FDI in Bulgaria in January-April 2018 was 113M euro
Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria in the first four months of 2018 stood at 113 million euro, the equivalent of 0.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to statistical data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). In the same period of 2017, FDI was 229.2 million euro, but the original amount reported by BNB last year was 125.7 million euro, which was revised upward later.
Investment in equity, including in the real estate sector, recorded a net outflow of 161 million euro (compared to a net inflow of 44.5 million euro in the first four months of 2017) and re-invested earnings were 19.1 million euro (versus 58.3 million euro a year earlier), according to preliminary data.
Receipts from real estate investments by foreign companies totalled 3.4 million euro, compared to 3.3 million euro during the same period of 2017.
The central bank data showed 258.4 million euro in investment inflows as debt instruments, recorded as the change in the net liabilities of Bulgarian companies towards their foreign investor owners, compared to 126.4 million euro in the first four months of 2017. Such financial flows include financial loans, suppliers’ credits and debt securities, BNB said.
By country, the largest direct investment in Bulgaria in January-April 2018 came from the Netherlands (149.1 million euro), Germany (119 million euro) and Russia (116.7 million euro). Notable net outflows were recorded towards Switzerland (-98.4 million euro), Hungary (-96.5 million euro) and Italy (-86.3 million euro).
According to preliminary figures, Bulgarian investment abroad increased by 73.3 million euro in the first four months of 2018, compared to 63.4 million euro in the same period of last year, BNB said.