The Slovenia Times

Investment environment in Slovenia

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Advantage Austria

Slovenia - A top location for investment on Austria's doorstep

Austrian companies are the largest foreign investor in Slovenia. At approximately EUR 3.5 billion, their investments represent as much as 25.6 % of all foreign direct investment. Currently, there are more than 1,000 companies with majority Austrian capital in Slovenia, employing approximately 20,000 people in nearly all industry and service sectors. Every year at ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Ljubljana, we conduct a survey on the topic of the current economic climate in Slovenia. Representatives of Austrian subsidiaries in Slovenia have expressed their views on the state of the Slovenian economy and their business outlook. The results of the survey are very positive and encouraging: more than 90 % of Austrian companies believe that Slovenia will remain an attractive investment location in 2019. More than half of respondents predict that their revenues will further increase next year. Austrian companies are also highly satisfied with the quality, education and motivation of the labour force in Slovenia. The tax burden on companies, inefficiency of the labour law and low availability of labour remain the critical points of the Slovenian investment environment.

The German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Industry - AHK Slowenien

Slovenia is the first among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in attracting investments from companies with German capital. Data show a stable investment policy for companies with German capital in Slovenia which will focus on further education of personnel, digitisation, product development and expansion of production. Despite an improvement in most of the factors, Slovenia is still the most heavily constrained by the labour legislation and high taxation among its competition. The Central European trend of labour shortage can also be felt in Slovenia and companies are addressing it by means of retraining, rationalization, employment of foreigners and further education of employees. Just these days, AHK Slowenien is conducting a survey on the business environment in Slovenia. The results will be revealed in spring.

American Chamber of Commerce - AmCham Slovenia

The AmCham Investment Committee is aware of the importance of sustainable and high-quality investments that would enable the state to develop further and bring new jobs with higher added value by opening of high-tech companies and development centres. We emphasize that FDI should not mean foreign direct investment alone, but foreign and domestic investments combined, so we are pleased that the law has equalised both types of investment. An investor is an investor regardless of where they come from, and it is only right that they all enjoy the same benefits. At the same time, we emphasize that it is necessary to address attracting and creating new opportunities for investment strategically and with concrete steps. The steps we consider necessary include an increase in the efficiency of institutions, especially agencies, an increase in the efficiency of bureaucracy and an increase in the predictability of the legal system. Investors are also concerned with the decreasing talent pool in Slovenia, which is due to population ageing and the emigration of young people. In addition to making changes in the financial markets and the tax system, which should be more pro-business, it is crucial that we manage talents efficiently and that we are in line with the changes that are necessary in the labour market.

British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce

The Institute for Strategic Solutions has recently conducted a study on the future of British-Slovene trade. One of their conclusions was that the labour productivity of UK-owned companies in Slovenia is not only outstanding and well above the Slovene average, but also outperforming other foreign-owned companies in the country. This is a good argument to keep fostering more British investment into Slovenia. Yet, investors from the UK are looking for clarity and predictability, especially when it comes to deadlines on permits necessary for their operations. This is an area where Slovenia could improve, especially in terms of red tape and transparency. We welcome the recognition of the role for privatisation in Slovenia and hope to see this matched with concrete initiatives in the near future.

Luxembourg-Slovenian Business Club (LSBC)

Authors: Iztok Petek, NataĊĦa Zajec

Who is an investor? The general picture we notice is that being an investor is a full-time job with an office and an "investor" name plate on the door. The truth is that every single company or person who has extra money to spare can be an investor. There is no need to go as far as China, for investors can already be found a few kilometres across the border. Thus, the question is why only a few make the mistake of knocking on the Slovenian door. Considering that the interest rates are the lowest in history, there is a lot of money moving around globally and looking for placement. As legal security and protection of an investment is of the utmost importance in making the decision, the main problem we see is the lack of liability. The second thing are the marketing quality and innovative potential of the projects as the investment opportunity has to be sold at the end. For the past two years, the Luxembourg-Slovenian Business Club has been systematically mediating between all the parties involved. We encourage foreigners to consider Slovenia a good place for investment as we believe the situation is better and improving despite the general perception in the world. At the same time, we have been advising investment seekers on how they should prepare their projects. There is still a lot to be done and, hopefully, our politicians will read this article.

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