ROMANIA

SLOVAKIA

Nation: Romania

Capital city: Bucharest

Geographic position: in the south-east of Central Europe. Neighbours: Ukraine (N), the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Black Sea (E), Bulgaria (S), Serbia (SW), and Hungary (W).

Population: ca. 21,700,000. Outside the country's borders there are large Romanian communities.

Official language: Romanian (a neo-Latin language of the Romance languages family)

Administrative organization: 41 counties, plus Bucharest, the capital city (population ca. 2,200,000). There are 263 cities and towns, of which 80 municipalities, and 2 685 communes with over 13 285 villages.

Features: mountains (31% of area), hills and plateaus (33%), plains (36%), Danube Delta

Official Country Name: Slovenska Republika (The Slovak Republic)

Other Names: Slovensko (Slovak, Czech), Slovakia (English), Slovaquie (French), Slowakei (German), Slovacchia (Italian), Eslovaquia (Spanish)

Regional capitals: Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov, Košice

Official language: Slovak

Abbreviations: SK (2 letter ISO official ), SVK (Olympic 3 letter official)

Area: 49 030 square kilometers

Population: 5 268 935 (1995)

Bordering countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, The Ukraine

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Independence: January 1, 1993 (from The Czecho-Slovak Federation, previously Czechoslovakia)

Monetary unit: Euro (prior to January 1, 2009 Slovenska koruna - Slovak crown)

The Flag  of Romania  

National Flag  of Slovakia  

The flag of Romania is a tricolor: red, yellow and blue. It has not undergone major changes in the course of history. Only the distribution of the colors (proportion and position) changed to a certain extent, being made equal after the Revolution of 1848 when, influenced by the French revolutionary spirit, many states in Europe adopted the standardized three-color banner as their national flag.

The flag of Romania has the colors placed vertically as follows: blue (hoist), yellow (in the middle) and red (fly). The blue is cobalt, the yellow – chrome, and the red – vermillion.

Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak emblem (a cross Lorraine atop 3 hills in a shield; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue) centered on the hoist side.

The national symbols           

Official Emblem of the Republic  

Reasons to invest in ROMANIA

When considering Romania as a possible location for developing their businesses, foreign investors take a close look to the advantages provided by our country:

Chief crops: wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, sugar beets

Livestock: cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, goats

Major industries: car manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, oil refining, plastics

Natural resources: antimony ore, mercury, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc

Market & Location Advantage

Terrain and Environment

• One of the largest markets in Central and Eastern Europe (ranking 7th in EU , with over 21 million inhabitants);

• EU unique market gateway (access to approximately 500 million consumers);

• Attractive location: situated at the turning point between EU, the Balkans and CIS countries, Romania is crossed by three important pan-European transportation corridors: corridor no. IV linking Western and Eastern Europe, corridor no. IX connecting Northern and Southern Europe and no. VII – Danube River, facilitating inland water transportation, at the same time connecting the Romanian Port of Constanta (the biggest Port to the Black Sea) to Northern Europe, through the Rhine.

Slovakia boasts rugged mountains in its central and northern regions. The High Tatra alpine range houses Gerlachovsky stit, the highest peak at 8762 feet (2655 meters). The southern region is made up of fertile lowlands. There is, however, air pollution and acid rain. The extent of environmental danger posed by the controversial Gabcikovo dam (which diverts water from the Danube river) remains an issue of debate.

Resource Advantage

Slovakia in Europe

• Highly skilled labor force at competitive prices (solid knowledge in foreign languages, technology, IT, engineering, etc);

• Rich natural resources, including surface and underground waters, fertile agricultural land, oil and gas;

High potential for tourism

The Slovak republic (SK) is a landlocked nation-state in Central Europe. More specifically, it is at the geographical center of Europe and is bordered by the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and Austria.

IR Advantage

Slovak Business practices

• Bilateral agreements between Romania and other countries on investments promotion and protection;

• Bilateral diplomatic relations with 177 out of the 191 UN member states, plus the Holy See, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Palestinian National Authority;

• Member of the UN and other international organizations, like: OSCE, Council of Europe and International Organization of La Francophonie;

• Free trade agreements with EU, EFTA countries, CEFTA countries;

• WTO member since January 1995.

