Bucharest climbed up from the 37th to the 20th position in the region ranking based on the number of investment projects attracted in 2002, registering one of the fastest growth rates along with Istanbul, Sankt Petersburg and Bremen, according to the “European Investment Monitor” report by Ernst & Young consulting firm.
The most important investment area was again Greater London with 125 projects, followed by Paris/Ile-de-France with 64 and Catalonia with 61. The cities to lose their top 20 ranking include Brussels, Tallinn, Milan, Glasgow and Turin.
The authors of the report identified a number of 18 projects for Bucharest in 2002 compared with 12 in 2001. Budapest saw 27 new investments, while Istanbul 20. The most attractive investment sectors in Romania last year were pharmaceuticals, chemicals and automotive components. All this considering the neighbouring countries attracted major investments in sectors like automotive assembly and engine, telecoms or financial services.
The Romanian statistics, however, show the largest investments were made in telecoms, which rank 1st with $252.6 million. Energy industry follows next with some $193 million invested in 2002, while the metallurgical industry attracted $146 million investments.
The Ernst & Young report shows that in terms of investor origin the US remains the top investor with 33% of all projects. Germany is next with 13% of the total, followed by Japan – 6%, France – 5%, Italy and UK – 4%, Netherlands and Sweden – 3%.
Top individual investor was Robert Bosch AG – 11 projects, the same as Siemens. Ford Motor Company was 2001’s number one and is now in fifth place.
The top five sectors in terms of investments in 2002 were software, automotive, business services, electronics and pharmaceuticals. They accounted for 53% of all projects compared to 55% in 2001 and 60% in 2000.