Economy of Romania

Romanian gas producer Romgaz has the capacity to support investment in the Neptun Deep deep-water offshore gas field development project in the Black Sea and should be the operator of this project, Chairman of the Romanian National Committee of the World Energy Council Iulian Iancu told a news briefing on Tuesday.

Romania's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) seasonally adjusted estimated for the first quarter of 2021 is 286.198 billion lei current prices up 2.9% in real terms from the fourth quarter of 2020 and 0.1% from the first quarter of 2020, according to provisional data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The European Commission's summer 2021 economic forecast confirms that Romania is on the right track, but the materialization of growth estimates depends on maintaining balance and prudence in relation to public spending and on capitalizing on European funds, says Minister of Finance Alexandru Nazare.

This has been, unsurprisingly, celebrated by the country's centrist government as proof of the Romanian economy's good health despite the pandemic. 

Financial analysts anticipate this year's budget deficit will be 6.4 percent of GDP and the inflation rate over a 12-month time horizon, respectively June 2022 - June 2021, to be 3.75 percent, Romania's chartered financial analysts association CFA Romania said in a release. At the same time, none of the survey participants predicts a decrease in the inflation rate in the next 12 months.

The Incoming Romania Association (AIR) welcomes the government's decision to lift the COVID ban on the entry of foreigners to the country. "This is a beneficial measure for all of us and is, in fact, the signal for the resumption of international tourism in Romania.

One of the most progressive components of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is that of financial instruments and grants for the private business environment, and SMEs will have half a billion euros available as a risk capital facility, under an agreement signed with the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, Minister of European Investments and Projects Cristi

Romgaz is ready to take over ExxonMobil's share in the Neptun Deep Black Sea offshore natural gas project, and funding that will be a mix of equity and raised money, Romgaz Director General Aristotle Jude told a news conference on Tuesday. "On March 31, we submitted an offer to take over ExxonMobil's share in the Neptun Deep block.

The projections published on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund confirms that the Romanian government has started from correct budgetary premises and that Romania is on the right track, but caution is still needed, especially regarding government outlays, according to Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare.

The turnover of the postal and courier services in Romania has gone up, in 2019, by 112% from the level reached in the previous year, to the value of 5.3 billion RON, according to an analysis made by KeysFin consultants.