Direct investment in Bulgaria in the first eight months of 2017 halved to EUR 516.6 million, while a year earlier it was 1.12 billion, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) published on Wednesday.

In August, nearly 72 million euro came in our country, while in the same month of the previous year they were 158 million euros. The worrying thing about the statistics is that almost all the investments - 550 million euros - are in debt instruments - 505 million euros. Companies are profiting, reports show.

Reinvestment of profits shrank and amounted to EUR 10.5 million over the reported period. In 2016, investments in debt instruments amounted to 304 million euros, while the funds for the acquisition of equity capital were leading - a total of 562 million euro.

BNB data also shows a collapse of investment in real estate since the beginning of the year. They are only 7 million euros, compared to 57.6 million euros a year earlier. The main foreign investors on the property market in Bulgaria are the Russians (EUR 3.3 million), followed by the Ukrainians (800 thousand euros) and citizens of Kazakhstan (BGN 500 thousand). Preliminary data from BNB show an increase of Bulgarian investments abroad in the period January - August - by 116 million, compared with a growth of 162.7 million euros a year earlier.