In 2022, the net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Romania recorded a record value of more than 10 billion euros, an increase of 12.3% compared to 2021, according to the BNR in the Foreign Investment Report.
Austria is the second largest investor in Romania after Germany. The Germans control over €16 billion in investments (about 15% of the total) and the Austrians have over 10% of total foreign investment (over €11 billion).
It is followed by France (9.7%), Italy (7.8%), the United States of America (6.7%) and the Netherlands (5.3%), in each of these countries the balance of FDI exceeds 5,000 million euros.
The increase in foreign investment in Romania was facilitated by the easing of restrictions introduced in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a detailed analysis of the net flow of FDI by economic sector indicates the commitment of foreign investors to the industries, trade and financial intermediation and insurance.
The FDI balance reached an all-time high of EUR 107,944 million at the end of 2022 thanks to the intensification of FDI transactions. Of this value, 65.8% are investments in FDI enterprises from scratch (enterprises from scratch are enterprises created by foreign investors or jointly with them – investments started from scratch).
In terms of internal geographical distribution, the BUCHAREST – ILFOV region attracted 62.7% of the FDI balance. In relation to partner countries, Germany represented the main final investor, holding 14.9% of the FDI balance, while the first place in the ranking of direct investors was taken by the Netherlands with 21.9% of the total.
In 2022, the gross external debt of companies with direct foreign investment was 47.3% of Romania’s total external debt.
Half of the profit was reinvested in Romania, according to BNR data. The turnover of FDI enterprises increased by 30.2% compared to 2021, despite the increase in the average registered number of employees by only 2.6%.
International trade of FDI enterprises continued the positive trend of the previous year. Compared to 2021, the export of goods increased by 19.3%, reaching 60.864 million euros, and the import of goods – by 27.5%, to the value of 76.611 million euros. In the services sector, exports increased by 21.6% to EUR 21,076 million, while imports increased by 14.6% to EUR 11,209 million.
In 2022, a clean flow direct investment abroad (DIS) of Romania amounted to 1,232 million euros, which is about five times more than in 2021, while the IDS balance sheet reached 4,424 million euros at the end of 2022 (+58.4% compared to the previous year). The main destination countries for this category of investments were the Netherlands, Cyprus and the Republic of Moldova.
Although the hierarchy of the main partner countries remained unchanged compared to 2021, it is noticeable reduction in the contributions of Italy and the United States of America to the general indicator by 0.1 percentage points, respectively by 1.1 percentage points. and an increase in the contributions of the Netherlands and France by 1.5 pp.
0.1 percent
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Source: Hot News
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.