Men’s handball: Romania 28 – Russia 32
Romania was defeated by Russia on Sunday in Bucharest, score 28-32, with the game counting for the first leg of the World Cup 2011 playoffs. Romania, a team coached by Vasile Stanga and Nicolae Munteanu, will play the return leg in Moscow on June 19. The World Cup tournament (January 13-31, 2011) will take place in Sweden and will consist of 24 teams, five of which have already qualified: France (world title holders), Sweden (host nation), Croatia, Iceland and Poland (teams that finished on top at the European Championship 2010).
FC Vaslui presents Juan Ramon Lopez Caro
On Tuesday FC Vaslui presented its new head coach – Ramon Lopez Caro, a Spanish head coach that previously coached Real Madrid and Spain’s youth team. FC Vaslui signed a three-year contract with the Spanish head coach. Romania’s former international Laurentiu Rosu and Juan Jose Sanchez Maqueda will be assistant coaches. Spain’s Cedric Thyus Vieville will be the physical trainer. Juan Ramon Lopez Caro will meet the players for the first time at the end of the week. FC Vaslui will take part in a training stage in Austria. Marius Lacatus, FC Vaslui’s former head coach, left Romania for Spain.
Ice Hockey: Canada’s Tom Skinner to coach Romania until 2012
Canadian head coach Tom Skinner has extended his contract with the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation, being set to coach the team until 2012. Marius Gliga, general secretary of the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation, stated that Skinner is one of the important pillars when it comes to devising Romanian hockey strategies. Skinner took over Romania in December 2008.
Federer stunned by Hewitt in Halle final
Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat by Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Halle grasscourt event on Sunday, losing 3-6 7-6 6-4 to the Australian, Reuters reports. Six-times Wimbledon champion Federer had not lost a match at Halle since 2002, winning the title five times, and had beaten Hewitt 15 times in a row over the past six years. Hewitt, a former Wimbledon champion himself, ended the two hour 20 minute contest when his forehand hit the net tape and dropped dead on Federer’s side. However, Hewitt is not one to surrender easily and he refused to be intimidated by his abysmal record against the 16-times grand slam champion. After allowing Federer to bag the first set, he chased down everything the top seed could throw at him to win his first title in over a year and first on grass since triumphing at Queen’s in 2006.
Querrey leaves
Fish floundering
in Queen’s final
Sam Querrey joined a prestigious group of American winners of the Queens’s Club grasscourt title on Sunday when he boomed down 15 aces to leave best buddy Mardy Fish floundering on centre court. Querrey, the seventh seed, came through a hard-hitting contest 7-6 7-5 to claim his third title of a productive year and earmark him as a dark horse for the Wimbledon championships which start on June 21, Reuters informs. The towering 22-year-old seized his chance to win the title after the draw was shredded by a cull of all the top seeds including world number one Rafael Nadal, four-times champion Andy Roddick and last year’s winner Andy Murray. As well as Roddick, the gigantic trophy which must be one of the largest in tennis, has also been lifted by Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Todd Martin.
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Public bids
of EUR 6 bln, cancelled through e-licitatie.ro
The soaring number of contestations, glitches in paper work, as well as the bureaucrats’ fear of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) led, this year, to the cancelling of three quarters of the public bids initiated through the e-licitatie.ro system, ‘Capital’ magazine informs. To give the exact figures, in the first five months of 2010, 15,000 public bids, whose estimated value was over EUR 6 bln, have been cancelled. The amount represents three quarters of the total value of bids cancelled during 2009: EUR 8.15 bln. Gabriel Sandu, the minister of communications, attributed the situation to the ministry employees’ fear of being called before DNA.
Competition Council is looking into contestation abuse
Yet another initiative targeting those who “abuse contestations” on public bids procedures: the Competition Council will start verifying companies which “practise this sport”, HotNews.ro informs. This comes after the authorities in charge, the National Authority for the Regulation and Control of Public Acquisitions (ANRMAP) and the National Council for the Solving of Contestations, promoted a bill that would solve the problem of acquisition procedures tarrying for months because of contestations. According to statements, the collaboration will result in setting up a “Fixed Bids’ Module”. Officials stated that, during recession, the number of participants in public bids rose, alongside the number of foreign companies taking part in these bids.
State’s participation in EnergoNuclear may drop below 25 pc
The state’s participation in EnergoNuclear, the mixed-capital company which is to build nuclear reactors 3 and 4, may drop below 25 per cent, “in the worst-case scenario,” the general manager of the Craiova Energy Complex (CEN), Costin Balasoiu, stated in the FOREN 2010 regional energy forum, quoted by Mediafax. According to the latter, reducing the state’s shares in EnergoNuclear is also suggested by the Competition Council. “The Competition Council suggests a lower share to maintain Electra at a market share below 50 per cent,” Balasoiu further stated. He added that, after the founding of Electra and Hidroenergetica national companies, Electra will take over the Nuclearelectrica shares in EnergoNuclear. The building of the two nuclear units presupposes an investment of approximately EUR 4 bln.
Isalnita plant project risks being called off
The project to build a EUR 650 M-worth power plant at Isalnita, a subsidiary of the Craiova Energy Complex, may be called off, after Italian group Edison pulled off, the general manager of the Craiova Energy Complex, Constantin Balasoiu, stated, yesterday, quoted by Mediafax. The Czech group CEZ was also interested in this project, but decided against joining in. Balasoiu added that, if the 500 MW Isalnita project continues, funding would be ensured by Electra national society. The Craiova Energy Complex will be included in Electra, alongside other energy-producers owned by the state.
