Bòsnia i Hercegovina: Invertir a Bòsnia i Hercegovina
In the 2000s, the Bosnian Government took a series of measures to attract FDI, which resulted in the record amount of FDI in 2007; unfortunately, the global economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic led to a decline in FDI inflows. According to UNCTAD's 2021 World Investment Report, FDI inflows amounted to USD 371 million in 2020, down from USD 400 million in the previous year. The total stock of FDI was estimated at USD 9.4 billion in 2020. The largest investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina are Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and the Netherlands. The sectors that attract the most foreign investments in the country are manufacturing, banking, telecommunications and trade (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina). According to preliminary data by the Central Bank, in the first semester of 2021, FDI inflows increased by 66.2% year-on-year, totalling EUR 391.7 million. In the same period, the main investing countries were Croatia (EUR 110.6 million), Russia (EUR 76.0 million), Slovenia (EUR 59.7 million) and Austria (EUR 51.3 million). In terms of sectors, the highest FDI were recorded in financial service activities (except insurance and pension funding – EUR 93.2 million), retail trade (EUR 89.6 million), and manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (EUR 76.0 million).
Bosnia and Herzegovina can offer investors low levels of corporate taxation, several well-developed industrial zones, a solid banking sector and its strategic location. Major problems facing foreign investors include a lack of transparency of procedures and weak judicial structures, as well as the dual nature of the state. Furthermore, complex labour and pension laws as well as the lack of a single economic space also hinder investment. Excluding some exceptions (defence industry and some areas of publishing and media, electric power transmission), foreign investors are entitled to invest in any sector of the economy in the same form and under the same conditions as those defined for residents. Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks 90th (out of 190 economies) in World Bank's latest Doing Business report, one spot down from the previous edition.
Foreign Direct Investment | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) | 342 | 395 | 519 |
FDI Stock (million USD) | 8,604 | 9,470 | 9,474 |
Number of Greenfield Investments* | 28 | 13 | 11 |
Value of Greenfield Investments (million USD) | 558 | 490 | 337 |
Source: UNCTAD, Latest available data
Note: * Greenfield Investments are a form of Foreign Direct Investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.
Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Eastern Europe & Central Asia | United States | Germany |
Index of Transaction Transparency* | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Manager’s Responsibility** | 6.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Shareholders’ Power*** | 5.0 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Source: Doing Business, Latest available data
Note: *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal Action.
The country's strong points include:
Bosnia and Herzegovina still has a number of weak points:
These measures are reinforced by the country's bid for EU and WTO membership, which mandate that the country makes these changes. The reforms imposed by these institutions aim to improve the business environment by standardising and simplifying, in particular, the legal and fiscal framework.
Vols fer algun comentari sobre aquest contingut? Escriu-nos.
© Export Entreprises SA, Tots els drets reservats.
Actualitzacions: January 2023