TMA Europe's Annual East European Conference convened at the National Bank of Romania in February which, we are delighted to report, was sold out with over 150 guests registered.
Turnaround is most certainly a hot topic in the region with the sentiment being it is still a relatively unknown concept in the broadest sense.
The conference was opened by Mr Valentin Lazea, Chief Economist with the National Bank of Romania providing context and key data points for economic climate in the region. There followed three panels, each focusing on issues relevant to the region. The CEO Panel spoke from the heart and openly shared their experiences and learnings from having restructured large and complex companies. The Regional Trends and Opportunities session and the Economic Outlook panel brought together expertise representing various jurisdictions for a deeper dive into key factors in play.
The overarching themes debated during the event were that Eastern Europe is a clear direction of travel with the level of NPL and distressed opportunities. There are great stories to be told about both businesses and people that Eastern Europe can be proud of, some of which were borne out by our CEO panel.
However, the medium to long term outlook is bleak, especially to macro economical disequilibrium, provoked by shaky populist decisions on tax and legislative changes. So, there is work to be done and TMA Europe remain committed to spreading the word and working with businesses and organisations to increase both visibility and opportunity.
There were not one, but two networking receptions to conclude the conference. The first hosted by the National Bank of Romania and the other by TMA Romania. Conversation flowed and both new and valuable connections were made.
Many of our local guests were new to TMA and feedback on the ground was wholeheartedly positive, with many recognising both the strength of opportunity in Eastern Europe as well as TMA being the vehicle to make things happen.
Catalin Nichifor
President TMA Romania
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