Foreign investors will be heading eastern Romania, because it is poorer and they are attracted by the low cost labor force and the small price of lands. Florin Vasilache, a general secretary of the Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments, said it in his interview to Reuters. Most foreign direct investments have so far taken interest in Bucharest and western Romania, because both these regions have got more developed infrastructure that facilitates export to other EU states. Romania, a member of the EU since January 1, 2007 has attracted a huge amount of foreign direct investments in the last years. The highest level was reached in 2006: 9,1 billion Euro. It was after Romania had cashed 2,2 billion Euro for the greatest financial institution in the country, the Romanian Commercial Bank, sold to the Erste Bank in Austria. Vasilache argues that investors have started to evaluate the eastern areas too, with view to export to the Russian and Ukrainian markets. (G.M.)