BULGARIA SEES 58% DECLINE OF FDI IN 2010 Y/Y

A total of EUR 1,35 B of foreign direct investment was registered in Bulgaria in 2010, which is a staggering 58% decrease year-on-year, according to final data of the Bulgarian National Bank released Monday.

The drop may be commented as a sign that the country's economy has not recovered yet and foreign companies are still reluctant to invest there.

After it registered the record EUR 9 B of FDI in 2007 and EUR 6 B in 2008, as the crisis kicked in, in 2009, Bulgaria saw only EUR 3 B of foreign investment, whch in 2010 declined even further.

However, the year ended with a positive current account - EUR 282.7 M , against a deficit of EUR 3.477 B for 2009. This is mainly due to the increase in exports.

The trade balance in 2010 was negative and it amounted to EUR 2.4 B, 42% less than the deficit registered in 2009, with exports reaching EUR 17.95 B, which is a 32.9% boost.

A EUR 403 M deficit has been registered in the financial account, compared with EUR 2.193 B for the previous year, sourse Sofia News Agency