SARAJEVO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) fell by 12.5 percent year on year in the first half of 2025 amid weak global investment prospects, said the country's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) on Monday.
Preliminary data from the Central Bank of BiH show that total FDI, including reinvested earnings, amounted to 780.1 million convertible marks (468.06 million U.S. dollars) from January to June, down from 891.5 million marks in the same period of 2024.
FIPA said the decline reflects broader global trends. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that trade frictions, heightened economic and political uncertainty, and volatility in financial markets have led to a sharp contraction in global investment activity at the start of 2025.
Despite the overall decrease, equity participation rose by 65.4 percent year-on-year to 241.4 million marks, accounting for 30.9 percent of total inflows, compared with 16.4 percent a year earlier. Reinvested earnings remained broadly stable at 458.7 million marks, while other capital declined sharply.
Croatia, Germany and Serbia were the largest sources of investment during the period, while financial services, retail trade and wholesale trade attracted the most inflows.
FIPA noted that although first-half FDI exceeded the 10-year average, it remained below the five-year average and warned that domestic takeovers of foreign-owned firms could weigh on future inflows. (1 Bosnian convertible mark = 0.60 U.S. dollar) ■