Public sector IT infrastructure projects will be fewer this year, although most companies in the field are waiting for this type of projects and hope that projects frozen in 2008 are unblocked this year, according to the General Manager of Oracle Romania, Sorin Mindrutescu.
The IT market is not set to increase as much as in previous years, due to the international financial crisis. However, Mindrutescu, who runs the local branch of one of the top business software producers worldwide, told Business Standard that he believes that “budget cuts will be made on this segment because social pressure exists, on the pension area, for instance.” “The government announced plans to support public investment. This will also stimulate the furniture market. If these investments will have an impact on the real estate segment, this will be good for our industry, because they are directly connected,” Egger’s Radauti wood industry factory Sales Manager, Mihai Sandru, told Business Standard.
While initial talks with social partners involved over 170 anti-crisis measures, after over one and a half months of weekly meetings, the government whittled these down to a mere 23 measures, which have been approved by Emergency Ordinance, and which cost the state treasury some €13 billion. Divided into three categories, the plan for anti-crisis measures targets the re-launch and stimulation of economic growth, which will cost €10.5 billion, financing the economy and raising liquidity, worth €2.2 bln, and social protection, worth some €260 mln.
The budget promoted a wave of discontent not only among the representatives of the Opposition, whose amendments were mostly rejected, but also among representatives of the ruling parties.
