The total amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) at the end of this year is expected to be some 4 billion euro against 6 billion last year, the CEO of InvestBulgaria Agency, Stoyan Stalev, told the press Monday.

The first-half FDI stood at 1.6 billion euro which Stalev said was a good result in a difficult year.

The list of top investors this year is headed by traditional investors Holland, Austria and Germany, followed by France.

Despite the crisis, the real estate sector remains among the most lucrative for foreign investors, following financial services and trade.

This year Stalev's Agency issued 12 certificates for investment projects, mostly in the area of green energy (wind and solar plants). The total worth of projects with a certificate from the Agency is 1.2 billion leva.

Two projects - one for assembly of Chinese cars in the Northern town of Lovech and one for construction of a SPA facility at the Kamchiya estuary on the Black Sea, generate the most jobs, 1,500 our of a total of 1,600 jobs opened under all certificated

projects. The reason for such an imbalance is that the average number of jobs created by the projects for generation of green energy is 10-20, Stalev explained.

He recalled that the implementing regulations for the Investment Promotion Act which was recently amended by the new Parliament, is due for adoption by the government before the year's end.

Source: BTA