The privatisation of the Daewoo Craiova carmaker is the main economic project Premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu has for 2007. He believes Romania has the chance to become the country with the most powerful automotive industry in the region.
"My ambition in 2007 is to successfully privatise Daewoo, to build a project the size of that Renault developed in Pitesti. We will not be setting the trend on the world's automotive market but will make Romania into an important competitor in terms of production volume," Prime Minister Tariceanu told ZIARUL FINANCIAR in an interview.
Requested a month ago, the interview took place on Friday, February 2. Tariceanu says the privatisation might be completed by June or July.
He says the main privatisation criteria as far as Daewoo is concerned will not be the price offered by investors, but the scope of the project and its implications for the economy. "First of all, we are interested in the volume of production, in how many jobs will be created, the number of suppliers brought in Romania and, last but not least, in the extent of the domestic integration of production," the head of government said. Tariceanu adds Romania is no longer in the position where it sees "money as the main criteria". "We need an economy that continues to grow, fuelled by the business of new SMEs that can develop around a plant like the one in Craiova."
The Premier expects the future buyer to request a series of incentives, but says that the Government cannot do a great deal regarding this.
"According to the state aid legislation, we can grant support for professional training, research, as well as for regional development. We will also help the investor with the necessary utilities, especially with the transport infrastructure because the site in Craiova will have to be properly connected to the transport Corridor IV."
Tariceanu adds that the Dacia site in Pitesti will receive similar support, with the state paying for a new road to connect Mioveni to the Pitesti-Campulung national road. The Prime Minister believes that there are still many sectors that can attract significant foreign investment. "Romania's entry into the EU will boost the investors' appetite for utilities, especially the energy sector, with the companies becoming more valuable. I believe many SMEs from the EU will also come, because accession reassures them that we're playing by the same rules here," Tariceanu says. He added there were also several projects being worked on at the moment, singling out the plans of Saint Gobain to invest in a second manufacturing line in Calarasi and to build an automotive glass factory.
The head of government believes that Romania would not have anything more to offer investors in terms of taxation level and in this respect assures stability.
"As long as I'm a Prime Minister, the flat tax will remain unchanged and we are not considering introducing any new taxes that would generate economic slowdown. Things need to be viewed reasonably: the overall taxation level in Romania is no longer high. We cannot be constantly cutting taxes, either, because the budget has major investment programmes to sustain in education, infrastructure and healthcare," stated Calin Popescu-Tariceanu.
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