Romania: FID reaches 1.5 billion euros in H1

12:45 - 01 September 2005 - The total value of foreign direct investment into the Romanian economy closed in on the 1.5-billion-euro figure, growing 15 percent as compared with the same period last year, a release of the Central Bank (BNR) informs.


According to BNR in the first six months of 2004 foreign direct investments amounted to 1.29 billion euros. Taking into account June alone, the value of FDI rose by almost 30 percent, totalling 531 million euros. BNR data reveal that the ending balance for the analysed period is a positive figure of 536 million euros. For the same period in 2004 portfolio investments showed a negative ending balance of 117 million euros. Subscribed capital in the first half of this year grew 35 percent, to 890 million euros.

According to data provided by the National Office of the Trade Registry (ONRC) the value of social capital foreign companies had, was of 658.3 million euros. The ONRC calculates FDI considering the subscribed social capital at foreign companies and joint ventures. In June this year the value of subscribed capital was of 194.3 million euros, 7.6 times greater than last year when a value of 25.4 million euros was registered.

The top five of investors sees the Netherlands in pole position, followed by Austria, France and Germany. US ranks only fifth while Italy comes in sixth though in June alone 235 of the 1,035 newly set-up firms were Italian. The Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment (ARIS) announced that this year's target is a FDI level of 3.2 - 3.8 billion euros. How high the FDI level will go depends however on the pace of privatisation in the second half of the year and on the activity of the Authority for state Assets Valuation. In 2004 FDI amounted to 4.1 billion euros.

Source: ACT Media News Agency

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