Romstal Leasing, the company held by the Romstal group, estimates to close contracts worth 40 million euros this year, up 25% from 2003.
"We concluded more than 1,200 contracts last year, which exceeded 32 million euros, up 36% from the previous year," said Ionut Chirila, marketing director at Romstal Leasing.
According to Chirila, 10% of the contracts concluded last year came from the companies in the Romstal group. Vehicles accounted for more than 90% of Romstal Leasing's business last year, just like it happened with the other leasing companies operating in Romania.
Automobiles accounted for 70% of auto leasing, while the best-selling brand was Mercedes (20% - 25%), followed by Toyota, Nissan, Ford and Daewoo. The average financing contract is worth 26,000 euros and generally matures in more than three years.
This year, the company will also develop the industrial equipment and real estate leasing, which will climb to 10% of the total contracts. "As for the equipment, there is a problem concerning the volume of this market, which is currently small as compared with other Eastern European countries. Therefore, the financing granted by Romstal Leasing will mainly depend on the equipment market evolution in 2004, which will be positive. The second problem is related to the first to a certain extent, meaning that commercial banks are reserved in grating money for this kind of goods, which do not have a second-hand market, and, therefore, they involve collateral. The real estate leasing has been in the project stage for a couple of years, as the Romanian regulations do not stipulate any incentives for a building financed in the leasing system as compared with one bought with cash. Or, furthermore, they impose additional costs, such as double payment for the notary fees as the owner changes twice (first, the leasing company and, then, the user at the end of the contract). Consequently, we are expecting some regulations to boost this kind of leasing," Chirila explained.
Romstal Leasing, which was established in 1998, has capital worth 47.3 billion ROL and controls subsidiaries in seven Romanian cities: Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Sibiu, Suceava and Timisoara, with a new branch to be opened in Moldova this year. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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