CzechInvest arranged investments worth CZK 45 billion in 2015

26 Feb. 2016 | CzechInvest | A third of the investments involve high-tech projects

V roce 2015 dojednal CzechInvest investice za 45 miliard korun

reduction of financial support for investments from 40% to 25% of eligible costs
106 investments arranged in the aggregate value of nearly CZK 45 billion
high-tech projects comprise 30% of the investments
more than 14,000 newly created jobs, of which 2,500 in the Ústí and Moravia-Silesia regions

In 2015 CzechInvest arranged 106 domestic and foreign investments, thanks to which nearly CZK 45 billion will flow into the Czech economy and exactly 14,040 new jobs will be created, including 2,500 in the Ústí and Moravia-Silesia regions, which have long struggled with high unemployment. This is in spite of a reduction of investment aid intensity introduced by a European Commission regulation in 2014 that has made it more difficult to attract investors to the country.

“In light of that, it is remarkable that CzechInvest managed to arrange investments that will create more than 14,000 jobs here, which is comparable with the record-setting year of 2014,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek. “If we look back over the past two years, to the inception of the current government, which ranks investment support among its highest priorities, we have succeeded in bringing more than 130 billion crowns and more than 30,000 new jobs to the Czech Republic.”

“There has thus been an increase in the share of high-tech projects with higher value added and unique products, and the other good news is that the loss of interest caused by the radical reduction of financial support in 2014 is being offset by heightened investment activity,” says Karel Kučera, CEO of CzechInvest. “In comparison with the past, we have fewer investors that rely on investment incentives. More than 30% of investors did not requested them, while in 2014 that figure was less than 15%. On the other hand, investors’ demands are increasing with respect to the speed of executing projects and the quality of information and services, so far more of our employees are now in the field.”

The largest volume of domestic investments is from the United States, Germany and Taiwan. There has also been significant growth in investments from China. In previous years, CzechInvest mediated Chinese investments in the maximum annual value of CZK 500 million, whereas last year that figure reached CZK 1.1 billion.

As usual, the largest share of investments is in the vehicle-manufacturing sector, as well as in metalworking and metal-processing and the electronics industry. However, comparable investment growth can be seen in the areas of ICT, technology centres and shared-services centres.

The largest number of investments announced in 2015 will be implemented in the Ústí region, Prague and the Central Bohemia region, while the largest number of jobs will be created in the Pardubice region, thanks especially to the investments of INA Lanškroun and Foxconn, which are also the biggest investments negotiated last year. The top ten investments of last year also include, for example, the expansion of production undertaken by MD ELEKTRONIK spol. s r.o. in the Plzeň region and Devro’s expansion in the Liberec region.

CzechInvest intends to continue in its effort to bring high-tech investments to the Czech Republic. An example from this year is GE Aviation’s announced plan to build here a centre of excellence for turboprop engines. “Roughly one hundred projects are currently being negotiated” says Karel Kučera. “Several of them are of truly major importance and in sectors on which we want to focus even more in the future, such as the aviation and electrical-engineering industries.”