Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bulgaria amounted to EUR 5,430.2 million (16% of GDP) for in the period January - December 2008, compared to EUR 6,516.9 million (22.6% of GDP) for the period January - December 2007, preliminary data of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

The attracted Equity Capital (acquisition/disposal of shares and equities in cash and contributions in kind by non-residents in/from the capital and reserves of Bulgarian enterprises and receipts/payments from/for real estate deals in the country) for January - December 2008 amounted to EUR 3,008.9 million, which was 55.4% of the foreign direct investment.

It decreased by EUR 652.3 million compared to that attracted in the same period of 2007 (EUR 3,661.2 million).

The receipts from real estate investments of non-residents amounted to EUR 1,397.3 million compared to EUR 1,813 million for January - December 2007.

The attracted equity capital on privatization deals with non-residents (that have acquired over 10% of the equity in a Bulgarian enterprise) reported in January - December 2008 did not increase, compared to an increase of EUR 86.5 million in January - December 2007. The attracted equity capital on non-privatization deals totaled EUR 3,008.9 million in the reporting period, compared to EUR 3,574.8 million for the same period in 2007.

The other capital, net (the change in the net liabilities of the direct investment enterprise to the direct investor on financial loans, suppliers' credits and debt securities) was positive, amounting to EUR 1,909 million in January - December 2008, compared to a net other capital amounting to EUR 2,443.7 million in the same period of 2007. It decreased by EUR 534.7 million compared to that attracted in the same period of 2007.

The Reinvested Earnings (the share of non-residents in the undistributed earnings/ loss of the enterprise) in January - December 2008 are estimated at EUR 512.3 million compared to EUR 412 million in the same period of 2007, preliminary data show. They increased by EUR 100.2 million in comparison with the same period in 2007.

By country, the largest investments in Bulgaria for the reporting period were those of Austria (17.3% of the total foreign direct investment), the Netherlands (15.9%) and Germany (11.1%).

By branch, the largest investments for January - December 2008 were in Financial intermediation (EUR 1445.1 million), Real estate, renting and business activities (EUR 1398.8 million) and Wholesale and retail trade (EUR 807.6 million).

According to preliminary data in January - December 2008 Direct investment abroad increased by EUR 460.8 million compared to an increase of EUR 200.3 million in January - December 2007. The equity capital invested abroad in 2008 amounted to EUR 500.6 million, compared to EUR 202.3 million in January - December 2007.