According to preliminary data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB) the value of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Croatia in the first quarter of 2016 was 503 million Euros. Compared to 2015 it was an increase of 107.4 million Euros or 27.1 percent more than over the same period last year.

''After a significant decline of almost 86 percent in foreign direct investments last year, the first quarter of this year brought a certain recovery thus the highest quarter value of the FDI was recorded since the second quarter of 2014'', said Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) analysts in the review of the data from the HNB.

The RBA analysts have also reminded of two transactions in 2015 that made a significant impact on the amount of direct investments in Croatia.

The first was the sale of the tobacco company TDR to the British BAT for 510 million Euros. The amount of foreign investments last year was influenced by banks losses caused by the conversion of bank loans in Swiss francs to Euros, which as a result, largely neutralized the positive effects of BAT's investment.

In the first quarter of this year the most foreign direct investments were from Austria, around 184 million Euros or 36.5 percent in the structure of the total foreign investments in Croatia. The Austrian investment was followed by investments from Luxembourg of 139 million Euros accounting for 27.6 percent whilst investments from Germany amounted to 49.3 million Euros or 10 percent in the structure of a total FDI.

According to revised data, in the period from 1993 to the end of the first quarter of 2016 Croatia recorded 29.6 billion Euros worth of FDI.

''Excluding the so called ''circular investments'' which have the effect of increasing foreign direct investments in both directions i.e direct investments into the Republic of Croatia and direct investments abroad, this amount was actually 27.2 billion Euros'', emphasized the RBA analysts.

The RBA analysts have also stated that the highest values of foreign direct investments in Croatia for the same period were in the sector of financial intermediation (more than 25 percent) followed by trade investments (16.3%) and business and equity investments in real estate business (13.4%). The lowest amount of investments was recorded in the tradable sector.