Austrian Direct Investments in Central and Eastern Europe

Like no other country Austria has been a strong investor in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) since the beginning of the 1990s up to the year 2000 mainly in nearby markets, after that year also in other countries of the region with a higher risk. The momentum of the annual investments was remarkable: they increased from € 2.5 billion in the year 2000 to over € 10 billion in the year 2008. The total stock of Austrian direct investments in the CEECs grew from € 0.4 billion in 1990 to € 51.1 billion in 2007. This figure corresponds to just under 50 percent of the total stock of direct investments of Austria abroad. So, the concentration of the Austrian investment activities in the CEECs is one of the highest as compared internationally.