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Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria doubled to EUR 3.83 billion in January to August

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Aerial view of a modern industrial park with new warehouses and factories surrounded by fields and mountains Foreign Investment
Aerial view of a modern industrial park with new warehouses and factories surrounded by fields and mountains

Central bank data show reinvested earnings of EUR 3.1 billion and a return to positive equity and debt inflows compared with the same period of 2025.

Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria reached EUR 3.83 billion in the first eight months of 2026, equal to 3.1% of GDP, according to preliminary data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) published on 20 October, The Sofia Globe reported. In January to August 2025 the inflow was EUR 1.91 billion, a figure that the BNB originally reported as EUR 1.54 billion and later revised upwards.

Radio Bulgaria put the exact figure at EUR 3.829 billion and the year-on-year increase at 100.5%.

Reinvested earnings remained the main component, at EUR 3.1 billion compared with EUR 2.82 billion a year earlier. This item reflects profits that foreign-owned companies already operating in Bulgaria keep and invest in the country rather than paying out as dividends.

Equity investment, including in real estate, brought in EUR 349.2 million, after an outflow of EUR 32.8 million in the same period of 2025. Net receipts from real estate investment by non-residents showed an outflow of EUR 7.5 million, smaller than the outflow of EUR 18.4 million a year earlier.

Debt instruments, which record changes in the net liabilities of Bulgarian companies to their foreign owners and include loans, supplier credits and debt securities, showed an inflow of EUR 384.2 million. In January to August 2025 they showed an outflow of EUR 873.2 million, which explains a large part of the improvement this year.

Bulgarian direct investment abroad increased by EUR 303.5 million in the period, compared with EUR 335 million in January to August 2025, the BNB said.

The data are preliminary and are often revised, as last year's figure shows. Even so, the return of positive equity and debt flows suggests that foreign owners are adding fresh capital and financing to their Bulgarian operations, not only reinvesting existing profits.

Sources