Net investments in national economy totaled 17,3 billion lei in the first quarter of this year, up 5.7% compared to the same period in 2018, according to data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

Investments in new construction works increased by 20.6% in the first three months of the year to 8 billion lei, while those for other expenditures recorded an advance of 6,8% in the first quarter, totaling 3,3 billion lei , according to Agerpres.

On the other hand, net investment in machinery (including means of transport) decreased by 9.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, to 5.935 billion lei.

According to the quoted source, of the total investments registered in the first three months of the year, almost a third (31.9%) were in construction, 26.9% in industry, 23.1% in trade and services, 4.6 % in agriculture and 13.5% in other branches.