Foreign direct investments plunged three-fold in Jan-Feb

Foreign direct investment inflows in Romania came down to 466 million in the Jan-Feb period 2010, three-times lower than the same period of last year, and covered a mere 61.8% of current account deficit, data from the National Bank of Romania show.FDI inflows in Romania stood at Euro 1.326 billion in January-February 2009.

In January 2010, FDI in the country totaled 302 million, which means that Romania attracted only Euro 164 million in February, and the central bank says the whole amount consisted in equity stakes.

Romania's balance of payments started to pick up in February, and reached Euro 754 million in the first two months this year, on 68.5 percent year-on-year decrease in current transfers surplus, NBR said.

In 2009, FDI inflows in Romania dropped 48.4% year-on-year, to Euro 4.899 billion, and covered 96.9% of the country's current account deficit. Last year, intra-group loans accounted for 37.4% of total FDI namely Euro 1.834 billion, while equity stakes (including reinvested profit) accounted 62.6% or Euro 3.065 billion.