Romania To Set Up Investment Fund For Profitable SMEs With Cash Problems

04.26.2011 By Bostan Radu

Romania's Government will create an investment fund, fed by the National SME Loan Guarantee Fund, the Romanian Counterguarantee Fund and Eximbank, to finance profitable SMEs with temporary cash-flow problems, and will also work out a system to finance small unlisted companies.

These steps are included in the Government's National Reform Program for 2011-2013, obtained by MEDIAFAX.

The fund's purpose is to help start-up businesses and profitable SMEs with temporary cash problems. It will also be open to other interested banks or financial institutions.

The Government is also considering drawing "angel capital" to small businesses. The document says a "business angel" network organized into an association can be an alternative to the stock exchange, leading capital from individual investors to small unlisted companies.

Romania will also revise its tax system, with a view to reducing "administrative burden" by 25% until 2012. The Government says that, despite a reform in 2009, Romania still charges a significant number of such taxes, most of which are "embarrassing," mainly because of the additional time spent by companies to pay them.

The program also mentions vouchers for small innovation projects, which small and medium enterprises can use to purchase research/development/innovative consultancy services freely on the market. The Government believes this will allow small companies to access financing for short-notice research/consultancy activities, which usually entail applying for national or European funds with a complex project.

A body called the National Competitiveness Council will be set up to coordinate the government's economic development policies, whose decisions will be implemented by a minister-delegate. The Government argues that, at the moment, executive interventions are disparate, lacking sight of the bigger picture.