Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment states that all advantages offered by Romania to foreign investors remain unchanged

Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment(ARIS) considers the decision of Fitch International Rating Agency downgrading Romania’s rating to be unjustified and mismatching the current macroeconomic evolutions.

Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment (ARIS) emphasizes once more that Romania will register in 2008 the highest economic growth in the European Union (9.1 %). Furthermore, forecasts for 2009 indicate a 5% economic growth. Moreover, Romania registers a low public debt level within GDP (10.6% in June 2008), the level of international reserves reached Euro 27.3 bill. at the end of September 2008, and external debt stock is lower than in other EU member states.

As far as foreign investment is concerned, Romania maintains its competitive advantages unchanged. The first 9 months of the current year brought Romania a total FDI volume 32% higher against the same period 2007. Furthermore, Romanian Government issued a series of actions aiming at reducing inflation, preventing any unemployment increase and ensuring a non-exceeding budgetary deficit.

Supplementary measures have been taken for both public investment stimulation (a four time increase of the budget allocated to their implementation), and private investment support, consisting in granting RON 1 billion state aid in 2009 as against RON 120 million in 2008. Other concrete measures of support consist in granting a supplementary deduction for R&D activities (20% from the eligible expenses) and setting up a series of Guarantee Funds (ex. Jeremy Guarantee Fund supporting SMEs access to risk capital and the Rural Credit Guarantee Fund supporting local town halls access to European structural funds).

In this context, ARIS considers that Romania will continue to represent an attractive and profitable destination for placing foreign capital, foreign investors’ decisions not being influenced by a superficial analysis, but by the current macroeconomic evolutions within the real economy and the economic efficiency calculations.

Due to international financial crisis, ARIS believes that inward FDI rhythm of increase will be moderate on short term, but overcoming the global crisis will bring Romania a significantly increased inward FDI, as investors will be more than ever interested in implementing profitable investments.

Considering the above mentioned, ARIS believes that Fitch downgrading Romania will not influence upon foreign investors decision.

Source: ARIS