Romania Boasts Higher Growth Rates Than the Region

A study of Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) found that Romania’s growth makes the aggregate growth rates of the region look better. The growth rate of the eight Central and East European countries already members of the European Union went down to 4.5% in the third trimester, from 5.3% in the second trimester.

At the same time, the average growth rate of all 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe went up to 5.4% "due to Romania’s strong economic performance," the study of the BA-CA found.

Romania’s GDP at the end of the third trimester of 2004 was 9.9% higher than the one 12 months before.

The growth of the 11 countries mentioned in the study was based previously on foreign trade, but now relies on a growing domestic demand. "The growth of consumers demand is robust and investments went up considerably. In the euro-zone the fix capital formation grew only 1.6% while in Central and East European countries investments grew much higher, with Romania showing a 13.7% fix capital rate formation as a result of progress in restructuring and privatization," found the BA-CA study.

The same indicator stays at 12.7% in Hungary, at 9.6% in the Czech Republic, at 7.8% in Poland and at 5.5% in Slovakia. The analysts of BA-CA estimate that the fix investments growth rate in the European Union member states will go over 7% in 2004, and over 8% in 2005.