1bn euros in foreign investments

This year, foreign investments have been off to a spectacular start, according to provisional data from the National Bank, which pointed to a level of one billion euros, almost double that of the similar period of last year – which was a record high for foreign investment. Foreign investments covered 98% of the current account deficit in the first two months of the year. The first month of the year saw the biggest investments, which stood at 699 million euros, 199% higher than in the similar period of the previous year. Loans granted by parent companies to affiliate structures, which account for 43% of the total volume of direct foreign investments, represent the bulk of foreign investments seen over the first two months. According to the Agency for Foreign Investments, foreign companies continued to lend money to their Romanian subsidiaries in February as well, but the sums involved were much lower than those seen in the first month of the year. Loans contracted in February stood at 46 million euros, a sum, which increases the total value for the first two months of the year to 430 million euros. ZF