This magnificent country is located right in the center of Europe and shares its border with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
With over eight million residents, Austria offers foreign investors the best customer base and profitable markets. Foreign investors can easily capitalize on this advantage and enjoy the vast number of customers available in Oesterreich.
In this article, we’ll be going over the pros and cons of investing in Austria. This way, you can easily identify strong and stable markets in Oesterreich before you start investing.
If you are interested in investing in any business in Austria, this guide contains vital information that you should know before you make any form of investment in the country.
Is Austria a good place to invest money?
From an economic standpoint, Austria is one of the most powerful and developed countries in the world. The business environment in Oesterreich is among the best in the world.
Austria ranks as the 27th out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking of 2020. It boasts of a very stable economy, advantageous geographical location, productive workforce, and super friendly policies for foreign investors.
Austria has attracted a lot of FDI just because of its geographical location as an intersection of Eastern and Western Europe. The country’s GDP hit more than $450 billion in 2018.
Austria improved from 24th to 21st place in the FDI Confidence Index of 2019. Germany, Russia, the USA, and the Netherlands account own about 60% of Austria’s FDI stock while Italy, the UK, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, UAE, and Canada are major investors.
If you ask me, I’d tell you that Austria is a low hanging fruit worth your investment you know where to look. The country gives investors access to the best economy in Europe and connection to other industrially developed countries in Europe.
Key Sector for Investment
There are a lot of goldmines for investment in different sectors across the nation. Most of the sectors are quite profitable and guarantee a healthy return of invested capitals, a lot of investors can gain maximum returns in certain sectors.
We’ve done our research and these are the best sectors to invest in Oesterreich.
Banking sector
One of the most vibrant sectors that can yield massive ROI in Austria is the banking sector. This particular sector has immensely contributed to the economic development of the state.
According to the data provided by the Austrian government, more than 56% of the country’s GDP comes from the banking sector. Thus, this is a massive investment potential for foreign investors that still don’t know which area of the country to invest in.
Agriculture
Agriculture and its allied industries is another top-performing sector in Oesterreich. Austria is popular for its dairy products, wheat, oat, sugar, barley, and rye.
These industries are growing very fast and still open to investments. If you are interested in investing in this sector, your focus should be on cattle breeding, food processing, packaging, and distribution.
Transportation
The country’s transport sector is a wonderland and should be a real area of concentration for investors that have multiple offices in Europe.
Other top industries to invest in Oesterreich are located in these sectors: finance, insurance, trade, real estate, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, professional, technical, and scientific services.
Benefits and Risks of Investing in Austria
Did you know that corporations only pay 25% in corporate taxes? Yes, these and other additional benefits are enjoyed by individuals and companies that invest in the country.
The Austrian government has a liberal front towards foreign investment. They even provide several grants, attractive group taxation systems, and tax exemption to foreign investors.
If you plan on investing in Austria, these are some of the benefits and risks that you should be aware of.
Pros |
Cons |
| Well-developed infrastructure. | Rigid labor practices and regulations. |
| Profitable market. Austria is the fourth richest country in the European Union. | Small domestic market. |
| Advantageous geographical location. | Trade dependence on Germany. |
| Highly educated population. | A lack of risk-taking in capital finance. |
| State of the art infrastructures including transportation and ICT. | The country relies a lot on its geographical position. |
| Austria is a top tourist destination with means more foreign customers. | |
| Political and social stability with results to low strike rates. | |
| High standard of living | |
| Skilled, competent, and very productive workforce | |
| Low crime rates and reliable security. | |
| Productive economy. |
Austria has one of the most profitable economies in the world, a very skilled workforce, and favorable foreign investment policies and legislations. If you know where to invest, you’d be surprised at how much you can make in such a short time.