EIB Survey: Covid-19, huge economic shock, Romanian economy shows resilience, recovery ongoing

Covid-19 was a huge economic shock, but it was countered with an impressive response of support measures, and the Romanian economy has shown resilience and the recovery is ongoing, show the results of the Investment Survey of the European Investment Bank (EIB) 2021.The results of the EIB Investment Survey 2021 (EIBIS) were presented on Wednesday in the online conference "Support measures and the new normal: how well positioned are Romanian firms?", organized by the National Bank of Romania (BNR) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).According to a statement from the banks, government support measures have been crucial to supporting investment activity. EIB results show that 65 pct of Romanian firms received financial support to counter the effects of the pandemic (EU average: 56 pct).Support under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility is a unique opportunity to stimulate investment. The Romanian economy has shown resistance, and the recovery is now in full swing, the firm political response being essential to support the investment activity.Debora Revoltella, Director of the EIB's Economy Department, presented the new results of the Investment Survey, which, together with the EIB Investment Report, provides an overview of the cyclical and structural dynamics of investments and their financing in Europe.For his part, the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, noted that the EIB's investment survey shows that Romanian companies have become more optimistic in 2021, many of them will increase investments rather than reduce them.Regarding the short-term changes generated by the pandemic, digitization has prevailed, with almost half of the companies (45 pct) making investments in this regard. In addition, COVID-19 will have an undeniable long-term impact on the needs and investment priorities, 49 pct of the companies wanting to continue this process. Uncertainty about the future remains the most invoked long-term obstacle to investment (80 pct), followed by the limited availability of qualified personnel (73 pct).According to the source, the lack of access to finance is also worrying.The survey conducted in Romania presents information obtained from interviews with representatives of a number of 480 Romanian companies, carried out between March and July 2021.