European Economic Area – EEA) have signed an agreement to supply EUR 1.8 billion of non-reimbursable financing to 15 states in Central and Eastern Europe which are part of the EU, Romania included. The program will cover the 2009-2014 period and the financing will come from two programs – the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Cooperation Program.

Local dairy maker Albalact saw its net profit decline by 14 percent, to around EUR 580,000, mainly due to the increase in the foreign exchange rate in June, which triggered double financial expenses. “The dairy market goes through a very tough period, due to the dramatic decline of the purchasing power, which puts pressure on prices. We will continue to expand our portfolio, the distribution and the client network and we will have new launches and new promotions,” said Raul Ciurtin, president and general manager of Albalact.

The austerity measures taken by the Romanian government, which were initially announced to end in 2011, will have to be kept next year so that the country can achieve the targets it has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has kept the key interest rate at 6.25 percent, as expected by market analysts. BNR has also decided to keep the mandatory minimum reserves in the system to 15 percent for passives in Romanian currency and 25 percent, for those in foreign currencies.

The Nova Group, a company owned by Romanian businessman Dan Adamescu, has bought the 50 percent share package in Medien Holding, the publisher of Romania Libera newspaper, from German Waz, the company has announced. The Nova Group thus became the sole owner of the media group.

The Romanian banking system is most likely to end 2010 posting a loss, believes Dominic Bruynseels, executive president of BCR (in picture), the biggest bank on the Romanian market. “It is pretty possible to end on loss due to the pressure we've been discussing, according to RAS (the local accounting standards),” said Bruynseels when asked whether he thinks the banking system will post a loss this year.

Romanian businessman Gigi Becali would have to pay EUR 3.3 million worth of taxes for real estate deals carried on between 2004 and 2008, the Romanian fiscal authorities (ANAF) have established, according to Mediafax, quoting unnamed sources within ANAF. The EUR 3.3 million represent VAT and penalties.

Gabriel Resources, the majority shareholder in Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), has spent EUUR 11.6 million on the Romanian mining project in the first half of the year, when the company posted a loss of EUR 21 million.

Drug producer Zentiva posted a net profit of around EUR 6.3 million in the first half of the year, three times higher than the figure registered in the same period of last year. The company's turnover stood at almost EUR 30 million, up 35.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2009.

Telecom operator Romtelecom, subsidiary of Greek OTE, posted an operational loss of EUR 38.2 million in the first half of this year, while during the same period of last year it had posted a EUR 12.3 million profit. The company's revenues went down by 11 percent in the second quarter of the year, to EUR 178.7 million, while its EBITDA was 59 percent lower, to EUR 24.4 million.

Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein (the European Economic Area – EEA) have signed an agreement to supply EUR 1.8 billion of non-reimbursable financing to 15 states in Central and Eastern Europe which are part of the EU, Romania included. The program will cover the 2009-2014 period and the financing will come from two programs – the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Cooperation Program.

Local dairy maker Albalact saw its net profit decline by 14 percent, to around EUR 580,000, mainly due to the increase in the foreign exchange rate in June, which triggered double financial expenses. “The dairy market goes through a very tough period, due to the dramatic decline of the purchasing power, which puts pressure on prices. We will continue to expand our portfolio, the distribution and the client network and we will have new launches and new promotions,” said Raul Ciurtin, president and general manager of Albalact.

The austerity measures taken by the Romanian government, which were initially announced to end in 2011, will have to be kept next year so that the country can achieve the targets it has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has kept the key interest rate at 6.25 percent, as expected by market analysts. BNR has also decided to keep the mandatory minimum reserves in the system to 15 percent for passives in Romanian currency and 25 percent, for those in foreign currencies.