Financial consultants, market experts and officials participated on Wednesday in the "Global Crisis: where does Romania fit?" conference. HotNews.ro notes in brief the most important questions and problems discussed during the meeting.
Lucian Croitoru, counselor of the Central Bank Governor, Mugur Isarescu:
- "If I were the Finance Minister, I would start by a public expenditure review. The budget deficit must be significantly reduced, and this may be done through a combination of increasing the capital spending to create jobs and then by seeing which taxes can be raised and by how much.
- The first scenario: reducing the current account deficit by 2.5% and the budgetary deficit from 3.5 to 2%. In this scenario, the Romanian currency, leu, will depreciate and the economic growth will be reduced to 3%, the risk is to lose credibility. In this case, agreements with the international financial institutions are required;
- The second scenario: reducing the current account deficit by 4%. In this case, the budgetary deficit is cut down to 1%, representing a better program credibility and a higher economic growth rate;
- The measures in the existing governmental anti-crisis plan will increase the budget deficit by 2.5%, while the budget for 2009 considers a 6% economic growth;
- The conclusion is that the significant reducing of the current account deficit by 4% is absolutely necessary, in order to sweeten the way foreign investors will approach Romania's financing.
Speranta Munteanu, senior director with PriceWaterhouse Coopers: messages for companies
- We don't know yet how much the value of properties decreased. Luckily, Romania's constructions market isn't saturated yet;
- A realistic approach indicates that we're in the middle of a financial crisis, a crisis that will translat
