The stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) per capita doubled in a decade, from approximately 3,000 euro in 2013 to over 6,500 euro in 2024, but Romania is still far below its potential compared to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, where this indicator exceeds 10,000-20,000 euro, said Daniel Anghel, vice president of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), on Thursday.
“At a time when the economy is going through significant challenges, JTI’s decision to invest in Romania is a strong signal of confidence – in the potential of this country, in its people and in the economic future of the region. It is exactly the type of long-term commitment that Romania needs and that we value enormously. And I say this because the evolution of foreign investments is closely linked to the macroeconomic context. Perception crucially influences the decision to invest. In recent years, macroeconomic volatility and the need to consolidate public finances have created real investor reluctance. Thus, restoring confidence was the central objective of 2025. And we see that both the rating agencies, the European Commission, the IMF, the OECD have sent positive messages regarding the measures taken by the government. We cannot ignore the problems at a global level either”, said Daniel Anghel, at the conference where JTI Romania announced that it is investing approximately 300 million euro to build a new factory in Ștefăneștii de Jos.
He mentioned the need to restore confidence at a time when global economic growth faces high uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, with public debt projections being revised upwards in most developed countries.
“Overall, foreign direct investment doubled between 2014 and 2024, reaching 125 billion euro. Investments in the manufacturing industry increased by 81%, to 35.2 billion euro, representing 28% of the total balance. The stock of FDI per capita doubled in a decade, from around 3,000 euro in 2013 to over 6,500 euro in 2024. However, Romania is still far below its potential if we compare it to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, where this indicator exceeds 10,000-20,000 euro. These figures show both the existing limitations and the long-term growth potential. The impact of companies with foreign capital on the Romanian economy is considerable: their turnover has increased by 94% in the last ten years, to 274 billion euro, and the number of employees increased by 10%, to 1.3 million,” said Daniel Anghel, according to Agerpres.
According to him, labor productivity in foreign-owned enterprises increased by 76%. Foreign companies contribute about 70% to total exports and 80% to exports of goods in the manufacturing industry.
“Although investments have been on a downward trend in the last 2 years, the good news is that the second half of 2025 brought a return to foreign investment flows, which rose to over 8 billion euro. Another encouraging fact: according to the latest PwC Global CEO Survey report, Romania rose from 13th to 9th place in Europe and from 33rd to 28th place globally as an investment destination. And investors are most interested in the manufacturing industry. At FIC, we conduct a survey twice a year – Business Sentiment Index – to have an image of the business climate. The BSI results from October 2025 highlight the urgent need for Romania to improve legislative predictability and reduce fiscal pressures – by eliminating measures such as turnover taxation – in order to regain investor confidence. Sentiment remained reserved”, Daniel Anghel also said.