Romania

The Romanian Ministry of Economy announced that it sanctioned the tour operator Kusadasi with a fine and, in addition, withdrew its operating license following the inspection carried out after the agency filed for insolvency, Romania-Insider.com reported. Inspections found that the tour operator sold travel services whose total value exceeds the sum insured by guarantee instruments, thus breaching provisions of Art. 18, paragraph (1) of Government Ordinance nr. 2/2018.

Romanian insolvent airline Blue Air won the lawsuit against the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) for the first fine of EUR 2 mln the company was given last summer, Ziarul Financiar reported. A second EUR 2 mln fine was issued in October for similar reasons, Romania-Insider.com reported. ANPC fined Blue Air a record amount of EUR 2 mln in July for the first time for cancelling over 11,000 flights between April 30, 2021 – April 30, 2022. Blue Air claimed that the fine was illegal and discriminatory. The District 1 Court decided on May 25 to reduce the fine to EUR 20,000.

A total of 1,644 companies in Romania went insolvent in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1), a number similar to the one in Q1 2022, when 1,610 insolvent companies were registered, Romanian-Insider.com reported. Of the companies that went into insolvency, 23 are impactful companies, totalling over 1,950 employees, fixed assets worth over RON 589 million (EUR 120 mln) and a total turnover of RON 805 million (EUR 163 mln), according to an analysis by CITR, the insolvency and restructuring market leader in Romania.

Major Romanian electro-IT retailer Altex, which operates physical stores and an online store that hosts third-party sellers, purchased for an unspecified price a EUR 4.6 mln claim held by Banca Transilvania against insolvent online retailer of furniture and home decoration goods Vivre Deco, Wall-street.ro reported. Altex has expanded its activity in recent years to new product categories, including furniture, DIY, automotive products, toys, beverages and sanitary products.

The European Commission (EC) has opened a detailed investigation to assess whether certain support measures taken by Romania in favour of Blue Air Aviation, specifically the guarantees for a EUR 34 mln rescue loan extended in August 2020 and its renewal, comply with EU state aid rules, G4media.ro reported. Specifically, such a detailed investigation assesses whether the troubled company is likely to become viable after the restructuring plan as notified to the Commission.

The debt recovery agency Air Claim, which specializes in helping customers of airlines recover their money, asked in court for the insolvency of low-cost carrier Blue Air – now 75% controlled by the Romanian government, Romanian-Insider.com reported. The pre-insolvency period for the company ended on February 22. The court did not yet approve the request filed by Air Claim, according to Economica.net.

Romanian aluminium car parts manufacturer Altur Slatina said that its board decided to waive insolvency proceedings initiated earlier this month, SeeNews.com reported. The company submitted the waiver to an Olt County court, which acknowledged the filing on Thursday, Altur said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Friday. On January 4, Altur announced its submission of the application for the launch of insolvency proceedings with the same court.

On a market that seems to thrive as the courier firms capitalise on the rise of online commerce particularly coming from second-tier cities, independent courier firm Nemo Express entered insolvency at its request on October 21, shortly after one of the shareholders - operating leasing company Capital Fleet Services - pulled out, Profit.ro reported, according to Romania-Insider.com. Capital Fleet is also the largest on a list of some 25 creditors.

Romania unexpectedly pressed ahead with a robust pace of monetary tightening, raising borrowing costs to the highest level in over a decade to combat persistent inflation, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank in Bucharest lifted its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 6.25% on Wednesday, following a similar decision at its last meeting in August. Only five out of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the move, while most analysts saw a step of 50 basis points; one predicted a 25 basis-point hike.