So far, so good
The centre-right coalition government elected in November 1996 has introduced new laws which have encouraged foreign investors. Under the new prime minister, Victor Ciorbea, most price controls were lifted in the first six months of the year while the foreign exchange market has been liberalized. The National Bank of Romania also intends to make the Romanian leu convertible under article VIII of the IMF statute by the end of this year.
The changes are long overdue, as Romania has stagnated for most of the past eight years. Many of the economic vestiges of the communist state were left intact under the left-wing governments that ruled after the fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. "It was a semi-socialist economy until 1996. Few prices were freely determined and the economy was still essentially controlled by the state," says Kadri Samsunlu, assistant general manager at brokerage Global Valori Mobiliare.
In the first half of the 1990s, Romania also earned a poor reputation for its commitment to democracy and the protection of minority rights. The overthrow of Ceausescu is now regarded as more of a palace coup than a true handover of power.