By Drew Wilson Courtesy of EE Times Europe (03/26/2008 7:49 AM EST)

BERLIN — Bulgaria's overall foreign direct investment was up substantially in 2007, but manufacturing took a big hit.

The country attracted $9B (5.7B Euro) in FDI, up 30 percent from the previous year, according to figures from the Bulgarian National Bank. In addition, FDI accounted for 19.9 percent of GDP compared to 17.4 percent of GDP in 2006.

Real estate, construction and the financial sector together accounted for the bulk of the investment while manufacturing fell dramatically. Bulgaria saw only $367M (234M Euro) in manufacturing investment in 2007, down more than 75 percent year-on-year and the lowest amount since 2002, according to preliminary data from the Bulgarian National Bank.

Going against the trend is Belgium-based EMS company EPIQ. Last month, the company invested $8.5M (5.5M Euro) in a factory expansion in the city of Botevgrad to manufacture high-temperature sensors for automobiles.

EPIQ is the main foreign investor in Bulgaria's electronics sector. The company has a cumulative capital investment of $38.7M (25M Euro) in manufacturing operations that employ 2,500.

The Invest in Bulgaria Agency expects 10 percent overall FDI growth in 2008.

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