Some Romanian entrepreneurs are breathing a sigh of relief that the crisis is over. Others are looking at the list of creditors, worrying about how they are going to pay their debts.
Businessman Nicolae Palfi, who holds 31% of the beverages group Romaqua, says last year many of the big players in the economy barely squeezed through last year, terming it a "very difficult" time.
Palfi, 53, who together with Octavian Cre]u, controls one of the strongest Romanian brands in the fast moving consumer goods industry, has looked back at 2010. In one of his first interviews to the press, he says for the first time in his life, in 2010 he was in a position of "no longer understanding anything".
"There was no room for predictability any more, there was nothing to rely on any more. You had to make your moves on a day-by-day basis," added Palfi, who is also vice-president of Romaqua.
However, one can say Romaqua came out of 2010 nicely, considering that while the company's volume of sales fell 4%, its turnover rose 17%. In 2009, Romaqua posted 125.8 million euros in turnover.
On the other hand, Romanian businesses such as Diverta (controlled by Octavian Radu), Astra Vagoane (Cristian Burci), Leonardo (Florin Panea) and Flanco (Flamingo, a business taken over by Asesoft's Sebastian Ghi]` and Iulian Stanciu) were less lucky and got caught in the financial whirlwind.
Businesses controlled by local entrepreneurs in particular were significantly affected by the liquidity crisis, as well as by the tougher lending terms. Lacking the safety net of a parent company, businesses with tens of millions of euros in turnover filed for insolvency and for protection against creditors.
Some Romanian entrepreneurs are breathing a sigh of relief that the crisis is over. Others are looking at the list of creditors, worrying about how they are going to pa
