Foreign companies making direct investments in Slovenia may apply for financial grants. The purpose of the Invitation for Applications is to boost attractiveness of Slovenia as a location for foreign direct investment by lowering entry (start-up) costs to the investors whose investment will have a positive impact on new employment, knowledge and technology transfer, facilitation of balanced regional development, and will foster alliances between foreign investors and Slovenian companies.  

The Grant Scheme in place since 2000 aims at motivating and facilitating investment. It is in line with national and EU state aid legislation. The aim of these incentives is to lower the cost threshold for new entries into the manufacturing and service sectors that allows them to compete in international markets.  

Public tender for applications under the FDI cost-sharing grant scheme in 2010

• The contracting authority: Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments;
• The tender was published on 26 March 2010;
• The tender provisional amount: EUR 6.5 million;
• Beneficiaries/recipients: the companies duly entered in the company register of the Republic of Slovenia in which a foreign investor directly has at least a 10 per cent equity holding, investment projects in manufacturing industries (at least 25 new jobs, minimum value of the investment project EUR 1 million); with investment projects in the sector whose services are internationally traded (a minimum of 10 new jobs, minimum value of the investment project EUR 0.5 million), with investment projects in the research and development activity (at least 5 new jobs, minimum value of the investment project eligible for the co-financing is EUR 0.5 million). The beneficiary/recipient of the co-financing must provide funding in the amount of at least 25 per cent of eligible costs of investments in property, plant and equipment and/or in intangible assets.
• Eligible costs/expenses: costs of property, plant and equipment, costs of creating new employment, costs of feasibility studies and advising/consultancy (only in the case of investments in small and medium-sized enterprises). Value-added tax (VAT) and investments in the purchase of commercial property (building plot) shall not be deemed eligible for co-financing.
• Co-financing will be approved on the basis of the filed application; the application for co-financing must be filed prior to the commencement of the investment project; Ř The procedure for the examination of the application and the approval of co-financings takes up to 60 days;
• The approved co-financing will be paid to the beneficiary/recipient in the course of 2010;
• The example of the calculation of the co-financing for the investment project in manufacturing where 250 new jobs will be opened:
  • A special evaluation committee score the application on a scale of 0 to 100 merit points; the threshold to qualify for co-financing is 60 points;
  • The co-financing ladder: for the application that have scored 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 points, the tentative amount of co-financing is 750,000 euros / 1,125,000 euros / 1,575,000 euros / 2,100,000 euros / 2,400,000 euros,
  • Where a foreign investor is about to invest in Slovenia for the first time, the value of co-financing increases 50%,
  • Condition: co-financing shall not exceed 30% (for a large company), it shall not exceed 40% (for a medium-sized company) and it shall not exceed 50% (for a small company) of the value of eligible costs/expenses per investment project. In the case that the value of the eligible costs/expenses budgeted for the investment project is 18 million euros, the value of co-financing cannot exceed 9 million euros.

• These investment projects and new jobs shall remain located in the Republic of Slovenia for no less than 5 years for large-sized companies and no less than 3 years for small- and medium-sized companies.

The details for the Government FDI Cost-Sharing Grant Scheme for 2010-11 have been published in the Official Gazette of RS No. 25/2010, pp. 642-646, on the 26th of March 2010. Please see below or contact fdi[@]japti.si 

•  Cost-Sharing Grant Scheme for 2010 and 2011 (Slovene) (418 KB)
•  Cost-Sharing Grant Scheme for 2010 and 2011 (English) (478 KB)