Romania’s Government granted state aids totaling EUR 635 million from 2008 to June 2014, to support EUR 2.1 billion investments that create more than 21,000 jobs, according to data centralized by the Budget Ministry. Most of the money were granted to foreign companies which expanded their operations in Romania, with local entrepreneurs getting less than 10 percent.

In the last six years, the Government had three state aid schemes. In two of them, the Government covered some of the costs for new investments in production facilities. The third was aimed at supporting job creation in the IT sector, and for this the Government supported some of the costs related to the labor force for companies which set up new IT service or development centers.

The Government received a total of 241 state aid requests and financed 66 projects with a total of EUR 635 million. The state estimates that the new investments and the jobs created by these projects will generate direct contribution to the state’s consolidated budget as well as local communities’ budgets of some EUR 1.2 billion in the following years.

The largest investment supported by these state aid schemes is the new Daimler (START Assembly) automatic transmission factory in Sebes, Alba county, which got EUR 37.4 million from the state for a EUR 238 million greenfield investment. State-owned electricity producer Complexul Energetic Oltenia got EUR 36 million for a EUR 296.5 million investment in changing its production process and tire producer Pirelli got EUR 35.2 million for a EUR 104.8 million investment for expanding its factory in Slatina. Each of these three investments is expected to generate some 500 new jobs.

American group Lufkin Industries, which produces oil extraction equipment, got EUR 28 million for a EUR 106.7 million greenfield investment near Ploiesti. The project was already finalized and the new factory was inaugurated in June 2013.

The largest number of state aid beneficiaries come from the auto industry. Most of them are international groups which produce auto components in Romania and decided to expand their operations. These include Delphi, Honeywell, Bosch Rexroth, Continental, Valeo, Leoni, but also carmaker Automobile Dacia.

Among the state aid beneficiaries are also aeronautical producer Premium Aerotec, which has a factory in Ghimbav, near Brasov, white electronic goods producers De’Longhi and Arctic, private health clinic Polisano, and soft drinks producer Tymbark Maspex.

The largest state aid beneficiaries for job creation in the IT sector are IBM, Deutsche Bank, Endava, SAP, Dell, Vodafone, Teamnet, eMAG and Microsoft. The state’s total costs for this scheme are EUR 134 million, with more than 6,100 IT jobs created, according to official statistics.

The three state aid schemes that the Government has supported starting 2008 were closed on June 30, 2014, the ministry announced. They will be replaced by new state aid programs.

The list with all the state aid beneficiaries (in PDF), computed by Romania-Insider.com, is here.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com