THE FOREIGN Investors Summit, organised on September 28 by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bratislava (AmCham) brought together high-level business representatives, representatives of ministries, members of the Slovak parliament, ambassadors, representatives of academia, leaders of NGOs and foreign experts. At the summit, AmCham presented the results of a survey it conducted among foreign investors in Slovakia in March-June 2009.
More than 100 companies, representing foreign investors from 22 different countries, responded to the survey which served as a basis for AmCham policy recommendations in two of three main areas covered by the survey: a competitive workforce, better regulation, and adapting to change.
According to the survey, the lack of a qualified workforce is seen as one of the main challenges. Nearly 50 percent of the respondents see the educational system as not adequately preparing individuals for the requirements of the labour market.
As for better regulation, the foreign investors in the survey strongly encouraged the Slovak government to decrease the administrative burden on businesses. The survey revealed that transparency and corruption are two additional issues directly impacting foreign investors.
According to the survey only 1 percent of the respondents are considering moving their operations out of Slovakia, which is a strong indication that Slovakia remains highly competitive, AmCham said.
