“Romania needs local entrepreneurs, local investors. It doesn’t matter whether they are Romanian banks or companies. Most rankings of companies in Romania include subsidiaries of multinationals. I hope both in the private and public sector we will have players who can become regional,” said Bogdan Ion.
The entrepreneurial culture, education and training, access to financing, taxation and regulation, as well as coordinated efforts by various associations supporting entrepreneurship are extremely important for the development of an entrepreneurial environment, said Bogdan Ion.
“The diversity of financing sources is a challenge, there is no entrepreneurial education in schools, taxation is not helpful in a specific way and programs to support entrepreneurs are not significant. Local players need to be stimulated. Entrepreneurs are born, but they are also bred.”
Promote “success stories”
In Romania entrepreneurship should be promoted in order for people to go towards this area.
“Success stories need to be promoted in schools and universities. One needs to promote the chances and career opportunities linked to entrepreneurship in order to improve the current public perception.”
In addition to developing entrepreneurship, also very important for the economy in the coming period will be an improvement in the absorption of EU funds, the energy sector – stimulating investments in producing conventional energy through special market mechanisms, as well as promoting the capital market to a larger degree, according to Bogdan Ion.
“As far as accelerating the absorption of EU funds is concerned, I think something that should be looked into more carefully is outsourcing to the private sector of activities of the management authorities in charge of EU funds and of intermediation organisms which check refund requests.” He said this would speed up refunds and the absorption rate.
In the energy sector it is important for the country’s energy strategy to be finalized and implemented, as well as to stimulate investments in generating conventional energy (coal, gas, hydropower and nuclear power) through mechanisms that would provide investors with some security that they will get the yields they expect, believes Ion.
“It would be useful from this perspective to conduct studies on the economic and social impact of the various types of energy and consider the local contribution to these projects.” He said that for certain types of investments a lot of jobs are created, local equipment is used, while for others one mainly uses imports.
“In Romania the only area that has basically been stimulated is renewable energy. The question is what do we do with the other types of energy and how do we stimulate investors?”
The head of EY also brings up the need to promote the capital market more.
“There is money, and it is placed in various instruments. But perhaps it would be useful – considering the supervisory and prudential rules on these markets – for part of this money to reach, though the bourse, companies that need financing.”
(English version by Daniela Stoican)