Selling Petrom Doubled FDI This Year

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached 1.6 billion dollars in the first nine months of 2004. OMV buying Petrom will double this figure by the end of the year, bringing the aggregate FDI to 3.3 billion dollars.

The National Bank statistics show a 40% year-on-year FDI increase, with 1.639 million dollars this year, as compared to 1.174 million dollars in the first nine months last year.
The hike is due first and foremost to the Romanian Commercial Bank privatization and greenfield investments, like Holzindustrie Schweighofer, YKK SRL, Medisystem Hospital SA, Lek Farmatech, or brownfield investments, like Anchor Mall Development and Roti Auto SA. Major capital investments also took place at Automobile Dacia, Michelin, Carpatcement, Unilever, Constanta Shipyard and Industria Sarmei Campia Turzii.

By mid-December the 1.5 billion euros from selling SNP Petrom should reach state coffers, since the privatization deal got the Parliament approval these days.
The Parliament also approved privatizing two companies for electrical power distribution, Dobrogea and Banat, and for natural gas distribution, Distrigaz Sud Bucharest and Distrigaz Nord Targu Mures. These deals will bring another 700 million euros in 2005.

Alexandru Popa, the president of the Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments, said the Petrom privatization deal placed Romania in a true competitive position, "since doubling the inflow of foreign investments every year brings us closer to the expectations the international community has from us."