The year will end with parliamentary elections and the completion of the tallest building in Bucharest and maybe these 20 events will contribute to the second year of economic growth.
January 9: Bucharest Stock Exchange elections
Shareholders of the main capital market in Romania are scheduled to meet on January 9 to elect a new board of directors. Stere Farmache, who has been running the Bucharest bourse for sixteen years, is facing strong opposition from banks and investment funds that bought shares in the institution after its listing.
January-March: Opening of Pipera overpass
Works on the Pipera overpass, which entailed enlarging the Pipera Road and building a bridge to cross over the Barbu Vacarescu boulevard and Calea Floreasca avenue, have already been completed so that it should open for traffic in the next few months, once a series of stress tests have been conducted. The contract with the builder, PA&CO International, amounted to about EUR120 million.
February: Transelectrica’s public offering
Announced for late February, the sale offering of 15% in Transelectrica (TEL.RO) is an extremely important step in the privatization program of the government. The con sortium of three brokers–BCR, Swiss Capital and Intercapital Invest–have to find investors willing to buy the shares, worth around EUR45 million at current prices, so that the government could launch further offerings in the months to come, such as Transgaz (TGN.RO), where the government plans to sell a similar 15% in May, and Romgaz (15% in July or September).
February-March: Opening of Medicover Hospital in Bucharest
Two private hospitals are expected in early 2012: the first such institution from Medicover in Romania, an about EUR20 million investment in the northern area of Bucharest, and a Polisano hospital in Sibiu, which will cost about the same. A third hospital, Romgermed on Calea Plevnei, yet another EUR20 million investment, should be finalized by the end of the year.
February-March: iPad 3 launch
The new generation of Apple iPad, the best-selling tablet worldwide, is expected for the beginning of this year and rumors about tech specs and launch date are building up.
March: Launch of Dacia Lodgy
Dacia will launch the Lodgy MPV at the Geneva Auto Show in March, and will introduce the Logan 2 model in Paris in September. Dacia Lodgy will also be the first model of the carmaker that will no longer be assembled in Mioveni but Tangiers, Morocco, yet 70% of the parts will be the same as those used in other Dacia models so that they will be exported from Romania. Logan 2 will be made in Mioveni, though.
April: Completion of Bucharest-Ploiesti highway
The latest deadline said to have been set for the inauguration of the 62 kilometer Bucharest-Ploiesti highway is April, after builders failed to meet the terms of the initial contract, under which they should have been done by the end of last year. The project is worth over EUR360 million.
April: Opening of Palas Iasi complex
The largest real estate investment outside Bucharest, the Palas project in Iasi (NE Romania), is to be inaugurated this April, following a EUR250 million investment. The office buildings in the project have already been delivered and a shopping center with retailers such as H&M, C&A and Auchan is due to open in April.
May 9: Europa League final in Bucharest
The most important sporting event in Romania will be organizing the Europa League (soccer) final on the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, where teams like Manchester City or Manchester United, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Udinese or – should a miracle happen – Steaua Bucuresti, which is still in the race, could be seen playing.
May: Inauguration of UniCredit Tiriac building
UniCredit Tiriac Bank, a top ten player with 20 billion lei (almost EUR5 billion) in assets will relocate its headquarters to a new 15-story building in northern Bucharest, close to the World Trade Center.
May: Completion of parking lot in University area (downtown Bucharest)
After a EUR13 million investment, the underground parking lot across the street from the University, a key location in the capital city will be completed in May, according to the latest statements from Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu. The three-level parking lot will accommodate 420 cars and 21 motorbikes.
May: Oltchim privatization
The International Monetary Fund forced the government to sell chemical plant Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea (OLT.RO) by the end of April. The Economy Ministry, which owns the controlling interest in the company, had initially scheduled privatization for the first half of 2012. PricewaterhouseCoopers has already been selected as consultant and the investment bank to handle the sale will be chosen in February.
June 8-19: European Soccer Championship in Poland and Ukraine
This summer will see the 14th edition of the European Soccer Championship, which the Romanian team will not attend. Such soccer events stir tremendous interest on the local market and help drive up certain consumer markets.
Second quarter: Launch of Ford B-Max made in Craiova
The launch of the Ford B-Max, which will start manufacturing in Craiova plant, is scheduled for the second quarter of this year. The US carmaker plans to have several tens of thousands of such cars assembled in the first year, most of which will be exported.
First half: Mobile telephony licenses
The event that is keeping almost all the major companies on the local communications market on edge is the auction for the radio spectrum organized by the telecom market regulator in mid year. The result of this auction may change the balance of power or may even bring a new competitor in Romania. The government could collect at least EUR200 million from the sale of the licenses.
June-July: Completion of last section of the Bucharest-Constanta highway
Although promised for many years, the ability to travel from Bucharest to Constanta via the highway should materialize this year at last. The only sections under construction at the moment are Cernavoda-Medgidia and Medgidia-Constanta, with the Italian-held Astaldi and Germany’s Max Boegl working on them.
July 27 – August 12: Olympic Games in London
London, the European financial capital, will host the 30th Summer Olympic Games this summer, a competition that originated in Greece, a country whose economy is on the brink of collapse now. Most of the time sport rises above economic problems and Romanians will remember again those competitions where they stand chances of wining a medal.
August 31: Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Bucharest
The first mega concert to be held on the National Arena stadium in Bucharest was scheduled for August 31, when U.S. band Red Hot Chili Peppers will play for the first time in Romania. Ticket prices for the show which 50,000 people are expected to attend start from RON130.
November: Parliamentary elections
The parliamentary elections that will be held this fall, most likely in November (the date is set by government decision) will overlap with the local elections, if the government, will pass the confidence vote in the Parliament.
December: Completion of Sky Tower
Sky Tower, the tallest building in Bucharest (36 stories) should be completed by the end of the year and will accommodate the local subsidiary of the Raiffeisen Bank, due to move in in 2013 and occupy several floors of the high-rise on the Barbu Vacarescu boulevard in the northern part of the city.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)