The gross capital formation in Romania is an indicator that has had an insignificant increase in the last 25 years (GDP’s dependence on investments is almost unchanged). The capitalization rate is relatively low in the Romanian economy, and this fact explains the strong link between the dynamics of exports (on the increase from 16.7% of GDP in 1990 to 42.2% in 2013) and the dynamics of imports (on the increase from 26% of GDP in 1990 to 42.7% in 2013). This situation sheds light on the constant and consistent trade deficit, especially during economic growth. Romania’s export orientation is limited by the fact that investment is directed especially towards sub-assembly manufacturing, which requires more imports. At the same time, imports of resources and goods are necessary, because of increased consumption. The cumulated result of these processes cancels a great part of the added value of exports.

Even though in Romania savings have increased constantly (especially after the crisis), the population’s low income does not allow consistent accumulation of capital. Deposits have a very low value in Romania (the value of 40% of deposits is under 5 euro), and the high-value deposits are concentrated in the hands of very few depositors (5% of depositors have 75% of deposits!). In this context, the total stock of foreign investments in Romania is slightly above 70 billion euro, while the overall foreign debt is over 92 billion euro. In 2016, Romania added just 5.6 billion euro to foreign capital stock, but most investments can be found in raw materials processing sectors (petrol, food, energy, etc.).