Data from the National Bank of Romania show that the balance of Romanian investments abroad stands at almost €10 billion, but only half of this remains abroad, whilst the other half (€5.5 billion) has returned to Romania from jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Cyprus, reports zf.ro.
The National Bank explains this phenomenon as a ‘circular flow’ – the channelling of local funds abroad and their subsequent return to the resident country’s economy in the form of foreign direct investment.
Apart from Romania, the main countries where local companies invested in production activities – that is, countries of final destination rather than merely transit countries – are the Republic of Moldova (€659 million), Italy (€406 million), Bulgaria (€372 million) and France, including Monaco (€335 million).
There are approximately 1,600–1,700 companies with Romanian capital registered in Moldova. Romania ranks first among the main foreign investors in the Republic of Moldova, both in terms of the volume of funds invested and the number of operating companies.
The structure of Romanian investment and capital presence is distributed across key sectors of the economy:
The financial and insurance sector
This is the largest sector for European and Romanian capital in Moldova (accounting for around 33 per cent of total FDI in the country).
The largest Romanian banking groups (such as Banca Transilvania, which has successfully invested in Moldova’s Victoriabank) hold systemic positions in the financial market.
Wholesale and retail trade
Trade accounts for around 27 per cent of all foreign investment. Major Romanian retailers (pharmacy chains, distributors of cosmetics and everyday consumer goods) are actively expanding in Moldova.
Industry and manufacturing
The industrial sector accounts for around 17.7 per cent of capital. Romanian investors are actively investing in the textile industry, the automotive sector (the manufacture of cables and automotive components in free economic zones), and the production of building materials.
Energy and infrastructure
This has been a strategically important and rapidly growing area of investment in recent years. It includes:
Major joint projects on the integration of energy systems (the Iași–Ungheni–Chișinău gas pipeline).
Direct involvement of Romanian operators (for example, Vestmoldtransgaz, controlled by the Romanian state-owned company Transgaz) in the management of Moldova’s gas transmission system.
Information and communications technology (ICT)
The sector accounts for around 5.2 per cent of the investment portfolio. Romanian IT companies are actively opening branches in Chișinău, attracted by the tax incentives offered by the Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP).
This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.
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