The Foreign investors Council (FIC) has published the results of the latest edition of the Business sentiment Index (BSI) held in March 2023.
In the past years, the business environment has faced various crises and has been in a constant state of adaptability and identification of solutions for the challenges related to COVID, inflation, the energy market crisis and the price of utilities, geopolitical context, supply chain issues, etc.
Although some of the results of these crises still impact the economy (high inflation being the main challenge the business environment is facing now, according to 58% of respondents), the spring 2023 edition of BSI captures a more optimistic perception of investors on the economic environment in Romania, FIC report says.
The long–term commitment of FIC members to Romania is illustrated by the appetite for new investments, 43% of companies have increased the capital for investments for the next period, and 40% will keep the investment level constant compared to the last 12 months.
This trend is also reflected when it comes to plans to expand the workforce (49%) and in terms of perception of business growth expectations (both on the domestic and export markets), 62% of respondents forecast a positive development for next year. At the same time, 70% of respondents expect revenue growth over the next 12 months, according to the FIC press release.
“Romania continues to score poorly on infrastructure (64%), bureaucracy (81%) and transparency and consistency in policy implementation (72%), remaining in this regard uncompetitive in the perspective of investors. The legislative framework is considered by the majority of respondents to be less predictable (53%).
However, the attractiveness of the Romanian market increased in the perception of investors, registering a score almost double that of the previous edition (46.8% compared to 29.9% in September 2023).
Investors highlight once again as key elements for Romania’s economic development the requirement of a stable and predictable legislative framework, medium–long–term strategies with reasonable implementation deadlines, impact studies and analyzes and consultation with the private sector.
The investment environment is part of the main pillars for economic growth, and our country has the potential to become the tenth economy of the European Union (EU) if it implements an adequate long–term economic growth model. FIC has proposed such a model under the umbrella of the project “Va Urma” and is ready to continue working with the authorities to identify together the best measures for Romania’s sustainable
development,” the report further says.
The full results of the FIC Business sentiment Index, this year’s spring edition, can be found here.