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The Regions This Week
August 18, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
Southeast Europe
Romania’s GDP expressed in constant prices in-
creased by 5.9% y/y, the statistics office reported in a flash estimate. The growth rate accelerated from 5.7% y/y in Q1 and on a broader perspec- tive it has constantly gained momentum since Q3 2016 when GDP increased by 4.3% y/y. The sea- sonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.6% q/q in Q2, after the 1.8% q/q rise in Q1.
Romania’s current account deficit widened by 40% y/y to nearly €2.75bn in H1, the central bank announced. The current account gap-to-GDP ratio widened to 1.6% of GDP from 1.2% last year.
The net inflow of foreign direct investment in Romania contracted by 42% y/y to €678mn in Q2, according to data released by the central bank. FDI inflows generated by non-residents in Ro- mania in the rolling 12 months ending June were €3.851mn, down from a peak value of €4,416mn in March, and no longer cover the current account deficit (€4.754mn in the 12 months ending June).
Bulgaria’s GDP expressed in constant prices increased by 3.6% y/y in Q2, losing momentum from the 3.9% y/y advance in Q1, the statistics of- fice reported in a flash estimate.
Bulgaria’s headline inflation eased to 1.3% y/y in July, moderating for the third month in a row from 2.6% y/y in April, the statistics office informed. Consumer prices increased by 0.3% m/m in the month. HICP inflation eased as well, to 0.6% y/y in July from 1.7% y/y in April.
Bulgaria’s current account surplus contracted by 25% y/y to €635mn (1.3% of GDP) in H1, according to data released by the central bank. The surplus in the rolling 12 month still amounted to €1.78bn (3.6% of GDP) at the end of June, up from €0.98bn (2.1% of GDP) one year earlier.
The Serbian government has adopted the Bill on Electronic Documents, Electronic Identification and Trusted Services in Electronic Commerce,
which allows electronic documents to be recog- nised as paper documents, as well as different levels of identification of physical and legal enti- ties.
Russian oil companies Gazprom Neft and Lukoil are to receive 8.5% and 3% stakes in struggling Serbian petrochemical company HIP Petrohe- mija, respectively, after the company debt restruc- turing, The Panchevo court approved HIP Petro- hemija's restructuring plan on August 15, which stipulates that 52% of the company debt will be converted to equity, and the remainder will be written off.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama praised the initiative of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for the launch of internal dialogue in Serbia on the Kosovo issue, Serbian media reported. “I re- spect the initiative of Aleksandar Vucic to invite for the internal dialogue on Kosovo and thus directly find a solution to the past issues,” Rama said in an interview with Serbian daily Blic published.
Kosovan Foreign Minister Never Hoxhaj rejected a proposal from his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic to give ethnic Serbian areas within the northern part of the country greater autonomy. In an opinion piece for daily Vecernje Novosti Dac- ic proposed redrawing the dividing lines between majority Serb and Albanian areas of Kosovo, and giving a high degree of autonomy to the Serb en- claves.
Serbia’s consumer price inflation (CPI) in- creased by 3.2% y/y in July but also decreased 0.4% m/m, according to Serbian Statistical Of- fice data.
Croatia's consumer prices rose 0.8% y/y in July,
slightly accelerating from 0.7% y/y in June, data from the statistics office showed. On a monthly basis, Croatia’s consumer prices declined by 0.7% in July.