According to preliminary figures of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), which were released on Monday, the foreign direct investment in the country in the first half of the year amounted to EUR 799.6 M.

This represented an increase of EUR 49.7 M or 1.9 % compared to the first half of 2014.

In June alone, foreign direct investment increased by EUR 178 M, while the corresponding growth in the same month last year was EUR 127.8 M.

Between January and June, equity amounted to EUR 169.8 M, which represented a growth of EUR 64.1 M compared to the same period in 2014.

The receipts from real estate investments of non-residents in the first half of the year stood at EUR 17.5 M, which was a significant decrease compared to the amount attracted in the same period in 2014 – EUR 64.8 M.

Reinvestment of earnings stood at EUR 80.5 M, almost retaining the figure from last year, which amounted to EUR 81 M.

The largest net foreign direct investment in the first half of the year originated from the Netherlands and amounted to EUR 567.3 M.

According to preliminary estimates, direct investment abroad increased by EUR 72.6 M between January and June, while the corresponding figure in the first half of 2014 amounted to a growth of EUR 354.3 M.

In June alone, direct investment abroad grew by EUR 34 M, which was a far cry from the increase of EUR 67.8 M, which was recorded in the same month last year.