The Romanian factoring market has a big growth potential, saycompanies in the sector, considering that the market's share in thegross domestic product is half the European average, withincreasingly more companies choosing to sell their invoices inorder to secure cash at a time when access to classic funding linesfrom banks is limited.
In Romania the factoring market accounts for just 1.5% of the grossdomestic product (GDP), compared with the 3% European average andwith the 9-10% share of developed countries.
In Poland the share of the factoring market to GDP was slightlydown last year, to 2.2%, whilst in Hungary it remained steady overthe last few years, at 3.2% of GDP. The largest factoring market isUK's, with such businesses accounting for over 10% of GDP.
The Romanian factoring market has seen a fast growth in the pastfew years, as the number of players rose, but their businesses madeup as little as 0.7% of GDP just three years ago.
The market continues to be dominated by banks, with the BCR, BRDand UniCredit Tiriac Bank cumulating a 71% market share, accordingto UniCredit data. At the same time, competition has started totighten, with the market having recently seen the entry ofPortuguese-held Millennium Bank and of Maltese group FIMBank,which, in partnership with RomFactor, will offer a platform forfactoring services in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
The Romanian factoring market reached 1.97 billion euros last year,up 77% against 2007. This year, despite the significant growthpotential, players are expecting stagnation in the value ofdiscounted invoices with companies focusing more on risk managementand less on high turnovers.
The largest number of requests came in 2008 from companies in thetransportation, constructions, steel and food industries. Atpresent, there is a big growth potential on the pharmaceuticalmarket, where a lot of invoices are due to be reimbursed by theRomanian Health Insurance House.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
