Bulgaria would step up efforts to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) in production in 2008, Stoyan Stalev, excutive director of the investment promotion agency said on January 8.

Real estate had pushed FDI to a record high in 2007, Reuters said. Bulgaria attracted more than 5 billion euro in FDI in 2007, compared to 4.4 billion euro in 2006.

"Foreign direct investment was estimated at 5.1 to 5.2 billion euro. We hope to keep that level in 2008," Reuters quoted Stalev as saying.

According to Stalev, investment projects launched in 2007 created around 27 000 jobs and would invest about 9 billion leva over a three-year period. But the one-sidedness of investments created serious imbalances in the economy, Reuters said.

"We were not very successful in attracting investment in the processing industry or production ... It would be a real success if we increase their share," Stalev said.

"We need to encourage long-term foreign direct investment in manufacturing to achieve a healthy balance between services and production," Stalev said.

Stalev said the investment promotion agency would focus on attracting more investors in high-tech and energy sectors.

Bulgaria's investment encouragement laws had been changed to offer support to only production-linked investors by building necessary infrastructure and co-financing training of personnel for the high-tech industry, Reuters said.

"We need to do that to keep a skilled workforce in the country," Stalev said. "The gap between education and business needs is still big."

Stalev told Reuters that the agency would focus on attracting investors from Europe who have not been very active so far, such as from the Scandinavian countries and France, as well as Japan and South Korea.