Direct foreign investments in Croatia contributed to the creation of 2,585 new jobs. According to the annual report of the EY European Attractiveness Survey, only 1% more foreign direct investment is recorded at the European level compared to 2021, which is 7% lower than the record pre-pandemic 2019. During 2022, 5,962 greenfield investments and expansion investment projects were carried out in 44 European countries, compared to 5,877 projects in 2021.

"In the conditions of rising inflation, rising costs of energy supply and other costs, weaker economic growth and geopolitical events in Eastern Europe, we can consider the growth of foreign investments in Croatia by 53% an exceptional success. Investors have become extremely cautious due to changing business conditions such as rising interest rates, high inflation and relatively high public debt. Nevertheless, investors are increasingly turning to countries in southern and eastern Europe, so they also recognized Croatia, where 26 investment projects financed by direct foreign investment were realized during 2022, which led to 2,585 new jobs. In Croatia, the largest number of investments was aimed at new projects, while a smaller part was foreign investments intended for the expansion of existing ones", says Tomislav Čutura, Partner and Head of the Strategy and Transactions Services at EY Croatia.

Foreign investors in Croatia invested the most in three areas: the transport sector, the IT industry and production. At the European level, the IT industry leads the way, in which 20% of all foreign investments have been invested. In second place are business services, and in third is production.

More than half, even 60% of direct foreign investments in European countries in 2022 came from European companies, while non-European companies showed a greater degree of caution regarding the European market. "The number of intra-European and US investments was equal in 2020, and since then the share of intra-European investments has increased and this trend will continue until Europe once again strengthens its attractiveness for global investors. However, as far as Croatia is concerned, we had the most investments from Germany and the USA, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom and Ukraine", says Tomislav Čutura.

France (1,259 projects), the United Kingdom (929) and Germany (832) made the largest share of direct foreign investments in Europe last year. As EY explains, in the last few years, France has implemented a series of reforms that favor entrepreneurship, thus attracting a large number of foreign investors.

"Croatia can learn from France. The key Croatian, as well as European, ambition should be the creation of favorable business conditions, further investment in the development of a digital and sustainable society. The cumulative potential of accumulated demand and the number of planned projects related to direct foreign investment in 2023 indicate that the recovery after the pandemic has not been lost and we expect long-term growth of foreign investment in Croatia. Croatia is just going through a digital transformation, and as market trends at the European level show, the IT industry and investments in renewable energy sources are the most interesting for foreign investors. That is why Croatia is waiting for the continuation of the positive trend of foreign investments, it is up to us to create even more favorable conditions for them within the country", concludes Tomislav Čutura.