“The year 2023 can be defined as a year of stability for the business sector, with no notable increase in the number of insolvencies. Even if we avoided a recession, after a deceleration of real growth to almost 2%, compared with 4.1% in 2022, one of the best growth rates in the region, the economic context remains relatively complicated,” says Alina Popa, country manager of Coface Romania.
The top three sectors in terms of the number of companies going insolvent remain the same as in 2022: construction (1,446), retail (825) and wholesale trade and distribution (815), accounting for around 46% of the total number of insolvencies registered in 2023.
This trend is justified by the fact that these three sectors account for about 39% of all companies in Romania.
Among them, the highest increase in the number of companies entering insolvency proceedings was reported in the construction sector (plus 6% vs. 2022), which accounts for the largest share of the total number of insolvencies (22%).
Of the total number of companies going insolvent in 2023, those established before 2016 account for about 54%, down from about 60% in 2022.
Last year, insolvency proceedings were started for 460 companies with revenue above EUR0.5 million, up 29% compared with 2022 and 4% compared to 2019. Only 45 of those had revenue of more than EUR5 million, indicating a lower financial and social impact on the economy.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)