Ciuca: Confidence shown by German investors in our business environment can encourage other foreign investors

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Thursday that the confidence shown by German investors in the Romanian business environment could encourage other foreign investors, a statement made during a working visit to the "Star Assembly" Production Unit in Sebes (Alba County), an important component of the production network for the drivetrains of vehicles produced by the German concern Mercedes-Benz and an investment objective with many benefits locally and nationally, shows a Government press release.

"It is an encouraging signal for the Romanian economy and for the Sebes community that this production unit in Romania is taken into account by the German investor in its retooling program for the transition to the production of components for electric vehicles. Through this increase in the production performance level and adaptation to the objectives of sustainable development, we are sure that the people in the area will continue to have jobs. The development of production investment in Sebes will continue to have a multiplier effect socially, through newly created jobs, and it will bring added value to the local and national economy at the same time, through the high standards of the specific production," Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said.

In context, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of German investments in Romania.

"The head of the Executive expressed appreciation that the confidence shown by German investors in the Romanian business environment can encourage other foreign investors, to whom he conveyed that the measures agreed by the government program and those included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan take into account both the investment component, as well as the reform component to ensure the transparent, correct and efficient functioning of the institutional mechanisms in relation to the citizens and the business environment," the release further mentions.

The Prime Minister also thanked the representatives of Mercedes-Benz investors from Sebes for the company's involvement in various social responsibility projects, including training and retraining opportunities, the dual education system, scholarships and qualification programs they make available for the training of staff locally.

According to the release, the company's representatives mentioned that they intend to develop projects for the transition to the production of components for electric vehicles, through major investments in the next period.

"They also appreciated the support amounting to 35 million euros received in the form of state aid, funds used by the company benefited for the purchase of equipment. As a result of the investments of over 320 million euros made, the social contributions paid were of over 64 million euros," the cited source states.

Production in the Sebes unit began with the assembly of eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearboxes and nine-speed transmissions for Mercedes-Benz, and starting with 2020 the hybrid vehicle variant is also being assembled, an important step towards the production of environmentally friendly, carbon-free vehicles.

The assembly and production unit SC Star Assembly SRL from Sebes is, together with the unit SC Star Transmission from Cugir, an important component of the production network for the drivetrains of vehicles produced by the German concern Mercedes-Benz.

The Romanian Prime Minister is accompanied in his visit to Alba County by the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Mircea Abrudean.