Demand for automatic transmission cars to increaseslowly
The cheapest car with automatic transmission available on thedomestic market starts at a little over 9,000 euros, but even so,customers are still avoiding such cars because a model costs atleast 1,000 euros more than a manual transmission version. Thepopularity of automatic transmission on the automotive market isnot so much a matter of price and traffic conditions as it is amatter of culture first of all, analysts on the local market say.For instance, penetration of automatic transmission in the USreaches over 95%, while in Europe, especially in countries such asSpain and Italy, it is much lower. "The local market is priceconscious when it comes to buying a car and the cheapest automatictransmission gearboxes, the robotised gearboxes, drive the carprice up by 1,000 euros, and even by 2,000 euros or more in thecase of a higher performance gearbox," said Marius Carp, automotivemarket analyst and former executive manager of the Association ofAutomotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA). The most affordableAT model on the local market, which sells for 9,000 euros, FiatPanda, is part of the small car class, while the more expensiveRolls Royce Phantom comes with starting price of almost 400,000euros and may go to as much as 600,000 euros. Romania will surelysee an increase in demand for cars equipped with automatictransmission gearboxes, which will be slow, though, analystssay.
Wipro reaches 300 employees, will hire 150more
The local branch of Wipro, one of the biggest providers ofoutsourcing and software services based in India, has doubled thenumber of employees in the last ten months, reaching 300 people inits Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centre in Bucharest. "Wehave grown at a time when things were not going very well. Over thenext year we anticipate to hire another 150 people and expand ourpresence in Romania. The BPO centre in Bucharest is strategicallypositioned in our business plans," Ashutosh Vaidya, head of Wipro'sBPO global operations, which employ 23,000 people in countries suchas Australia, US, Brazil, China, Romania, Philippines and India,told ZF. BPO processes are those non-core business processes thatcan be outsourced by companies. Approximately half of the 150 newpeople that Wipro wants to hire will be hired by the end of thisyear.
Romstal business still profitable overall, despite 40%lower sales
Enrico Perini, the majority shareholder of Romstal groupbelieves this year's results "are acceptable", although the salesare 40% lower than last year. The entrepreneur's main concern,however, is the productivity of his employees, writes BUSINESSMagazin weekly. "Business is still profitable overall," Perinisays, who will not provide further details, though. The balancesheets of the company show pluses although the company did notresort to personnel cutbacks, technically speaking, 80% of the1,000 who left last year did it at their own will, he says. "It'strue that we did not hire anyone to replace those who left,either," Perini admits. The group is currently employing about2,700 people in its nine companies, the bulk of whose business isgenerated by Romstal Imex (heating, hydro and sanitary equipment),Valrom Industrie (plastic piping maker), Valplast Industrie(manufacturer of PVC pipes and fittings), and automotive dealerAutoKlass Center.
How many foreigners get treatment in Romanian clinics ayear?
Whereas 80,000 foreigners spend 22.3 million euros on expensivemedical treatment in the Czech Republic every year, on the Romanianmarket about 10,000 foreigners used public or private medicalservices. Considering the health care system is having seriousfinancing problems, and private clinics do not have the necessarystrength to advertise abroad, medical travel remains affordable tothe developed European countries like Germany and France or toAsian countries. "In 2008, medical services were provided inRomania to 1,622 people insured in other EU member countries or inthe Central and Eastern Europe, and in the first quarter of 2009,such services were provided to 132 people," said therepresentatives of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS).Besides the 1,600 foreigners reported by the CNAS, there were alsomore than 8,500 foreigners reported by the main private clinics,which takes the total to about 10,000 people. A special category isthat of dental services, with many foreigners and especiallyRomanians living abroad coming to Romania attracted by low tariffs.
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