Bucharest, the most profitable location for investments

Bucharest is expected to have the highest economic growth rate in Europe in the next five years, according to the real estate service company Jones Lang LaSalle, which calculates a European Regional Growth Index (E-REGI) every year. Economic growth is one of the criteria considered by the E-REGI index, which is also based on the wealth index (GDP/capita), and risk quotient, set in line with the business environment. Bucharest, which was included in the survey for the first time, ranks 58 this year, while Sofia ranks 80th. London took the top spot, while Genoa ranks bottom (91st). Bucharest’s average economic growth is expected to be higher than that of the 91 European cities in the survey. Indeed, economic growth is put at 5% a year according to the National Forecasting Commission. However, due to the rather low quotients for the wealth and business environment indices, Bucharest is positioned in the lower half of the ranking. According to the National Forecasting Commission, Bucharest produces twice as much in terms of contribution to GDP than the country average. Whereas the GDP/capita in Bucharest stands at 9,000 euros in 2006, inhabitants in the rest of the country will produce only 4,500 euros on average. The share will remain the same in 2008, with the GDP/capita to reach 11,500 euros in Bucharest, and 5,650 euros for the rest of the country, according to the same sources.