InvestBulgaria Expects 10% Investment Growth in 2008, State Shifts Support Sofia - The leadership of InvestBulgaria Agency expect a 10 per cent growth in investments in Bulgaria in 2008. Speaking at a news conference here Tuesday, the agency's Executive Director Stoyan Stalev said the government is shifting its support away from the real estate sector and tourism towards hi-tech, education and health care projects, among others. Foreign direct investments for 2007 stood at 5,200-5,300 million euro, 20 per cent more than in 2006. Great Britain is expected to be the No. 1 investor for 2007, according to preliminary data of the agency. In terms of volume of investments from 1992 to 2007, Austria ranks first with 4,000 million euro, followed by Britain with some 2,400 million euro with a trend for an increase of that sum at the preparation of the agency's final data, Stalev said. Third comes the Netherlands, followed by Greece and Germany. In 2007 the total volume of the 62 investment projects stood at 10,000 million leva, while the total investment volume of projects supported by the agency between August 2004 and December 2007 stood at about 16,000 million leva. Sixty per cent of the investments in 2007 were made in tourism and real estate. As of this year, the State and InvestBulgaria will stop support for such projects, along with projects for power generation from conventional sources and energy-extensive industries such as steel production. Under the new Investments Promotion Act, state support will go to investment projects in manufacturing, in energy generation with renewable energy sources, high-tech services, health care and education. InvestBulgaria expects fewer investor applications until investors find their bearings in the new amendments to the Investments Promotion Act. Seven or eight investment projects have already been filed with the agency for Class A certification.