FEATURE Bye to bling? The local luxury market, evaluated at EUR 190 million last year, is looking at a drop in value of 20 percent See page 20 BUSINESS REVIEW ROMANIA’S PREMIERE BUSINESS WEEKLY MARCH 16 - 22, 2009 / VOLUME 14, NUMBER 9 www.business-review.ro REAL ESTATE Andrei Panculescu has left the helm of Westhill Ro- mania after the firm delayed its local projects, and moved on to consultancy See page 15 LAURENTIU OBAE Eastern European countries have reacted similarly to the crisis, raising fears of sovereign defaults in the region, but the structure of economies and local market strengths differ See pages 12-13 Eastern European countries have reacted similarly to the crisis, raising fears of sovereign defaults in the region, but the structure of economies and local market strengths differ See pages 12-13 ANALYSIS Last year brought record profits for banks active locally, with Romania top of the list of their sub- sidiaries, but 2009 looks bleaker See page 14 EAST SIDE STORY EAST SIDE STORY EBRD PRESIDENT THOMAS MIROW IS VISITING ROMANIA THIS WEEK; SEE PAGE 5