Not many countries with two million people and an area of 20, 0000 sq. km have played in the 2010 World Cup, and are attracting thousands of visitors to the Slovenian pavilion in Shanghai designed around the fact that its capital Ljubljana is also this year's UNESCO World Book Capital.
Companies that want to relocate or set up subsidiaries in a country with good growth prospects where starting a business is easy, investor protection is high, both labour and taxation are value for money and life is great, will find Slovenia to be a location of choice.
Gradual economic recovery is on track after experiencing the flipside of Slovenia's economy relying too much on exports and investment in infrastructure projects. The Slovenian government has scaled back new infrastructure projects and new loans by state-controlled banks on the one hand and on the other its measures for overcoming the credit crunch and revive corporate investment and household consumption have been successful. The action plan for reducing red tape in order to facilitate foreign direct investment, as well as entrepreneurship and competitiveness, is bearing fruit. According to the Doing Business 2010 data, Slovenia is 53rd out of 183 economies and knowing that it is still “work-in-progress”, investors can look forward to a VIP treatment.
A wealth of experience
Slovenia's pro-enterprise and innovative environment makes it a high-value location and a production platform strategically placed to serve customers in the distant markets with the ease enjoyed when serving customers in the regional markets. In addition to Slovenia's strategic location and its position between the most developed countries and the emerging economies, the country's overall cost structure is highly competitive: infrastructure, utilities, labour, tax … Corporate income tax rate in Slovenia is 20 percent in 2010 (10 percent for companies that operate in special economic zones) and there is no payroll tax. As regards Slovenia's workforce, there is a pool of talented people with technical expertise, knowledge of foreign languages and minds that fear no challenge.
Investors will appreciate local availability of supply network and industry clusters, and availability of raw materials: wood, metals, agricultural products. The steadily improving fiscal and incentive regimes spell out success for those looking for the “regional approach” – an opportunity for foreign investors to serve the markets of the Western Balkans but also of East Europe. A host of innovative small companies often born as a result of the structural reforms of the Slovenian economy famous for large manufactures in a wide range of both light and heavy industries, illustrate the flexibility of the country and its people. A long industrial tradition in the country equally proud of its artisans and artists has made Slovenian products highly praised objects in households, on the road, at sea and in the air.
Whether investors come up with a greenfield or a brownfield project that requires development or redevelopment, Slovenia has to offer the facilities, knowledge and experience to handle every aspect of investors' requirements.
Investors will benefit from a professional and competitive approach and a host of free-of-charge complementary services provided by the highly trained staff of JAPTI, Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments. A bespoke service for foreign investors and entrepreneurs, JAPTI puts specialised experts at investor service to work with them to help plan and launch investment projects. Slovenia may not be able to quote a couple of thousand of well-known international corporations with operations on its soil, but there is a couple of hundred of foreign-owned companies and they are here to stay.
Slovenia's competitive strengths for FDI
– Political and economic stability.
– Membership of EU, NATO, euro zone, OECD, IMF.
– A geostrategic location at the heart of the enlarged EU.
– Well-developed general and ICT infrastructure and a deep-sea port in Koper.
– Highly- skilled and dedicated workforce: 60 percent of 25-65-year-olds have secondary education, 23 percent have higher and high education. English, German and Italian are widely spoken.
– The foreign direct investment in Slovenia has mainly targeted the financial and service sectors (20 percent), the chemical sector (16 percent) and the retail sector (14 percent).
For more information Tel: +386 (0) 1 5891 870; Email: fdi@japti.si; www.InvestSlovenia.org
