Compared to 2003 there was a decrease in foreign direct investment (FDI) of Sk8.7bn (Ђ220m) to Slovakia. The majority of the foreign investments (Sk21.996bn) came into the business sphere, while Sk5.05bn (Ђ120m) went to the banking sector. Slovak companies invested just Sk1.1bn (Ђ30 m) abroad.
According to information released by the Slovak Statistics Office, the biggest investors in Slovakia last year were Hungary (Sk6.191bn), Austria (Sk6.122bn) and the Czech Republic (Sk4.43bn).
More than 80 per cent of the direct investments were destined for the industrial sector.
The volume of the total foreign investments in Slovakia in 2004 represented Sk380.3bn (Ђ9.68bn), Sk313.7bn for the business and Sk66.6bn to the banking sector. The most significant volume was invested by the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy, mostly into the industrial sector.