Romgaz official: Gazprom will officially invite us to join South Stream
The general manager of natural gas producer Romgaz Medias, Marcel Piteiu, thinks that Gazprom would officially invite Romania to join the South Stream project, as it is in the Russian side’s “best interest” to do so, Mediafax informs. “The memorandum signed in 2009 with Gazprom was extended by one more year. On Tuesday [today], I’m off to Moscow, where the main topic for discussion is South Stream, but I will also bring up the issue of gas deposits. I think they would invite us to join South Stream, it is in their best interest to do so. Nevertheless, it is a political decision,” Piteiu argued at the FOREN 2010 regional energy forum.
The memorandum sealed with Gazprom stipulates setting up a mixed-capital company which would run several projects. This company has not been set up yet. Moreover, Romgaz is waiting for a series of data from the Kurdistan government related to the amount of investments in the exploration and exploitation of oil fields. “The Kurdistan government is willing to collaborate in exploration and production works,” Piteiu added, arguing that works will be run in partnership with other companies. To pursue works of exploration and production abroad, Romgaz supplemented the 2010 investment budget from RON 800 M to RON 1.2 bln. In 2009, Romgaz cashed RON 900 M.
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IBM presents vision on green technologies
Green economy and intelligent use of technologies were the top conclusions drawn by this year’s edition of IBM Smarter Planet day organised by the Romanian division of the US concern. Specialists of the US company invited to Bucharest said the unfortunate economic changes could work as a momentum for companies operating in any field in general and in IT in particular. “Economic changes have led to the emergence of issues affecting most companies. Shortcomings in IT and in other industries are quite similar. As far as I am concerned, the economic crisis is a great opportunity for the creation of intelligent infrastructures by companies,” Doug Brown, Vice-President in charge of Tivoli brand marketing of the IBM Software Division. IMB WW Marketing and Information Management Vice-President Dave Laverty in turn said a greener world should make wiser use of technologies.
Hybrid Dacia prototype named ‘Hamster’
An user of the DaciaClub internet forum posted several snapshots of a hybrid automobile derived from Sandero Stepway which, according to the web site 0-100.ro, is a prototype made by students of the Road Vehicles Faculty of the Pitesti University. Many years will pas until Dacia will launch a hybrid car, but the prototype named Hamster is interesting and has a 4WD system that propels the rear wheels with an electric engine. The rear axle is specific to a Sandero Stepway, but was modified to accommodate a 4WD system (that cannot be found on the standard cars on sale). The automobile has a 1.5 liter dCi diesel engine, where the last letter “i” is written in green, to show this an environment-friendly model. Automobile Dacia officials confirmed they know about the project: “Dacia Hamster is a university project developed by the <
Hilton plans to build hotel in Timisoara
Hilton plans to build in Timisoara a five-star hotel on the site of a former residence of Nicolae Ceausescu, currently owned by a company under the command of the Timis County Council (CJ) and the Tender company, owned by entrepreneur Ovidiu Tender, the head of Timis CJ Constantin Ostaficiuc, announced, quoted by Mediafax. Ostaficiuc told a press conference yesterday that the hotel chain made an offer to the Inter Center Service & Co., owned by Timis CJ and Tender & Co., to build a five-star hotel on the site of the former “Party Hotel,” a proposal which is to be debated in the board meeting at the end of June. According to a report annexed to the HCJ project to be put to approval, “Hilton will be the first hotel operator to open, in Timisoara, a five-star hotel, with over 160 rooms,” the inauguration of the six-storey building being set for 2013. The old building, subsequently dubbed Hotel International, is at present undergoing repair works.
Interest in health insurance products increases
Home insurance preserves its top position among Romanians’ insurance preferences in 2010, according to a poll by Marketing Research Center in partnership with Media XPRIMM. A novelty is that private health insurance products are in the second place and last year’s number two facultative motor insurance CASCO has fallen to number four, according to a press release. Although Romanians seem to be giving more attention to health these days, 71.2 per cent of respondents said they did not plan to take out a subscription to a private medical clinic anytime soon. Over half of them said they would choose a private hospital if in need of hospitalisation even if they had to pay more than in a public facility. Asked to explain what they understood by private health insurance, most respondents said it gives only access to healthcare services in a private medical clinic, by that mistaking it for a private healthcare subscription. Compared to 2009, one can identify a decrease in the number of people who do not know what private health insurance means.
25,000 Romanians – company managers in Italy
25,000 Romanians are company managers in Italy, Giuseppe Scognamiglio, head of UniCredit Group’s institutional relations department told Mediafax. Approximately one million Romanians live in Italy. On the other hand, Matteo Ferrazzi, UniCredit analyst, pointed out that when it comes to Central and Eastern Europe, Italian companies have their strongest presence in Romania. Thus, according to a report authored by the Italian International Trade Institute, 1,019 Italian companies were registered in Romania in 2008, having a turnover of over EUR 2.5 M, out of a total of 3,923 Italian companies registered in Central and Eastern Europe. 22,444 Italian companies were registered at world level. The UniCredit statistic shows that last year there were 6,000 active Italian companies in Romania, out of a total of 13,616 Italian companies present in Central and Eastern Europe.
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