Over 43% of Romania’s GDP is generated by foreign-owned companies

Foreign investors controlled only 1.2% of the companies in the European Union in 2016, but these companies generated 15.3% of the EU's workforce and 25% of the value added in the non-financial sector, reads data published by Eurostat on April 11, quoted by local Agerpres.

A higher share of VA generated by foreign-owned companies, particularly combined with low wage share (high capital share -- or the share of VA transferred to capital owners) make an economy vulnerable to external shocks.

Among the EU member states, the countries where companies controlled by foreign owners generated the largest share of value added were Hungary (51.4%), Slovakia (48.1%), Luxembourg (44.6%), and Romania (43.3%). Notably, Romania also posts among the highest capital shares in Europe.

At the opposite end, in 20 EU countries, foreign-controlled companies generated in 2016 less than 20% of the value added in the non-financial sector, with the lowest shares in Cyprus (13.4%), Italy (15.8%), Greece (16.3%), and France (16.4%).

Eurostat informs that between 2010 and 2016, the share of value added by companies controlled by foreign investors in the EU increased by 2.3 percentage points.

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