Foreign investments up 54%

The value of the share capital subscribed by companies with foreign shareholders stood at 297 million euros in the first quarter of this year, a 54% increase from the same period of 2005, according to data from the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC). March was the least profitable of the first three months, when foreign investments stood at nearly 89 million euros - against the 105 million euros seen in January and the 102 million euros in February. However, the level of foreign investments in March exceeded by 73% the level seen in the same month of last year. In addition to that, the number of new companies with foreign shareholders stood at 1,135, compared with 811 in January and 978 in February. According to the ONRC, the bulk of the share capital subscribed in March came from capital increases, i.e. 1 41 million euros, while investments in new companies stood at a mere 9.8 million euros. ZF