Ljubljana, 26 November (STA) – There was EUR 12.9bn worth of foreign direct investment in Slovenia in 2016, a 11.5% increase on 2015. Slovenian direct investment abroad amounted to EUR 5.7bn, which is 3.7% more than the year before, central bank Banka Slovenije has reported.
According to the central bank’s data, equity capital inflow amounted to EUR 938.1m last year. Companies with foreign owners recorded a total profit of EUR 1.12bn.
The average profit rate from foreign direct investment was 4.8%, which compares to a 5.4% average in the 2009-2016 period.
The biggest investors were Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Germany, while the sectors with the highest levels of investment were manufacturing, finance and insurance, and retail.
Companies with foreign direct investment accounted for 4.7% of all companies in Slovenia at the end of last year. The average return rate at these companies was 10.4%, while the average for all companies was 7.3%.
Companies with foreign direct investment on average paid salaries that were 12.7% higher than the total average.
Meanwhile, companies abroad with Slovenian owners or co-owners recorded a combined profit of EUR 37.1m last year. The average return on investment was 2.5%, which compares to a 2009-2016 average of 2.2%.
Four countries from the former Yugoslavia were the main destinations of Slovenian foreign investment last year, accounting for 62.3% of all of Slovenia’s FDI abroad. Russia took fifth place.