Following the success of business delegation in November on medical issues, Egyptian businessmen are looking for new investment opportunities in Romania, this time on building materials industry. Several personalized B2B meetings were held on Wednesday, March 25, during a workshop where representatives of Romania’s and Egypt’s business community, government officials, major engineering contractors, as well as consultancy firms were attended.
This special promotional mission targeting Romania and its adjacent markets, which takes place between March 25-27, was organized by The Exports Council of Building Materials (ECBM) in collaboration with The Egyptian Commercial Office, Embassy of Egypt in Bucharest.
The Egyptian delegation included representatives of major and highly specialized firms in product segments such as Marble & Granite, Ceramic & Porcelain, Sanitary Ware, Waterproofing, Scaffolding & Formwork, Metal Industries, Mining for raw materials, Plastic & polycarbonate sheets, Mineral Processing and Steel Industries.
There were 11 participating companies, namely: ACROW MISR for metallic scaffolding & formwork, Egyptian Italian Co. Ceramica Verdi, Kandil Manufacturing, Karras for ceramics and porcelain Egyptian joint stock company, Kiro Marble, KR-ONYX, La Pace International trade Co. ltd, Modern Waterproofing Group, Polyeeplast for plastic & polycarbonate sheets, Shakespeare Foundry S.A.E., Stone group Egypt.
Romania is a market with enormous potential for Egyptian businessmen, especially given the importance of the country in this part of Europe, HE Ambassador of Egypt to Romania, Alaa El Hadidi told ‘The Romania Journal’, adding that Romania could be seen also as a hub for Danube area.
In his turn, Radu Zaharia, Director General for Trade and International Relations of the Ministry of Economy, attending the event, said: “Romania was one of the most dynamic economies in the European Union in 2014. Romania has recorded a GDP growth of 2.6 percent last year, one of the highest increases in Europe, and this year we expect a further increase economic, of about 2.5 percent. Romania can be an important destination for Egyptian investments, because the country is not only a gateway to Europe, but also to countries of the former Soviet Union and even of the Middle East. Romania can provide more business opportunities for Egyptian companies in the construction and metallurgy industries.”
As regards the domestic building and construction materials, Laurentiu Plosceanu, president of the Romanian Association of Construction Entrepreneurs (ARACO) drew attention to certain issues as: delayed payments or large number of insolvencies, public acquisitions law or new Fiscal Code, certification of both products and companies. He also added that local guidance is highly recommended. ARACO official reminded that the construction market has decreased by 4 percent last year to EUR 8.9 billion, representing the lowest level recorded by the industry from the start of the crisis.
Egyptian investors should consider that on the building materials market, the local companies do not produce at full capacity, but only a half, so local production potential is much higher than the current one.
According to Abd El Rahman Abd El Raouf, the Economic and Commercial Office, Egyptian Embassy in Bucharest, the value of Egypt’s exports of building materials to Romania reach USD 15 million last year, down from USD 17 million in 2013 and USD 19 million in 2012, General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) Egypt data show. However, amid this trend of slight decline, the Egyptians left behind socio-political conflicts few years ago and focus on identifying the possibilities of strengthening the trade relations through exporting.
The same GOEIC data reveal the value of total Egypt’s exports to Romania reached USD 114 million in 2014, up by USD 24 million compared to 2013.