Real estate investment in Central and Eastern Europe reached EUR 5 billion last year, up 90 percent on 2009, with Romania drawing in 7 percent of the total, according to property consultants CB Richard Ellis.

Insurer BCR Asigurari Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) posted a volume of gross subscribed premiums last year similarly to the previous year and hopes for a slight increase for 2011.

Romanian lender Banca Transilvania has bought a new core-banking system from Oracle, Oracle Flexcube, the bank has announced. The total investment in acquiring and implementing the new platform could reach EUR 15 million.

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) law firm has promoted Luminita Dima (in picture) and Radu Damaschin to the position of remunerated partners. The law firm has also promoted six senior associates: Irina Alexa (Real Estate), Adriana Celea (the head of NNDKP’s Craiova office), George Trandafir (Infrastructure and PPP), Marius Ezer, Cristian Militaru and Valeriu Mina (Dispute Resolution).

Agreements worth EUR 10 billion, most of them on EU money, have been already signed for the infrastructure works, including speedways building due to be finished across Romania in 2011, Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc has said.

The opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) and Conservative Party (PC) have signed an agreement to set up an alliance called the Center Right Alliance of the National Liberal Party and Conservative Party (ACD).

Romania would last only two quarters with the money it currently holds, if it were to cancel the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission on account of a political crisis, according to the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analysts, quoted by The Money Channel.

The Romanian authorities’ plan to collect taxes on high wealth will target about 1-2 percent of contributors, Finance Minister Gheorghe Ialomitianu has said. He added that fiscal authority ANAF will set up several departments tasked with checking wealthy individuals.

Nicolae Malaxa was a Romanian industrialist who lived at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and who created one of the biggest industry holdings of interbelic period in Romania. His holdings were nationalized by the Communist party and the Malaxa heirs are currently on their way to receiving compensation for the nationalized assets through Fondul Proprietatea, which will be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on January 25. But who was Nicolae Malaxa and what did he achieve in the first half of the last century?

The Romanian currency Leu's appreciation in 2011 could be supported by the stock exchange listing of Fondul Proprietatea and by a new cautionary agreement with the International Monetary Fund, according to an analysis by X-Trade Brokers. Last year, the Ley depreciated by 8 percent against the US Dollar, the second biggest depreciation after the Hungarian Forint. The Leu was quite stable against the Euro last year, with only a 1.02 percent depreciation.

A&D Pharma Holdings, the Dutch holding company that owns the largest integrated pharmaceutical wholesale, marketing and sales, and retail business in Romania, has signed a new EUR 150 million loan agreement arranged by Erste Group Bank AG, Banca Comerciala Romana S.A. and UniCredit Tiriac Bank S.A.

Local software company Siveco grew its turnover by 20 percent last year on 2009 and signed over 100 new contracts, the company has announced. Siveco posted EUR 49 million in turnover in 2009, according to its data, having reached EUR 58.8 million in turnover last year.