The number of companies that went bankrupt in 2005 grew up 61%, the equivalent of 3171, compared to 2004 when 1,969 companies declared their bankruptcy Commerce and agriculture are the most risk prone fields to develop businesses in, a Coface Romania study reveals.

45 percent of the 2005 bankruptcy was declared for commerce companies. A cause for this phenomenon lies with the concentration of revenues towards hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash & carry and malls.

Agriculture bankruptcy decreased 3 percent compared to 2004, but still 587 companies went broke. However, this remains a risk prone domain as Romanian agriculture lacks resources, equipment, and so do the companies activating in the field.

The sectors with a low degree of bankruptcy risk are services, IT, sanitation the post, telecommunications and energy that have consolidated their position on the market.

The total number of insolvent companies in different stages of bankruptcy amounts to 6,770 in Romania, out of which most in Bucharest. The number of companies that underwent organizational changes dropped 85 percent, from 1,011 companies to 156.

"On a very competitive market the bankruptcy represents a barometer of the economic system sanity. The 60 percent increase of the bankrupt companies is due to the new simplified legislation that allows companies to declare bankruptcy" says Cristian Ionescu, Coface Romania manager.