Foreign direct investment (FDI) created 7,114 new jobs in Romania in 2012, up 18.9 percent on the previous year, according to a news Ernst&Young study. It was 10th the highest number of jobs created by FDI among European countries and the fourth highest number in the CEE region. The UK led the way for FDI job creation in Europe, with more than 30,000 new jobs resulting from FDI. Regionally, Poland saw the most jobs created, over 13,000.

Romania is perceived as the fourth most attractive market in the CEE region for foreign direct investment (FDI), according to Ernst&Young's attractiveness study. Of the investors questioned, 6 percent picked Romania as the most attractive spot for FDI. Poland came out top, with 37 percent of investors naming it as their first choice, next came the Czech Republic (15 percent) and Hungary (8 percent). Ukraine, Turkey and Serbia all ranked below Romania.

The study also looked at where real FDI projects had been initiated and the figures showed a large mismatch with the perceived attractiveness. Despite 37 percent considering Poland the most attractive, only 22 percent of the FDI projects were started there. The Czech Republic and Hungary also had less real FDI than the level of perceived attractiveness, although in Hungary's case, the difference was slight. Romania on the other hand attracted 8 percent of FDI inflows, suggesting a fairly even balance, but with the reality slightly better than the perception. Turkey and Serbia, with only 2 and 1 percent of investors respectively picking them as a best spot for FDI, attracted 13 percent and 11 percent of real projects.

Although the balance between perception and reality is fairly even in Romania, the Ernst & Young study suggests that Turkey and Serbia have serious image problems and should do more to sell themselves to potential foreign investors.

The Ernst & Young study questioned 226 investors in the region.

editor@romania-insider.com