Romania Unemployment Rate Down To 5.03% In August
Romania’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.03% in August, from 5.29% a month earlier, according to the country’s employment agency ANOFM.
In August 2012, the jobless rate was 5%, ANOFM data showed.
The total number of unemployed Romanians was 443,610 in August, down from 466,932 in the previous month.
Jobless claims reached 136,546, 19,728 more than in July, ANOFM also said. (Adevarul)
Association: Encouraging Use Of Generic Drugs Might Help State, Patients Save EUR100M
The penetration rate of generic drugs in Romania is only 24%, compared to 55% in Poland, and local medicine producers estimate that encouraging the use of generic drugs would help the state and patients save EUR100 million.
“The generic drug industry may help reduce costs in the public healthcare sector and make treatment more accessible to patients. Many European states with sustainable healthcare systems have already adopted real measures to encourage the use of medical drugs, with good results for both patients and the budget,” , Dragos Damian, president of the Association of Generic Drug Producers in Romania, or APMGR, said Thursday.
According to APMGR, local generic drug producers invested EUR1.5 billion in Romania between 2006 and 2011. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Romania Raises EUR1.5B In 7-Year Eurobond
Romania raised EUR1.5 billion in a seven-year euro-denominated bond, at 295 points over the reference midswap rate, banking sources told MEDIAFAX.
Book orders amounted to EUR6.2 billion, more than four-times higher than the maximum amount targeted by the Eastern European state.
On the domestic market, Romania has sold RON32.3 billion in leu-denominated notes and EUR1.41 billion in three euro-denominated auctions so far in 2013. The ministry also tapped international markets for $1.5 billion at a U.S. dollar-bond sale in February. (Gandul)
Fiscal Council: Tax Evasion In Romania At RON81B In 2012, Or 14% Of GDP
Tax evasion in Romania climbed about 3 basis points since the beginning of the crisis to 14% of the gross domestic product in 2012, from 11.2% of the GDP in 2008, according to a report by the Fiscal Council.
Following tax increases, tax evasion in Romania reached a peak in 2010, of 15.2% of the GDP, the report reads.
The report is based on estimates by the country’s national statistics institute, or INS, regarding the black market, which climbed 5 basis points to 24.5% of the GDP in 2012, from 19.5% of the GDP in 2008. In 2010, the Romanian underground economy reached 24.8% of the GDP, the highest level since 2008.
According to the Fiscal Council, tax evasion rose 40% last year to 81.14 billion lei (EUR18 billion) from RON57.6 billion in 2008. (Adevarul)
Romania Wants To Overtax Copyright Income
Romania’s letter of intent to a EUR4 billion precautionary loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sets that people earning income from copyright and self-employed individuals will pay social security contributions to the pension fund in the same amount paid by employed people.
The Romanian Government recently approved the letter, which was further sent for approval to President Train Basescu and the fund’s Executive Board.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said the letter of intent cannot be made public until it gets the nod from the IMF’s Board. (Evenimentul Zilei)