Globalisation indicators, Slovenia, 2018
High level of Slovenia’s integration in international trade maintained also in 2018
In 2018, international trade in goods and services continued to be the most important Slovenia's cross border economic activity. Exports and imports of goods and services were 9.3% and 10.4% higher. Inward foreign direct investment stock went up by 8.6% and outward foreign investment stock by 1.6%.
As regards the indicators of international trade of goods and services, Slovenia improved its position among the EU-28 Member States
Compared to 2017, in 2018 Slovenia increased the value of exports and imports of goods and services by 9.3% and 10.4%, respectively. In terms of the relative size of exports and imports of goods and services in the GDP (exports 85.4%, imports 77.1%) Slovenia was among the EU-28 Member States 5th and 7th, respectively. The countries with higher shares of exports of goods and services were Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland and Slovakia.
Slovenia's integration in international trade, measured by the indicator of trade integration of goods, was one of the highest among the EU-28 Member States. Slovenia was 3rd. Only Slovakia and Hungary showed a higher market integration share in goods. As regards the indicator of trade integration of services, Slovenia was 13th.
Additional insight into Slovenia’s high level of globalisation and dependence on international trade is given by the OECD study on foreign or domestic value added shares in countries’ export (source: OECD Statistics on Trade in Value Added, https://data.oecd.org/trade/domestic-value-added-in-gross-exports.htm). For all of the study years, Slovenia’s shares of the foreign value added in the export were higher compared to the OECD and the EU-28 averages. In 2016, the last reference year of the data in the study, Slovenia’s share of the foreign value added in the export was 31.6%; for OECD members it was 7.1% and for the EU-28 Member States 11.6%.
The stock of inward foreign direct investment in Slovenia and the stock of Slovenia's outward foreign investment increased again in 2018
Foreign direct investment in Slovenia at the end of 2018 amounted to EUR 15.2 billion and compared to the end of 2017 increased by 8.6%. The share of foreign direct investment was 33.1% of GDP, which is 0.6 of a percentage point more than in 2017.
The value of Slovenia’s direct investment abroad at the end of 2018 amounted to EUR 6.1 billion and compared to the end of 2017 increased by 1.6%. The value of Slovenia’s direct investment was 13.2% of GDP, which is 0.6 of a percentage point less than in 2017.
As regards the share of inward foreign direct investment stock in GDP and the share of outward foreign direct investment stock in GDP, Slovenia continues to be in the bottom half of the EU-28 Member States.
Methodological change
In 2017 methodological changes were implemented in the survey on enterprise groups. The data according to the new methodology are published in today’s release. Detailed data are available in the SiStat Database.
More than half of multinational groups in Slovenia are under foreign control
According to the updated methodology and the inclusion of an additional source, there were 5,333 enterprise groups in Slovenia in 2017. More than half (55%) were foreign controlled multinational enterprise groups, of which 42% were controlled by four countries (Austria, Germany, Croatia and Italy). There were 371 (7%) domestically controlled multinational enterprises and 2,029 (38%) resident enterprise groups.
Enterprises integrated into multinational enterprise groups generated more than half of total turnover generated by all enterprises in Slovenia
In 2017, 7,917 enterprises in Slovenia were integrated into enterprise groups, which is 4% of all enterprises in Slovenia, but they employed 36% all persons employed and generated 62% of total turnover generated by all enterprises in Slovenia. Enterprises integrated into multinational enterprise groups generated 54% of total turnover generated by all enterprises in Slovenia but they employed 28% of all persons employed in Slovenia.
Almost half of the turnover was generated by enterprises integrated into enterprise groups operated in industrial activities
In enterprise groups that operated in industrial activities 22% (1,737) enterprises were integrated. They employed 47% of persons employed and generated 48% of total turnover generated by enterprises integrated into enterprise groups.
In foreign controlled multinational enterprise groups that operated in trade 30% of enterprises were integrated. They generated 36% of total turnover and employed 25% of persons employed by enterprises integrated into enterprise groups.
In 2017 a new data source (Euro Group Register) was used in collecting data on enterprise groups and to be consistent with the EU methodology the definition of the enterprise group and the enterprise group head was reconciled.
The consequence of integrating the new source is the transition from the country of control of the first owner or group head abroad to the country of control of the ultimate owner or group head at the top of the group chain. Only information about the legal unit that is the first owner or group head abroad could be obtained from the sources so far.
New definition of the enterprise group: the enterprise group is an association of legal units that are grouped together by majority ownership. It consists of the group head and subsidiary legal units. The group head is a resident or foreign legal unit. The group head is a parent legal unit that is not controlled either directly or indirectly by any other unit. If the legal unit that is the head of the group is majority owned by a natural person as an individual, then the group gets the indicator that it is owned by a resident or foreign natural person.
Old definition of the enterprise group: the enterprise group is an association of legal units which consists of the group head and subsidiary units. Enterprise groups are identified through the links of control between their units. The group head is a resident or foreign legal unit or a natural person as an individual which controls one or more legal units. The group head is a parent unit that is not controlled either directly or indirectly by any other unit.
Data based on the old definition without the new source (Euro Group Register) were published on 5 March 2019 in the First Release entitled Enterprise groups, Slovenia, 2017. For the same year based on the new methodology with integrated new source (Euro Group Register) they are published on 3 December 2019 in the First Release entitled Globalisation indicators, Slovenia, 2018.
From reference year 2018 on data on enterprise groups will be published within the First Release entitled Globalisation indicators, Slovenia.
