The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) has published foreign direct investment statistics for 2018, which shows that FDI inflows in 2018 amounted to KM 783.4 million, or 2.3% of GDP. The FDI inflow in 2018 is in nominal terms approximately equal to that recorded in 2017.
In terms of geographical distribution, the highest inflows of investments in 2018 were from Russia (KM 140.2 million), Croatia (KM 106.1 million), the Netherlands (94), Austria (87.1) and Germany (83.7).
Regarding activities, most investments were recorded in the field of financial services (banking sector) in the amount of KM 145.6 million, production of coke and refined oil products (135.8), retail trade (87.7) and in production of base metals (52).
In the end of 2018, the FDI amounted to KM 14.29 billion. The highest amount of FDI remained related to Austria (KM 2.7 billion), Croatia (KM 2.3 billion) and Serbia (KM 2.0 billion). The FDI positions have been revised for a period of five years, based on the latest information on actual economic activities and the state of companies with foreign investments.
Observing the FDI outflows from Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad, negative trends were recorded in 2018, i.e., investments abroad decreased by KM 54.2 million. The total domestic investments abroad amounted to KM 873.7 million, of which the highest BH investments were in Croatia (229.7) and Germany (163.8).
On the other side, foreign direct investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the first six months of 2019, amounted to KM 650.1 million, of which KM 252.8 million in the first quarter and the rest in the second quarter of 2019. There is an increased inflow compared to the same period last year, when KM 423.3 million was recorded. In terms of components, the majority of investments were realized in the form of equity shares which amounted to KM 304.8 million, while retained earnings amounted to KM 293.3 million.
The largest investments in the first six months came from Russia, KM 265.1 million, followed by Croatia, KM 114.2 million and the Netherlands, KM 83.1 million.