First nine months see Romanian economy eat up EUR 1.1 bln in investments, construction leads the way

The first nine months of 2012 were fruitful for the Romanian economy, with a 17.9 percent increase in investments to a total value of almost EUR 11 billion , according to a report issued by the Romanian National Statistics Institute (INS). During the first three quarters of 2012, as much as EUR 5.5 billion fueled new building work, which alone accounted for more than half of total investments. This figure stands a mere 1.1 percent below the level reached in 2011, during the same reference interval. “Industry and trade/services (retail and wholesale, car repair) are the domains that attracted the highest volume of investments,” according to the INS. Net investments in the national economy during the third quarter of this year stepped up by 16 percent, reaching EUR 4.5 billion. From this point of view, a shortlist of investment magnets sees machinery, means of transportation included, in the top position, with a 24.5 percent increase, and new construction work in second place, up by 6 percent. During the first half of 2012, a 28.9 percent drop pushed foreign direct investment down to EUR 621 million , according to data provided by the National Bank of Romania. The same statistics point to a pretty quick recovery, as in the following three months a total of EUR 1.1 billion was reached, 30 percent higher than the level of foreign investment at the same time in 2011. Ioana Jelea (photo source: sxc.hu)