The stock of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia increased by 9.1% in a year to stand at €22.1 billion at the end of 2023, mostly as a result of reinvested profits, preliminary figures from the central bank show.

The largest investor in Slovenia was Austria (21.6% of the total), whose main holdings were in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

It was followed by Luxembourg (13.1%), whose main holdings were in financial and insurance activities, and Switzerland (11.0%), whose main investments were in manufacturing.

German investments accounted for 8.7% of the total and Croatia's 7.6%.

The driving force behind the overall increase in FDI stock was reinvested earnings (€0.8 billion), followed by investment in equity (€0.5 billion) and transactions increasing debt financing (€0.2 billion).

Slovenia's outward FDI increased at a slightly higher rate, 9.7%, to €9.4 billion, with reinvested profits accounting for half of the increase.

Slovenian investors' largest holdings were in Croatia (35.4% of the total), where the prevailing investments were in the form of real estate held by Slovenian households and holdings in wholesale and retail trade.

This was followed by Serbia (20.4%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.7%) and North Macedonia (5.9%). In all three countries the majority of investments were in finance and insurance.

About 5.6% of investments were in Russia, where Slovenian investors' largest holdings were in manufacturing.