Business practice and etiquette in the Slovak Republic is a cross between that of western Europe and the United States on the one hand, and eastern Europe and Russia on the other. Slovaks are generally well disposed towards Americans. While English as a business language is increasingly accepted in the Bratislava area, German is more common throughout the country. Russian is widely understood but may not always be welcomed. Many, but by no means all, Slovak companies have English speakers among their top managers; U.S. business representatives should be prepared to do business through interpreters and allow for the possibility of occasional misunderstandings

Economic Advantages

• State aid schemes for encouraging investors to take upon Romania;

• Major interest of Foreign Investors – leader destination for FDI in the region;

• Sound fiscal policy (16% flat tax)

Successful business in Slovakia generally requires the establishment of a good personal relationship and a feeling of mutual trust. Meetings with Slovak business representatives typically include a welcoming toast of an alcoholic beverage such as slivovica (plum brandy) or borovicka (similar to gin). General social conversation prior to business is the norm, and launching directly into business may impede the development of a good personal relationship with the Slovak business partner.

After initial meetings, written summaries of goals, objectives, and points of agreement or disagreement are encouraged to minimize misunderstandings between business parties.

Other Advantages

Labor

• Similar legal provisions as in EU (AcquisCommunautaire implementation);

• Fiscal policy regulated by the Fiscal Code.

• Continuously improving infrastructure (Executive’s commitment to improve the highway infrastructure to EU standards);

• Well-developed networks of mobile telecommunications in GSM systems;

• Highly developed industrial infrastructure, including oil and petrochemicals;

• Presence of branch offices and representatives of various well-known international banks;

• Extensive maritime and river navigation facilities.

Foreign investors have found that the Slovaks represent a top-quality labor force, efficient and productive. They have had no problem finding skilled engineers and top managers thanks to an outstanding higher education system, which, each year, turns out 75,000 new specialists (1.2% of the population). The standard of education in primary schools is the highest in Central Europe. Slovakia is in fourth place in regards to secondary education, with a 91.7% rate of schooling.

Agriculture in Romania

Agriculture in Slovakia

Agriculture employs about 29% of the population (one of the highest rates in Europe), and contributes about 8.1% of GDP. The Bărăgan is characterized by large wheat farms. Dairy products, pork, poultry, and apple production are concentrated in the western region.

Beef production is located in central Romania, while the production of fruits, vegetables, and wine ranges from central to southern Romania. Romania is a large producer of many agricultural products and is currently expanding its forestry and fishery industries. The implementation of the reforms and the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have resulted in reforms in the agricultural sector of the economy.

Although subsistence agriculture traditionally dominated the Slovak economy, this sector declined during the Communist period, when industry was promoted as Slovakia’s principal economic activity.More than one-third of land in Slovakia is cultivated. Wheat, barley, maize, sugar beets, and potatoes are the country’s principal crops. Viticulture (the cultivation of grapes for wine production) is practiced on mountain slopes, and some tobacco is grown in the Vh River valley. The breeding of livestock, including pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry, is also important.

Fishing

Mining and Manufacturing

Fishing is an economic mainstay in parts of the East of Romania and along the Black Sea coast, with important fish markets in places such as Constanta and Galati. Fish such as herring, crab, lobster, haddock and cod are landed at ports such as Constanta.

There has been a large scale decrease in employment in the fishing industry within Romania due to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, which places restrictions on the total tonnage of catch that can be landed, caused by overfishing in theBlack Sea. In tandem with the decline of sea-fishing, commercial fish farms – especially in salmon, have increased in prominence in the rivers and lochs of the east of Romania. Inland waters are rich in fresh water fish such as salmon andtrout.

Copper, lead, zinc, manganese, iron, and lignite are Slovakia’s chief mineral products. However, the country’s mining industry has decreased in importance since the end of Communism, as many mines were found to be inefficient and unable to compete in the market economy.

