CBBH Publishes Statistics on Foreign Direct Investment for 2016

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) has published statistics on foreign direct investment for 2016, which show that the inflow of foreign direct investment in 2016 amounted to 536.3 million KM, or 1.8% of GDP.

In the structure of foreign direct investment, equity accounted for inflows of 289.4 million KM, retained earnings amounted to 193.5 million KM, while in terms of other capital, an inflow of 53.4 million KM was recorded in 2016.

In terms of geographical distribution, the largest inflows of investment in 2016 were from Croatia (119.0 million KM), Austria (73.9 million KM), and the United Arab Emirates (66.0 million KM), Great Britain (52.2), and the Netherlands (51.0).

Viewed by sectors, the most investment was realized in wholesale trade in the amount of 148.8 million KM, followed by financial services (banking sector) in the amount of 139.1 million KM, then in the production of tobacco products 67.7 million KM and in the production of chemicals and chemical products 49.3 million KM, and in telecommunications activities (34.2). The total result also includes investment outflows, with the largest outflow in the production of coke and refined petroleum products in the amount of 58.1 million KM.

The stock of direct investment reflects flows in the given period, as well as other economic changes (revaluation, exchange rates, etc.), thus providing additional information compared to looking solely at flows. At the end of 2016, the stock amounted to 12.96 billion KM, of which the largest portion, 68%, relates to equity stakes.

The largest amount of the stock of direct investment continues to be from Austria (2.5 billion KM), Croatia (2.2 billion KM), and Serbia (2.1 billion KM).

For the first time, statistics on outward foreign direct investment from Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad have been introduced. As expected, the amounts are much lower than for inward investment, but they show that there is indeed investment by residents abroad, and in 2016, outward investment flows amounted to 65.9 million KM. As a result of investment in previous years, the total stock of domestic investment abroad amounts to 748.4 million KM.

In line with the revision policy, with the publication of data for 2016, revisions to the amounts for flows and stocks of foreign direct investment for previous years have also been made.