After years of stagnation, Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, in Romania appears finally to be on the up, following the release of encouraging data for 2013.

According to data released on Wednesday by Romania’s Central Bank, FDI rose 26.7 per cent in 2013 to 2.7 billion euro – the highest level in four years.

In a related development, the current account deficit fell by 74 per cent to 1.5 billion euro in 2013, from 5.8 billion euro the year before.

The trade balance deficit fell from 7.37 billion euro to 3.42 billion euro.

Furthermore, foreign debt declined to 96.4 billion euro at the end of last year from 99.7 billion euro at the end of 2012.

Romania’s short-term external debt at end-2013 totaled 19.4 billion euro, or 20.2 per cent of total external debt, down 6.8 per cent from end-2012.

Economists welcome the signs of recovery of investor confidence, after years of decline.

In recent years, Romania has been losing its position as one of the most popular recipients of foreign funding in Eastern Europe.

In 2010, FDI stood at a total of 2.596 billion euro, which was 25.5 per cent down on the figure for 2009. Romania attracted a record 9.1 billion euro in FDI in 2008.