Starting an IT Business in Romania

Starting an IT business in Romania is a very popular idea of foreign investors since the country has some major advantages for this type of business: skilled professionals, low wages and internationally recognized high speed Internet connection. Also there are some tax incentives for those companies activating in this field in Romania. While the largest part of investments in IT goes to Bucharest, lately Cluj is the Romanian city named Romania's Silicone Valley. E&C Law Firm incorporates companies both in Bucharest and Cluj.

Romania is the sixth of 20 countries in a ranking of the speed of Internet connection conducted quarterly by the American company Akamai Technologies, the first position being occupied by Hong Kong.

The search was conducted taking into consideration the maximum connection speed in the overall network traffic achieved by the company, according to Bloomberg.

The latest success story of IT entrepreneurship in Romania is that of the company UberVU, a company founded in 2008 by three Romanians, monitoring information about companies on social networks. The company was acquired by Canadian company HootSuite for 15-20 million dollars, according to TechCrunch portal.

"UberVU is the next generation analytics solutions and also bring a world-class team. Acquisition put together the best solutions uberVU analysis solutions HootSuite social involvement and brings us closer to our vision for a simple platform, accessible and safe social networks for a landscape that is rapidly changing, "said the general manager of Hootsuite, Ryan Holmes, in a statement.

If you are interested about the legal conditions for opening a Romanian IT company, please contact our law firm.

Foreign Investment in Romania Peaks in 2014

Foreign direct investment totaled almost 2.4 billion in the first 11 months of last year , up 22.3% from the same period in 2012, which marks a peak level of the last four years , according to data of the National Bank of Romania (BNR ) .

 Consolidated equity estimated net loss amounted to 1.347 billion euros and intercompany loans of 1.041 billion euros, according to the central bank announced Friday .

In November , Romania has attracted the highest level of investment in the first 11 months of last year , that is 578 million euros, 85 % more than in the previous month .

In September (379 million) , October ( euro 313 million ) and November were recorded the largest foreign investment in 2013. Lows were recorded in March (48 million) and in May (92 million).

The highest FDI was recorded in 2008-9496000000 euros. Between 2003 and 2006 Romania recorded every year increases in foreign investment , which reached 5.183 billion euros in 2004 , 5.213 billion euros in 2005 and 9.056 billion euros in 2006. In 2007 there was a reduction of foreign capital invested in Romania , to 7.25 billion, followed by an increase to a record in 2008.

Starting next year , the indicator has deteriorated sharply decreasing investments to 3.48 billion euros in 2009 and 2.2 billion in 2010.

In 2012 , net FDI increased for the first time since the crisis began , the advance being 18.7 % to 2.138 billion euros, according to final data released by the central bank and the INS , while initial estimates showed a decrease of 11 % compared to 2011 .

TPG Group: A Reliable Accounting Office in Romania

Who can help you with accounting issues in Romania?

 

The annual financial statement, tax paying, preparation of payrolls and many other accounting issues can be very challenging if you are the owner of a company without a financial department with professionals who know very good all the procedures and the recent changes in Romanian legislation.

If you want to save time and money, you can choose outsourcing and hire a team of professionals who will take care of all your accounting issues. Foreign investors, looking for accountants, may find at Romanian-accountants.com all they need. They can contact a team of professionals who will provide services in different areas, starting with tax registration and compliance; accounting and annual tax filing, consolidation, tax returns preparation and filings, debt monitoring and risk assessment till forensic accounting that can be used in justice.

Every single businessman is considered a different entity and the team of accountants provides him personalized services tailored to his needs, at high professional standard. The accountants will be in charge with personnel administration and consultancy on management accounting.  

All the accounting documents on audit will be made in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Furthermore, you will have the advantage of full assistance for organizing your financial department and financial policies for your company. You will have the chance of growing your business and obtain the best performance because the team of accountants will offer you professional advice and analysis.  

For all accounting matters in Romania we strongly recommend our partners TPG GROUP, a financial advisory and accounting company based in Bucharest.

Romanian Real Estate On the Rise

We are a Romanian law firm specialized in real estate transaction and therefore welcome the news about the rise in the volume of real estate transactions in the country in 2013. It seems that all those investors willing to bet on the Romanian market will not be wrong after all. There is one other very important note: in 2014 foreign investors will be able to buy all type of land directly (and not through a Romanian company) including agricultural land.

For additional information on the conditions of purchasing Romanian land you can also review our article: Purchase of Romanian Property by foreigners.

Property transactions in Central and Eastern Europe rose by 31 % in 2013. Romania is 5th out of 9 after volume brought in.

Romania has attracted 229 million, up nearly 25 % compared to 2012.
In Russia and Poland, " champions " of the region , investors bought commercial properties ( offices, retail and industrial ) 5.2 billion ( +40 % ) and 2.97 billion euros (+10 %).

One of the best developments had but Czech market where investment rose by almost 70 %, from 605 million euros in 2012-1015000000 euro. Ranking fourth is Slovakia with investment have soared , from 16 million to 250 million.

Other markets analyzed are Croatia (67 million, +56 % ), Ukraine (41 million, -84 %) and Bulgaria (23 million, +285 %).

The study authors noted an increase in investment activity in countries with low levels recorded in recent years , particularly Romania and Hungary (225 million euros from 121 million euros in 2012) .

" The year 2013 proved to be one of the most active commercial property investment market in Central and Eastern Europe, from the start of the financial crisis. From the perspective of investors , Poland continues to be the most active market in the region, the list of target most of them , " say CBRE representatives .

Moreover, they believe that austerity measures adopted in recent years in the region give a better perspective for 2014. At the same time, they point out that political problems can cause short-term concerns for investors in some markets " peripheral " but noted that overall investor sentiment is better than previous years.

Open a Travel Agency in Romania

Opening a travel agency (Tourism Agency) in Romania might prove to be a good idea in accordance to the latest trends showed by the specialized Romanian press, outlined below. Our Romanian lawyers are experienced with the setup of such Romanian companies as well as with obtaining the necessary permits for the activating as a travel agency in Romania. The main conditions refer to the headquarters of the travel agency and the specialized personnel for management positions (they have to have expertize in this area). For more information please contact us.

Tourist arrivals and overnight stays in Romania in increased in the first 11 months of last year compared to the same period in 2012 by 3.1 % and 0.6 % , according to data announced Monday by the National Institute of Statistics ( INS) .

Arrivals of the Romanian tourists in tourist accommodation were 78.1% of total arrivals , while foreign tourists accounted for 21.9 % of the total arrivals. The largest share was held by those from Europe ( 80.6 % of total foreign tourists ) and of these 85.8% were from countries belonging to the European Union , "says NIS, in a statement .

Most tourists came from Germany ( 217 478 ), Italy ( 170,342 ) and France ( 112 082 ) , a total of 1.62 million .

Arrivals at hotels had a 74.9% share, up two percentage points.

Arrivals of foreign visitors registered at the border were analyzed period 7.508 million , up 1%. Most foreign visitors from Europe (93.8 %). Among the EU there were 58.6 % of total tourist arrivals . Most arrivals were registered in Hungary ( 30.3% ), Bulgaria (24% ), Germany (9.5 % ), Italy (7% ), Poland ( 6.5%) and Austria (4.2 % ) .

Departures of Romanian visitors abroad, according to customs, were 10.618 million , an increase of 1.8%.

In November arrivals in the establishments of tourists' reception amounted to 579 500 , up 5.8 %, while overnight stays rose by 8.2 % to 1.42 million.