Romania continues to rank last among countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) per capita, according to the Foreign investors’ Council (FIC). We have significant gaps in investment levels, productivity, competitiveness and employment, says FIC President Daniel Anghel (PwC).
“Romania ranks very well in many categories that investors analyze, but there are also some points of concern. Our country continues to rank last among countries in our region (CEE) in terms of FDI per capita. We have significant gaps in investment levels, productivity, competitiveness and employment. Romania should focus on attracting investments that lead to increased value added throughout the economy, thus generating a ripple effect in the economy. Romania’s competitiveness is also affected by unpredictable legislative changes, along with excessive bureaucracy and persistent inefficiencies in public administration that needs digitization at a sustained pace. We appreciate the openness to dialogue and we are convinced that this forum can facilitate extremely useful discussions both for the Government and for the business environment, with benefits for the economy and society,” says president of FIC, Daniel Anghel, in a press release sent to Energynomics.
The annual forum of the Presidents of the Council of Foreign Investors (FIC) took place on January 16 at the Victoria Palace with the participation of the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, as guest of honor. The event brought together 60 presidents and general managers of FIC member companies from different fields of activity, such as energy, construction, automotive, financial and banking, telecommunications, services, pharma, trade and production of goods, with the common objective of contributing alongside Government to identify the strategic directions for the sustainable development of Romania.
FIC member companies have been registered and paying taxes in Romania for more than 25 years, support approximately 190,000 jobs in Romania and have a cumulative turnover that represents 25% of Romania’s GDP. Also, the investments made by them had, on average, as starting point the end of the 90s, a fact that reveals their commitment to invest in Romania for the long term. In 2022, the contribution of all FIC member companies to the general consolidated budget was estimated at 84 billion lei, which represents 20% of the current revenues collected by the state in that year.
FIC supports the authorities and international partners with relevant studies and analyzes such as the Va Urma project (the foundation of the strategic objectives for Romania to enter the top 10 economies in the EU), the White Paper (the x-ray of Romania’s economy accompanied by a series of recommendations for improvement of key areas), the study on the fiscal footprint of companies (the dashboard of fees and taxes paid by FIC members to the state budget) and the study on foreign direct investments (FDI) in Romania. All these documents reflect guidelines that the top management of the largest investors in Romania propose to strengthen the resilience of the economy and implicitly of the state budget, to ensure Romania’s competitiveness in terms of attracting private investments, to underpin sustainable development in the medium-long term and to ensure the balance between tax reform and tax burden.
During the event, the Government together with the management of the companies discussed topics such as tax reform for 2025 – consultation and predictability, the commitment not to introduce additional taxes in 2024, the reduction of tax evasion and public spending, PNRR reforms and accelerating the absorption of European funds, energy independence , strategy for attracting high added value FDI, human capital and health and last but not least, consultation on strategic objectives. FIC’s technical working groups will continue to analyze the areas discussed, submit proposals and recommendations in line with European best practices and work alongside the line ministries.