Slovakia became industrialized in the latter half of the 20th century, under the Communist government. The Communists emphasized heavy industry, including the production of machinery and steel. Much of this was produced for military purposes, and Slovakia became the center of Czechoslovakia’s weapons industry.

Manufacturing is still one of the most important sectors of the Slovak economy. Ceramics, chemical products, machinery, petroleum products, steel, and textiles are among the chief manufactures; the production of processed food, such as beer and sheep’s cheese, is also important. Although the weapons industry declined with the collapse of Communism, it has been revived somewhat since Slovakia gained independence in 1993; military equipment produced in Slovakia is now primarily exported.

Industry in Romania

Investment opportunities

Romania has been successful in developing its industrial sector in recent years. Industry and construction accounted for 32% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2003, a comparatively large share even without taking into account related services. The sector employed 26.4% of the workforce. Romania excels in the production of automobiles, machine tools, and chemicals. Motor vehicle production tripled in the 2000s (decade), but still lags behind neighbouring countries such as Hungary or Ukraine.

In 2004 Romania enjoyed one of the largest world market share in machine tools (5.3%). Romanian-based companies such as Dacia, Petrom, Rompetrol, Bitdefender, Romstal and Mobexpert have expanded operations throughout the region. However, small- to medium-sized manufacturing firms form the bulk of Romania's industrial sector.

Current best investment opportunities are observed in sectors R&D, Design & Innovation, Technology centres, ICT & SW development, BPO - Regional headquarters, High-tech sectors and Tourism centres. Additional opportunities can be found in the traditionally strong sectors with the growth potential found in Slovakia: Machinery & Precision engineering, Automotive, Metallurgy & Metal processing, Electronics and Chemistry & Pharmacy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Romania

Romania did not attract significant foreign direct investment (FDI) until after the 1990s, due to delays in post-Communist economic reforms. According to data provided by the National Office of the Trade Registry, the cumulative net stock of FDI from January 1990 to October 2012 totaled USD 46.67 billion, about 24.5% of Romania’s GDP. Romanian direct investments abroad from January to September 2012 totaled USD 201.3 million

The attraction of Slovak investment environment is proved by constantly raising number of foreign investors and volume of foreign direct investment in the country. The major investors in Slovakia are:

Major sectors for foreign investment 

Investor

Automobile and automotive components

Renault, Daimler Benz, Ford, Siemens, Continental, Alcoa, Delphi Packard, Johnson Controls, Honeywell Garrett, Michelin, Pirelli

Banking and finance

Citibank, Société Générale, MetLife, Royal Bank of Scotland, ING, Generali, Volksbank, Raiffeisen, Erste Bank, Unicredit, Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece, Intesa Sanpaolo, Millenium Bank, Garanti Bank, Credit Agricole, Allianz, AXA

Information Technology     

Hewlett Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco Systems, IBM

Telecommunications

Orange, OTE, Telesystem International Wireless Services, Vodafone, Liberty Media/UPC

Hotels       

Hilton, Marriott, Best Western, Howard Johnson, Sofitel, Crowne Plaza, Accor, Ramada, Radisson

Manufacturing  

Timken, General Electric, Cameron, LNM, Marco, Flextronics, Holcim, Lafarge, Heidelberg, Plexus, Lufkin, Toro

Consumer products  

Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Henkel, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Parmalat, Danone, Smithfield Foods

Retail chains     

Metro, Delhaize, Dm Drogerie, Carrefour, Cora, Billa, Selgros, Auchan, Kaufland

USA

US Steel, Emerson, DELL EMEA Centre of  Excellence,  Whirlpool,

IBM International Services Centre, HP European IT Operation Centre,

Johnson Controls R&D Centre, AT&T Shared Services Centre,

Accenture Technology Solutions, Getrag Ford (/Deutschland)

Germany

Siemens, Volkswagen, T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom

Japan

Yazaki, Sumitomo, Panasonic, Sony

Korea

Samsung, KIA Motors, Hyundai Mobis

France

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Alcatel R&D

Spain

SOITRON

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