1. General Information
The Republic Romania, located in the Southeastern
part of Europe with access to the Black Sea, has borders in the North
with the Ukraine (and clockwise), Moldova in the East, Bulgaria (where
the famous Danube river is the frontier) is in the South and in the
East are the Serbia and Montenegro and Hungary. The 1989’s scenes, in
the Capital Bucharest of the brutal dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, which
no one will ever forget, lead to the overthrow of the last communist
stronghold. The process of political transformation of Romania from a
communist society to a competitive democratic will still take quite a
few years. The transition towards a market economy is not an easy
road. Especially when you plan an economy based on the IT Industry.
Now Romania has the eighth largest IT market in
Eastern Europe. In 2002, IT spending reached $460 million, composed of
computer hardware (62 percent), packaged software (14 percent), and
computer services (24 percent) according to the International Data
Corporation. Hardware represents a larger portion of the markets in
less IT-penetrated developing countries. Market growth will average 10
percent a year with software and services growing faster than hardware
sales.
The IT sector is one of the most dynamic components
of Romanian economy, and one that is receiving priority attention from
the government. Over the last ten years, the sector has experienced
impressive development, offering Romania the latest technologies in
many areas. The most important IT user is the government, which makes
up about one-third of GDP. It is implementing some of the largest IT
projects in the country, including integrated systems for tax
collection and National House of Health Insurance and various
e-government and ecommerce projects. In 2001, the government also
launched a five-year, multimillion dollar project to supply 2,500
schools with computer labs and Internet access, which will generate a
surge in the PC market. Imports from major U.S. suppliers make up
about 55 percent of Romania’s omputer market.
Internet penetration in Romania is small, but is
growing fast. There are about 200 ISPs, most of which are resellers of
services provided by ten major “wholesalers.” Good computer literacy
and English language skills, a widespread cable TV network, and decent
penetration of mobile telephony are factors that will support
increased Internet access. On the other hand, Internet development is
hindered by an insufficient installed base of PC’s (only about 1
million), the limited use of credit cards (only about 3 million in use
in 2002), inadequate banking infrastructure to clear payments made via
the Internet, and a poor level of online banking services. Only about
2 percent of Romanian Internet users have bought anything online.
Projects for upgrading the communications
infrastructure to allow greater Internet penetration are strongly
encouraged by the government, which has also issued special
regulations to implement a series of egovernment projects and to place
greater emphasis on e-commerce. Growth is also linked to the full
deregulation of the telecommunications market, which could promote
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services over the long run.
Regarding e-commerce, Romania has a high incidence
of Internet credit card fraud, which has discouraged international
vendors from making payments electronically to purchasers in the
country. To counter this, the government has passed an e-commerce law
that defines and punishes cyber crime. The law includes criminal
sanctions for falsifying cyber-pay instruments, carrying out and
accepting fraudulent financial transactions, or performing unlicensed
cyber transactions.
Banc Post, one of Romanian main banks, has
introduced a new online banking solution, which allows clients to
transfer money between accounts that they hold with the bank.
Romania’s first multimedia messaging service is
offered by Orange Romania. With the Nokia MMS solution, Orange Romania
customers can use MMS-capable phones to exchange rich multimedia
messages containing text, images, graphics, voice, and audio clips.
The Nokia Multimedia Terminal Gateway allows users of non-MMS phones
to also enjoy MMS service.
Romania, a ‘fresh’ NATO-member, is looking for the
accession to the European Union (2007?). A privatization program,
imposed by the IMF, is on its way. Therefore RomTelecom, the
monopolistic national telecom, will be privatized.
Foreign direct investment knows many incentives.
Industrial- and technology-parks in Romania have been promoted through
government ordinance no.65, approved by Law no.490 in July 2002. An
industrial or technology park benefits from significant incentives:
