South-east Europe growing increasingly attractive as investment opportunity
South-east Europe is growing increasingly attractive as an investment opportunity in the eyes of corporate executives, and EU accession is key to driving interest, an Ernst & Young survey has suggested.
Although the south-east of the continent still lags behind western and central Europe in terms of the perceptions of attractiveness for foreign direct investment (FDI), Romanian and Bulgarian accession to the EU provides an opportunity to boost the profile of the region.
Panos Papazoglou of Ernst & Young said: "Emerging markets are attracting more capital inflows and south-east Europe is emerging as a major contender for global emerging market FDI."
The majority of respondents to the European Attractiveness Survey said they expected the investment potential of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey would increase over the next three years, the Sofia Echo reports.
Ernst & Young also said that Romanian and Bulgarian EU accession would improve the international image of the countries and lead to improvements in telecommunications and infrastructure.
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