“We hope investors are more courageous in starting investment projects in 2013 if the economy gets stable. We definitely forecast a growth in 2013, but it is hard to say whether it is a 10% or 15% rise, we must see what’s happening,” Romanian leasing association (ALB) president Antoaneta Curteanu told a news conference Thursday.
In his turn, the general manager of BCR Leasing, Bogdan Speteanu, told MEDIAFAX the leasing market will most probably see a slight increase in 2013, of 15% at most.
Also, Speteanu forecasts the leasing market will see a 5% to 10% decrease in 2012, as the second half of the year was very weak due to the difficult economic conditions.
The Romanian financial leasing market declined 3% in the first nine months of the year, to EUR979 million, as financing was lower on the equipment and real estate segments. In January-September 2011, the domestic leasing market stood at EUR1.008 billion, up 29% from the same period in 2010.
The leasing market is seen flat in 2012, at EUR1.35 billion, while in 2011 it saw a 20% growth compared with 2010, Curteanu said.
The leasing sector touched a peak in 2007, at EUR4.94 billion, but it entered a downward path which stopped only in 2011.