Foreign Investors Council: NATO and EU memberships, accession to the Schengen Zone and to the OECD remain key elements for the investors

NATO and EU memberships, accession to the Schengen Zone and to the OECD remain key elements for the investors, the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) announces. According to the latest analysis of FIC on the taxes paid by its member companies and their employees in Romania in 2023, the investments of FIC companies amounted to 17 billion RON, representing 43 percent of the public capital expenditure according to the execution of the consolidated budget for 2023.

The contributions of the 110 FIC member companies to the general consolidated budget were estimated at 82 billion RON, which represents over 18 percent of the current revenues collected by the state last year. The total number of FIC member employees exceeds 190,000 people. Employees of the FIC companies analyzed earned an average net salary of 8,655 RON per month, with 89 percent more than the average net salary in the economy of 4,584 RON.

“The attracted foreign investments have contributed significantly to the modernisation of the national economy and its integration into both the European economy and international export and production chains; they brought technology and know-how to the internal market, thus contributing also to the development of Romanian companies, to productivity growth, as well as corporate governance, through which they promoted the importance of fairness, transparency and accountability in companies; they directly contributed to the economic growth registered by Romania through the investments made available and through the salaries paid directly to employees and indirectly through the local supply chain,” a FIC release shows.

“The evolution of foreign investments stock as a percentage of GDP began at a near-non-existent value in 1990 and increased significantly in the coming decades. An essential element in attracting foreign investments is Romania’s accession to international structures. Both NATO membership and later EU membership were events that stimulated FDI growth in Central and Eastern European states.

The years of joining the international structures are by far the years that have brought a strong investment boost to Romania. The private sector (formed by foreign investors, entrepreneurs and households) is the main contributor to Romania’s development, the average ratio between investments in Romania and GDP being 23.7 percent over the last decade, above the EU average.

From an economic point of view, Romania is at a critical point with the highest levels of twin deficits in recent history, except in times of crisis. The economic situation of the country must be the priority of the authorities in the coming period. Balanced measures are needed to ensure a sustainable economic recovery that is reflected in the well-being of society. In the coming years there will be even more need for the private sector to continue to invest in order to maintain the growth rate of the Romanian economy from previous years, in particular as public sector investment will decrease due to the need to reduce the budget deficit.

Companies need a firm, long-term commitment from the authorities to ensure a stable and predictable climate in order to choose the investment destination, but also to continue the investments present in the country,” FIC concludes.