AmCham Hour #1: During the first session in the AmCham HOUR series on May 14, AmCham President Ionuț Simion shared his insights on what to expect from the second package of Govt. measures to support the economy.

Regaining the confidence in the economy and among business partners is critical to unlock available financing needed to restart the economy’s engine.

Leading opportunities for Romania going forward are in AmCham’s President view:

• The country’s potential for agriculture and the industries in the food supply chain and the back to Europe trend. Both call for immediate action for Romania to grasp such opportunities.
• A coordinated and coherent effort is needed to project Romania as an attractive destination for investments, other EU states will be doing it.
• Digitization of the public administration was proved possible by the crisis.
• Reduced pressure on the labor markets due to increased availability of workforce.  
• No tax increases announced for 2020, according to Govt. statements.

Main challenges that may impact Romania’s post pandemic economic recovery mentioned during the discussion include:

• Limited budgetary space may impact the announced 6% GDP allocation for investments.
• High level of uncertainty and prudency, at business and individual level, impacting confidence in the economy, consumer power.
• Increased unemployment.
• Romania’s economic recovery is dependent on the recovery pace of the EU economies.
• Lack of coordination among various institutions involved in implementing strategic projects (such as digitization)

Next in The AmCham Hour Series:

• May 26: THE AMCHAM HOUR with AmCham Vice-President Jovan Radosavljevic: Are businesses ready to welcome their employees to the company office?
• June 9: THE AMCHAM HOUR with AmCham Vice-President Omer Tetik: What changes of the business model accelerated by the crisis will continue to shape the banking sector going forward
• June 23: THE AMCHAM HOUR with Board Member Alex Milcev: Fiscal Perspectives for 2020