Activity Report 2000 (synthesis)
Transilvania Business Center (CAT), a regional non-profit, apolitical and decentralized association, organized for the promotion of the member companies and achieving the local development programs, continued to fulfill its objectives and functions in accordance with the By Law and Working Rules. The Activity Program approved by the General Assembly for 2000 was realized.
The number of associated companies has grown in the CAT-e-CAT YEAR with 18%, from 1090 to 1234, as a result of introducing ICT- Information and Communication Technologies to the member firms. A number of 330 companies are connected to the Internet and have activity presentation sites. They were promoted on the First Transilvanian Electronic Market http://v-market.ro. The preliminary conditions of introducing the electronic commerce have been accomplished. The main site for the virtual activities, E-CAT has now more than 350 interactive pages, tools and on-line date base, other facilities for a quick information. This advanced mechanism is not only for CAT members but also for our customers, suppliers, investors or partners. The visitors� number for http://e-cat.ro had exceed 17.114 and for http://e-bursa.ro over 4.200 users. The frequency was 408 potential partners/day or 1.7 users/hour.
The Electronic Commodity Exchange was connected to the most important global informational sources. It was endowed with 14 virtual rings specialized on the principle products promoted by the Transilvanian Guilds and companies. They are working on-line, based on a regulation made by Bursa Transilvana-Transilvania Commodities Exchange and Transilvania Business Center-CAT. The electronic magazine created for telework/e-work is called piat@zi and it can be found at the address: http://e-cat.ro/e-bursa.ro.
On the Easter Day, our present for our community and whole world was the CAT-OU (CAT-Egg for Easter) named: the first CyberCity www.clujnapoca.ro with ‘mirror’www.Kolozsvar.ro. This “virtual citadel” was endowed with the most important information concerning the history and the present of our bimilenary city. The site has 25 pages containing links and information about arts, culture, education, sport, tourism, public utilities, institutions, business, map, etc. and the first “Virtual Mayor” in the world.
Our main objectives for the year 2000 concerning the decentralization and the virtualization of the activities as well as the direct relations concepts “one-to-one”, “link-to-link” and “business-to-business”, were accomplished. At the beginning of the third millenium CAT is considered one of the most successful virtual m-business mechanism, an important promoter of the new economy in a global world.
The CATraining & Consulting Department had accomplished 20 missions of granted assistance from NMCP- Netherlands and 5 experts from SES-Germany, in the benefit of CAT members. 40 representatives of CAT companies had participated to training programme granted by EU Consult-DDF in Denmark, and one of our specialists had participated at business links courses in USA financed by Freedom House. There were made and presented 3 local development projects to be co-financed by European Commission. All the projects were taken into consideration for grant support in 2001. There were given over 2.800 hours of constancy to the associated firms but also to the potential Romanian or foreign partners. There were organized seminars for business links in the frame of BREuropa Project, co-financed by the Phare-Europa Programme. More then 60 companies realized direct conections and partners in EU. There were concluded more than 500 business links between our companies and those from the UE or all over the world.
The Relations Department intensified the efforts to identify new markets, business opportunities and exhibitions, both for CAT members and foreign partners. There were organized 15 trade missions aboard where 20 companies and 80 businessmen participated. From those: 12 were individuals and 3 groups to USA (50%), Germany (19%), France (18%), Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, China, Czech Republic. The main domains asked by CAT members for the participation to the international fairs were: computers, sports articles, automobiles and accessories, manufacture products, cosmetics, furniture, food products and gastronomy, investment and cooperation in production, tourism new destinations.
The Development Department continued to sustain the vocational training programs for the young Transilvanians, in which participated 90 pupils and 12 students, within LBC and CAST programs. CAT members encouraged the activity of the students and jobs were given to some of them. CAT employed 4 students for a part-time job and 3 pupils were selected for internship. The students achieved practical activities at 8 International Exhibitions organized in Cluj-Napoca and they entered in direct contacted with more than 900 companies. The business links initiated by the students were appreciated by the local and foreign companies.
The Department registered in the BRE-Date Base of the European Commission, 107 cooperation proposals presented by our companies. In the same time there were informed directly 465 EU BRE-representants as concerning the partnership projects of CAT members. There were organized virtual contacts on Internet, but also direct visits and contacts between CAT members and foreign companies from: Italy, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Israel, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, China, etc. E-BURSA had been linked with other similar sites from our country and abroad, opening a free direct access for CAT companies to the Single Market and Global Market, using B2B, B2C and C2C tools.
CAT sustained in a traditional way the cultural-artistic events in the benefit of the community and for the Romanian Opera House, National Theatre,Transilvanian Philharmonic, Military Circle, Art Academy, Babes-Bolyai University, Economic Highschool, Gheorghe Sincai Highschool, Students Organization, other institutions.
The collaboration with the local authorities, Romanian Government, Presidency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs-the European Integration Department, Foreign Trade Department, Romanian Embassies from abroad and the Embassies from other countries in Bucharest, continued. CAT representatives participated to the multilateral reunions organized by the World Bank, European Commission- IST 2000 and EIC/ BRE- Partnership, BERD, and others in Denmark, Netherlands, France and USA.
Monthly there were sent business information, leaflets, publications and offers/request to CAT members not only throughout the classic PLICURIADA-direct mail but also by e-mail. The monthly news letters can be read on http://e-cat.ro/tbreview.html.
The Administration Department finalized the Financial Report and the Balance Sheet 2000. The documents were submitted to the Directors’ Committee and Auditing Commission; the main indicators are (in ROLEI):
A. Incomes from: – economic activities������������.��3.228.000
- own activities/monthly subscriptions…�����1.026.694.000
- grants from abroad (UE, NMCP, SES)�����1.047.477.000
- donations����.�����.��������…55.196.000
- ther incomes:����.. ��..���������..40.143.000
TOTAL:�������2.172.738.000 lei
B. Expenses with:
- economic activities���.����������.�…3.643.000
- own activities����..����������.�1.820.358.000
TOTAL�������..1.824.001.000 lei
The assets value had grown from last year with 61% as a result of the equipment purchases and co-financed by the European Commission within Phare-Europe Programmme. There were registered donations made by some of the CAT members for the LBC-Lyceum Business Center program. The positive difference between Incomes and Expenses will be reallocated in 2001 for supporting the programs destinated to the students, who unfortunately didn’t registered any donations for 2001 to support their activities.
We would like to express thanks to all our members, to the whole stuff and the young collaborators, guilds� leaders, CAT resident directors in Transilvanian cities, and to our sponsors. The support and the effort given to maintain our organization among the most performant business centers, led CAT to be recognized not only in Romania but in Europe and internationally. Also, we want to send a special thank you to the European Commission and its Delegation in Romania who was co-financing one of our most successful projects dedicated to Business Links – BREuropa and integration into the EU structures.
The Annual Report 2000 is presented for approval to the General Assembly on the 31 May 2001.
President
Mat. Mircea Fodoca Ec. Iulia Movileanu
General Director Accountant
Cluj-Napoca, May 5, 2000