12/08/08
George Iacobescu, CEO Canary Wharf: Romania can become a regional centre for money management
George Iacobescu is one of Romania's leading executives and currently holds one of the world's most prestigious positions: CEO of Canary Wharf Group plc, London. George Iacobescu recently discussed Romania's future prospects, stating that in the following five years the number of English companies on the Romanian market will grow five times, as a result of foreign investors’ improved perception about Romania.
Romania's Potential as a Regional Financial Center
In a recent interview with Ziarul Financiar, Mr. Iacobescu stated “There is a huge amount of money in the world that needs to be managed. Therefore beside the two financial world centres, New York and London, there will be three more soon: Shanghai, Dubai and probably Singapore. In response to the business development in Central and Eastern Europe, a regional money management centre will be needed and Romania is in the best position for this”.
”All the Romanian representatives should talk, should introduce themselves to the investors and discuss the opportunities Romania can offer. I think that the perception about the country is not the reality and so it has taken time for the British investors to come to Romania."
"Romania has faced 'birth problems', but I am confident that, during the following five years, the number of English companies on the local Romanian market will grow five times.” Mr. Iacobescu said.
George Iacobescu
Mr. Iacobescu left Romania 33 years ago. After several experiences in Canada and United States, he came to London in 1987, where he started the development of Canary Wharf Business Centre.
Having a background in the industrial constructions field, Mr. Iacobescu administrates a business centre in which 100,000 people work every day for prestigious companies such as Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.
Canary Wharf
The Canary Wharf project has an area of 1.5 Million Sqm, out of which 800,000 Sqm (the equivalent of the total area of offices in Bucharest) are still the company’s property; the total value is estimated at 9.5 Billion Euros.
Canary Wharf is a company held by Ontario Teachers’ pension fund, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers investment banks and by the businessmen Simon Glick and Paul Reichmann and the Government of Qatar.
“The project was supported by Margaret Thatcher, following the total decay of the harbour on which land Canary Wharf Business Centre was developed. In 1987, when the project started, I was the Construction Manger” Mr. Iacobescu remembers.
“With Canary Wharf project we wanted to build a community and at the end of the day and during weekends, to be able to keep people here. The link were the shops, which have been integrated with the help of the under ad above ground transportation. We’ve built here 34 buildings and we have around 1 Mill sqm more to build” Mr. Iacobescu stated and he would like to share his experience in order to build a similar project in Bucharest, even though he does not have plans to return to Romania, yet.
The Rising Profile of Romanians in the City
Mr. Iacobescu now manages annual revenues from real estate of over 400 Mill. Euros, and he manages a team of 1,000 people, which includes many Romanians.
“The Construction manager is Romanian and the best professionals in the IT department are from Romania. In the top management team of the company there are around 25 Romanians and I hear Romanian every time I go on the site. I therefore am confident that English companies will come to Romania, but history cannot be made overnight”, Mr. Iacobescu said.
Mr. Gordon Brown and Mr. Tony Blair are among Mr. Iacobescu’s friends and he stated that the two are “supporters” of Romania, the accession in the EU being also a result of the support offered by the two prime ministers.
With regards the perception of Romania, Mr. Iacobescu gave the example of his discussion with the president of HSBC, the largest bank in Europe. The president initially had no plans to open an office in Romania but, after a discussion with a governmental official from Bucharest, the banker’s opinion about the local market in Romania changed, and they are now considering opening their first office in Bucharest.
Romanian Real Estate
George Iacobescu visits Romania twice a year and, while he is not entirely familiar with the local real estate market, he believes the local real estate will evolve in a manner independent from the problems of the other countries on the continent. "Residential markets from all around Europe face problems and the risk of a fall still exists. Nevertheless, Thomson Reuters classified the Romanian market as the most attractive place for investments in Europe”
“History goes in circles and my daughter, Julie, who came to Romania to visit her aunties, bought a place where she has started to set up a fashion shop. So, if she decided to open a business in Romania, this must say a lot!”
Source: Ziarul Financiar