FDI in Romania, 8 percent growth in January 2014

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Romania have seen an 8 percent increase in the first month in 2014 compared to January 2013, amounting to 244 million year, according to o report released by Romania’s Central Bank.

Of the 244 million euro, equity stakes consolidated with the estimated net loss totaled about 119 million and intra-group loans came to some 125 million euro.

In January 2014, the balance-of-payment current account posted a surplus of 388 million euro, 45 percent higher than in the same month of the past year, due to the decrease in trade deficit (by 58 million euro), as well as the increase in service surplus (by 54 million euro) and current transfers surplus (by 14 million euro).

Last year FDI hit the maximum of the past four years – 2.71 billion euro - after a growth of almost 27 percent, confirming the positive evolution mostly seen in the second half of the year when exports actually boomed. 

The high-record level in terms of foreign direct investments was reached in 2008 - almost 9.5 billion euro. Since then, the economic crisis has strongly affected these investments volume which have decreased year-on-year.

The other year, 2012, was the first signal of emerging from the turmoil the investment sector has been passing through for the past years, the FDI turning on an upward trend, after a significant growth over 2011 – the FDI reached nearly 2.14 billion euro in 2012, whereas with a year ago, it totaled only 1.8 billion euro.