August 17 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria reported a negative net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) of 158.1 million euro ($160.7 million) in the first half of 2022, compared to a negative FDI flow of 508.5 million euro in the same period of 2021, the central bank said on Wednesday.
In the January–June period, the net FDI inflow, calculated according to the directional principle, grew by 289.2 million, compared with an increase of 606.3 million in the same period of last year, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a statement, citing preliminary data.
The net FDI inflow in the review period was equivalent to 0.4% of Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) projected for 2022.
In June alone, Bulgaria recorded a negative direct investment flow from abroad of 138.6 million euro compared to a positive inflow of 292.5 million euro in June 2021.
Austria contributed most, 164.8 million euro, to the FDI inflow into Bulgaria in the first six months of the year, followed by Switzerland with 122.9 million euro and the British Virgin Islands with 107.2 million euro.
By contrast, the largest net outflows were registered to the Netherlands, of 263.5 million euro, and to Romania, of 55.2 million euro, central bank data showed.
There was a negative flow of 11 million euro in investments by foreign individuals in real estate in Bulgaria over the period, including an outflow of 8.6 million euro to Russia.
($ = 0.9838 euro)