Romania is particularly attractive to investors because of low-price labor, a modern telecommunication network, improved fiscal legislation and a significant infrastructure investment program. Foreign investors should focus a Greenfield investments, considering that the privatization process is coming to an end, most of the state-owned companies being either sold or currently in the process of being put up for sale.
Several major international companies are re-locating some of their back office and support functions in countries with low labor costs, but with skilled English speakers. Even though only slightly yet, Romania has benefited from this international trend, called Business Process Outsourcing.
All these gave way to a sense of optimism that is encouraging not only potential investors to enter the market, but also most of all Romanians, giving them confidence in the country’ future.
The foreign investment policy is regarded first as a process that can supplement the domestic capital necessities, as a source of implementing new technologies, know-how and modern management and last but not least, a way to change mentalities and social behaviours.

The country has a number of unique features in its favour:

Membership of EU in 2007
Currency pegged to the Euro (€)
Full member of NATO
Established tourist industry
Rapid economic growth
• Property prices now rising
• Property price levels still well below other comparable countries
• it is the second largest  market in Central Europe;
• it is located  at the cross-roads of commercial traditional routes- allowing an easy access to over 200 million consumers in a 1000 kilometres radius;
• also, it is located at the junction of three prospective European transportation corridors: 

	corridor 4 -for motor vehicles and railways (Berlin-Prague-Budapest-Arad-Bucharest-Constanta-Istanbul/Salonic);
	corridor 7 - river corridor (Constanta-Basarabi-Danube-Main-Rhine);
	corridor 9 – project - for motor vehicles and railways (Helsinki-Moscow/Kiev-Odessa-Bucharest/Constanta-Alexandroupolis

• it has an ideal location offering competitive prices for goods transiting between the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Western Europe;
• it has an extensive maritime and river navigation facilities – Constanta is the largest port on the Black Sea allowing through the Rhin-Main-Danube canal, an un-interrupted access from the Black Sea to the North Sea;
• international airports in: Bucharest, Constanta, Timisoara, Arad, Suceava;
• a wide range of natural resources, including fertile agricultural land, oil and gas, and a significant tourist potential;
• diplomatic relations with 176 countries;
• the existence of  an important  number of bilateral agreements and treaties, that Romania signed with different countries concerning: mutual guarantee and encouragement of investments; avoidance of double taxation.

Privatization in Romania

The privatization process started with the setup of adequate laws regarding the transfer of state companies onto private hands. In 1990 30% of state owned companies shares have been transferred free of charge to the population over 18 years of age. Many small businesses emerged. Meanwhile the process continues with the privatization of more important state companies and is supervised by the National Agency for Privatization. The technicalities are handled by mutual funds. By mid 1993 the Romania had recorded the establishment of almost 400,000 small private companies that represent 28% of its GDP and about one third of the country's foreign trade.

Direct investment could be performed through:

• in kind contribution  - fixed or current assets, tangible or intangible;
• financial contribution in hard currency or in local one;
• participation in the increase of a company’s assets, through any legal financing way.
    

As for the term of “investor”, the ordinance defined it as a legal or civil person, resident or non-resident, having the residence or its headquarters in Romania or abroad and, who is investing in Romania in compliance with the stipulations provided by the ordinance.

     Common guarantees and rights:

• the possibility to invest in any field of activity and in any legal form provided by the law;
• equal treatment for Romanian and foreigner, residents and non-residents investors;
• no limit in foreign participation in commercial companies- a foreign investor may establish  a 100% owned enterprise in Romania;    guarantees against nationalisation, expropriation or against other measures with an equal effect, except cases in which such measures meet the following conditions : 

 · they are necessary for a cause of public utility;
 · they are non-discriminatory;
 · they are carried out in accordance with the express stipulations of the law;
 · they are made with payment of previously, adequately and effectively established damages.
 
     Thus, additional to the resident investors (Romanian legal and natural persons), non - resident investors benefit from:
    the right to transfer abroad without any restriction, after paying the due legal rates and taxes, the following incomes in hard currency:
·  the dividend or the benefit obtained with a commercial company or the profit obtained from a subsidiary of it, in case that they are shareholders or associates;
·  the incomes obtained from selling of shares or social parts;
·  amounts obtained from the liquidation of a commercial company, according to the Law 31/1990 regarding commercial companies modified and completed, or from the liquidation of a company according to the bankruptcy procedure, regulated by the Law 64/1995 concerning the judiciary procedure and bankruptcy, modified;
·   the amounts obtained as compensations resulting from an expropriation or application of other measures with an equal effect;
·   other incomes, according to the form of implementing the investment.
    The ordinance stipulated also the right of the investor to select the competent legal or arbitration instances for the settlement of potential litigation.
    The Law 241/1998 stipulated also that for productive activity, any commercial company, irrespective of the nationality of the associates or shareholders, is entitled to purchase land in Romania.
     Taking into account that the 1999-year represented the peak of the foreign debt payment. and having in view also the request addressed to the International Monetary Fund for a new financing, according to the Law 36/08.03.1999 regarding the state budget, published in the “Official Gazette” No. 97/08.03.1999, the fiscal facilities provided by Emergency Ordinance (EOG)No. 92/1997 as approved and modified by the Law 241/1998, were suspended during the whole validity of the state budget law.
    Only fiscal incentives granted for a determined period of time by the former laws on foreign investments (Law 35/1991, republished) and EOG 31/1997 remained in force.
    Meantime, remained in force the guarantees, the rights and the ordinary facilities provided for resident and non-resident investors, such as:
• the right to transfer the amounts in Romanian currency (ROL) resulted from the investment in hard currency, and the right to transfer this currency abroad, in the country of origin, with the observance of the regulations established by the Foreign Exchange Regime;
• the right to transfer abroad, in hard currency, without any restriction and after payment of the due legal taxes, of:
·    the income obtained from a partnership association;
·    the income obtained from selling their shares or social parts in a local entity;
·    the amounts obtained from company liquidation;
·    the amounts obtained as a compensation for an expropriation or other similar, etc