They are setting up businesses, selling them and starting others, which can also be sold. Entrepreneurs, regarded as the growth engine in Western economies, are gradually emerging as a category that is worth taking into account in Romania as well.
The latest example is Mioara Sipos, the founder and main shareholder in drugmaker PharmaTech Targu-Mures, which she sold in 2000, together with the other partners, to Slovenian drug group Lek. The transaction revolved around 10 million dollars.
With part of the money she got from the sale of her stake in PharmaTech, Mioara Sipos acquired an old building in the downtown area of Targu-Mures in which she invested 4.8 million euros (almost 6 million dollars), to turn it into a four-star hotel. The hotel became operational several days ago.
"I have decided to invest in the hotel industry for several reasons. First, the opportunity provided by the fact that there was no four-star hotel in Targu-Mures. Moreover, I wanted to invest in a safer field, which could at least support the value of the investment, if not increase it," Mioara Sipos told Ziarul Financiar.
The hotel, called Concordia, has 35 rooms, of which four suites and two one-room flats, an underground garage, five conference rooms, a bistro, a bar, sauna, jacuzzi, a cosmetics centre and its own computer network.
Promotional tariffs stand at 67 euros per night for a single room, 78 euros for a double room and 133 euros for a suite.
Is there a market for such prices in Targu-Mures?
"There are several companies that have developed substantial businesses here, there are bank branches, carmaker offices that are thriving, as I've noticed. I have come to the conclusion that there is business tourism for this hotel category and besides, we also aim to attract normal tourists passing through the city," says Sipos.
Targu Mures hosts another three large hotels, namely Continental, Transilvania and Grand, the last one being closed. Also, there are several smaller accommodation units, boarding houses and hotels with up to 20 rooms.
According to a survey by Peacock Global Hotel Management company, cities in the central and western regions of Romania will post significant growth in their accommodation capacities this year as well, since the economic development of these regions is attracting investments in this sector, too.
Beside Mioara Sipos, there are more businesspeople on the Romanian market who have sold their initial businesses to start new ones. Among them, Mihai Miron, who sold drugmaker Europharm Brasov to British group GlaxoSmithKline and then started a powder milk business and a bio farm.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro
