Foreign companies, responsible for 70 pc of domestic exports. “We continue to reinvest profits in Romania”

Foreign companies doing business in Romania currently account for 70 percent of exports and 60 percent of imports, according to ‘FDI: their evolution and importance for Romania’ study launched on Thursday by Foreign Investors Council (FIC) and Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE).

According to the document, foreign firms employ a third of the work force in Romania’s private sector, but they have a productivity twice as high as the local capital companies. Moreover, 60 percent of foreign investments are in the Bucharest-Ilfov region.

The main conclusion of the study is that FDIs played a decisive role in the past 20 years and have helped the Romanian economy in its transition to functioning free markets. Considering the large investment needs of Romania, it is likely that foreign investors will continue to play a significant role in the future. Foreign companies have contributed significantly to modernizing the Romanian economy and integrating it in international production chains as a results of capital infusions and transfers of know-how and technology.

Despite these positive figures, the share of foreign direct investment remains low in Romania, the country having the lowest stock of FDI per capita in the region as well,” acccording to Eric Stab, FIC President.

“However, we will continue to reinvest the profits in Romania. For an investor, it is essential to feel welcome, you invest where you feel welcome, and if you feel stigmatized, you tend to react backwards. Beyond the emotions and populism in certain statements, what matters at the end of the day is the reality,” FIC official replied.

“The FDI stock in Romania is around EUR 3,100 per capita, while in the Czech Republic it is over EUR 9,000 and in Bulgaria it exceeds EUR 5,000, so when we say that the Romanian economy is dominated by foreign investors, it is not true,” Stab pointed out.

The main investments in Romania are coming from the Netherlands (25 percent of the total FDI stock), Austria (14 percent), Germany (12 percent), followed by Cyprus (7 percent), France (7 percent) and Italy (5 percent), all the others countries holding percentages below 5 percent, showing that the first six countries hold 70 percent of the total FDI stock.