SOFIA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into Bulgaria in the first seven months of 2017 plunged by 55.3 percent year on year, official preliminary data showed on Tuesday.
In the January-July period, FDI in the Balkan country, presented according to the directional principle, amounted to 431.8 million euros (515.9 million U.S. dollars), while in the same period of 2016 the figure stood at 966.6 million euros, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said on its website.
The largest net direct investment inflow in Bulgaria came from the Netherlands (392.1 million euros) and Switzerland (71.3 million euros), the data showed.
Equity recorded a negative value of 17.8 million euros, dropping by 397.7 million euros from a positive value of 380 million euros in the January-July period of 2016, the BNB said.
Meanwhile, real estate investments of non-residents totaled 5.6 million euros compared with 54.4 million euros attracted in the first seven months of 2016.
Reinvestment of earnings was negative amounting to 10.5 million euros for the January-July period this year, compared with a positive value of 310.3 million euros in the same period of 2016, the BNB said.
The net debt instruments amounted to 460 million euros, while in the first seven months of 2016 the figure stood at 276.4 million euros, the BNB added.
In 2016, FDI in Bulgaria amounted to 682.8 million euros, down 59.7 percent year-on-year.
