FOREIGN INVESTMENT SHRINKS 56.56% IN 2009
FDI stood at EUR 2.8 billion in 2009
Foreign investment in Bulgaria dropped by half in 2009, preliminary data of the Bulgarian National Bank show. FDI stood at EUR 2.8 billion, down 56.56% from EUR 6.5 billion in 2008. The direct investment of Bulgarian companies abroad for the full 2009 increased by EUR 134.5 million.
However, the rise was a quarter of that registered in 2008. The financial sector attracted the biggest volume of funds, EUR 622.6 million. Second was the real estate branch with EUR 470 million foreign investment. The Netherlands was the biggest investor in Bulgaria in 2009 (30.9%), followed by Germany (15.2%) and the Netherlands Antilles (7.3%).
The forecast for 2010 is even worse. Foreign investment will not exceed EUR 3 billion, Georgi Prohaski, chairman of the Centre for Economic Development, told the Pari daily. Only if the economic environment improves by the middle of this year, can we expect better results in 2011, he added.
