Romania attracted foreign direct investment totaling EUR 2.4 billion in 2014, and the total balance of investments reached nearly EUR 60.2 billion at the end of last year, according to Romania’s Central Bank.

The new equity capital investments amounted to EUR 2.8 billion, but the volume of net loans accessed from foreign investors decreased by EUR 425 million, last year, so that the net amount of foreign investments reached EUR 2.4 billion.

Almost a third (32%) of the total EUR 60 billion foreign direct investments in Romania were carried out in the manufacturing industry, followed by the financial intermediation and insurance sectors, with 13%, and the retail sector, with 11.7%. The construction and real estate transaction sectors also attracted significant investments, amounting to 9.8% of the total investments.

The hotels and restaurants sector attracted only 0.9% of the investments, whereas the transport sector received 1.7% of the total investments.

Foreign investors made almost 60% of their investments in the capital Bucharest and the surrounding area. However, the statistic takes into consideration where the companies’ headquarters are located and not where their operations are, and most big companies are headquartered in Bucharest.

The Netherlands, Austria, and Germany have been the top three countries in terms of foreign investment sources to Romania.

editor@romania-insider.com