Doing Business in Slovenia

Exporting to Slovenia

President Obama announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) http://www.export.gov, with the goal of doubling exports by 2014. U.S. embassies are committed to supporting U.S. companies to start exporting or grow their exports to Slovenia. In this section, you’ll find a quick description of Slovenia as an export market and some suggestions for getting started.

Business Climate

Slovenia is one the best economic performers in Central and Eastern Europe, with a GDP per capita in n 2011, of $22,916 (88% of the EU average) and total GDP is $47.6 billion. The investment climate in Slovenia is stable, with an excellent infrastructure, a well-educated workforce, and a central location between western and Eastern Europe. There are no formal sectoral or geographic restrictions to foreign investment. There are, however, a number of informal barriers – including ambivalence toward FDI – that present challenges for non-Greenfield foreign investors.  Additionally, foreign companies have cited several areas for improvement to strengthen the investment climate, including: Slovenian Government (GoS) lack of strategy to promote FDI, judicial backlog, difficulties in obtaining building permits, a high level of labor market rigidity, high social contributions and personal income taxes coupled with excessive administrative tax burdens, a lack of transparency in public procurement, unnecessarily complex/time-consuming bureaucracy, and confusion over lead responsibility or jurisdiction regarding foreign investment among government agencies.

 Our Country Commercial Guide presents a comprehensive look at Slovenia's commercial environment, including economic, political, and market analysis.  The up-to-date report covers market conditions, best export prospects, export financing, assistance in finding distributors, and legal and cultural issues. For more information, please download the entire Slovenia’s 2012 Country Commercial Guide (PDF-988 KB). 

Getting Started

1)      Visit the export.gov page on Slovenia to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities.  Access the U.S. Commercial Service Market Research Library containing more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, authored by our specialists working in overseas posts. Visit the export.gov page on Slovenia to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities.  

2)      Contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center for advice and support on exporting to Slovenia. Contact a Trade Specialist Near You The U.S. Commercial Service has developed a range of services to help U.S. companies find business partners, which the U.S. Embassy can offer to you in Slovenia. Find out more about our most popular programs.

3)      Contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDCs). Starting a business can be a challenge, but there is help for you in your area. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships primarily between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. 

4)      Contact in-country business support organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia - AmCham Slovenia.

Investing in Slovenia

This section provides information for current and potential investors in Slovenia.

Potential investors: Getting Started

If you are considering investment in Slovenia, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

• Contact the U.S. Embassy – If you are planning a visit to consider investment, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses.
• Visit Slovenian Public Agency for Entreprepneurship and Foreign Investment - JAPTI
• Contact local U.S. business support organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia.
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page or Twitter feed

Current investors: Staying Connected.

If you are a current U.S. investor in Slovenia, the U.S. Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

• Register with the U.S. Embassy – If you are active in Slovenia, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses.
• Add us to your mailing lists – we are always happy to stay informed
• Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page or Twitter feed
• Set up a meeting with our economic or commercial team to discuss any issues that arise by emailing the contact addresses. 

Working in Slovenia

In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.

Business Visas

For information on obtaining a visa to visit Slovenia, visit the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. 

Travel Advisories

Make sure to check the current State Department travel advisory for Slovenia as well as the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel information webpage.

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets.  The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business.  These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.   

More information on the FCPA can be found here:  http://www.fcpa.us/

A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue.  Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA.  Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.

More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf

Should you have any further questions, please contact us at the addresses below.

 Contact Us

• Phone: +386 1 200 55 00
  E-mail: DoingbusinessinSlovenia@state.gov
   

Quick Links

• Export.gov

• Local Legal Resources

• Business Matchmaking Services

• Business Visa Facilitation Program
• Slovenia Business Point