Austrian investors still feel Slovenia offers good investment opportunities despite persistent issues such as red tape, high taxes, and shortage of skilled workers, shows a survey by Advantage Austria Ljubljana among Austrian-owned companies in the country.

Austrian businesses are committed to continue operating in Slovenia, director of the Advantage Austria Ljubljana Wilhelm Nest said on 18 January, noting that "with almost 25% of all foreign direct investments, Austria remains the largest foreign investor in Slovenia."

The online survey carried out in the last quarter of 2022 among 55 companies showed that more than 78% see Slovenia as an attractive investment destination, a percentage point down year-on-year but 7 points up on 2021.

Compared to pre-pandemic year 2019, the score is down by 13 points.

What Austrian businesses value the most in Slovenia is a well-developed infrastructure, the degree of digitalization, high awareness of the importance of quality, good local suppliers, and access to credit and capital.

However, more should be done about cutting red tape, supplying a skilled workforce, cutting down on the cost of raw materials, and lowering taxes, Nest pointed out.

Almost two in three of the surveyed companies thus said they were dealing with staff shortages. Nest said Slovenia should consider putting more effort into promoting vocational training.

Florian Walchhofer of the Austrian family-owned company Technocare Electronic Systems noted that the company had no trouble finding workforce for now, but there are "many administrative barriers". "Nevertheless, we have had a very good overall experience here," he said.

Boxmark Leather director Marjan Trobiš noted that Austrian companies had been drawing attention to the same issues for quite some time. "This time all of the companies surveyed warned of the administrative hurdles, which is quite telling," he said.

The uncertainties on the global markets will definitely affect investments into Slovenia this year, but the long-term perspective remains positive, according to Trobiš.