>>> Why Invest in Slovakia

Slovakia provides to potential foreign investors and business partners ideal investment opportunities due to its political and economic STABILITY yet offers the benefits of NEWLY OPENED MARKETS.

!!! Tax Incentives: Slovak government is currently in the process of decreasing the corporate tax to 19% - the lowest in the region!!!

1/ Stategic location:
- In the center of the center or Europe
- Between the East (Ukraine) and West (Austria)
- Bratislava, the capital, is 45 minutes drive from Vienna (Austria), 1.5 hours from Budapest (Hungary) and 3.5 hours from Prague
- About 350 million people live within a day's drive from Slovakia
- The rail and road infrastructure is comparable to the most developed countries in the region.
- Bratislava has a port on Danube river and an international airport.

2/ Enormous Workforce Value
- High quality (Slovak eighth-graders ranked 8th in the world in math and 10th in science)
- Readily available (Unemployment of 19% [May 2002])
- Inexpensive (Avg. salary of $277/month [May 2002])

3/ Political Stability
- Slovak people voted for essentially the same, pro-reform oriented government in the last elections (September 2002)
- Slovakia will join the EU and NATO in 2004

4/ Positive Economic Outlook
- Ratings' firms substantially improved
- Bank's interest rates have been brought down close to developed Western markets
- By May 2002, Slovakia had only 28% of the Czech Republic's FDI per capita and only 36% of Hungary's.