ZIARUL FINANCIAR is publishing today, for the first time, the top 500 companies that conducted business with the state, ranked by the sums awarded based on contracts won from various Romanian institutions last year.

The top five companies are Spedition UMB from Bacau, owned by the Umbrarescu family, Romstrade Giurgiu, controlled by Nelu Iordache (Blue Air), Confort Timisoara, controlled by the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Timisoara, Georgica Cornu, PA&CO Bacau, held by Costel Casuneanu and Tel Drum Teleorman, controlled by Mugurel Sorin Gheorghiet and Liviu Lucian Dobrescu. The top five players received 1.34 billion RON (401. 52 million euros) in the last 14 months, based on public procurement contracts.

The ranking, which covers the January 1, 2007 - February 28, 2008 period, was possible to put together because every institution is obliged to send the names of the companies they sign contracts with to the Agency for Information Society Services (ASSI), a rule that was introduced at the beginning of last year. The agency reports to the Ministry of Communications, which maintains the e-licitatie.ro website. However, it is believed that not all of the contracts have been reported to the ASSI, because not every institution has complied with the decision yet. The top 500 companies signed contracts worth around 1.4 billion euros in 2007 and in the first two months of 2008, however public procurement by central and local administrations amounted to some 18 billion euros, that is 15% of GDP or about half of the budget spending, which amounted to 41 billion euros last year.

Contracts that involved the state carried through e-licitatie.ro amounted to merely 35 million euros last year because most tenders and award procedures are not conducted electronically. Last week, however, the Government issued a decision that stipulates that 20% of any p