Foreign direct investment to reach 9bn euros

Foreign direct investment in Romania could reach 9 billion euros this year, a 73% increase against 2005, given that the Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment (ARIS) forecasts FDI flows worth 6.2 billion euros for 2006, without taking into consideration the money obtained from the privatisations of the BCR and CEC (The Romanian Savings Bank). “We estimate that foreign direct investment will stand at 6.2 billion euros in 2006, but we may see a much higher figure at the end of the year. Our estimates could be exceeded because they do not include the privatisations of the BCR (Romanian Commercial Bank) and of the Romanian Savings Bank,” stated Ana Maria Cristina, president of ARIS. Erste Bank won the bid for the privatisation of BCR last year, offering 3.75 billion euros. It is expected that the transaction will be closed in July; the state will collect some 2.2 billion euros, with the rest of the money to go to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and to the International Finance Corporation, which jointly held 25% plus two shares in the BCR. ZF