Last year's foreign direct investments were some EUR 335 million higher than in 2004, but they were lower than in 1999, 2001 and 2003, with 2003 seeing a record annual amount of EUR 1.7 billion.
Ownership investments made up 696 million, retained profit 567.8 million, and other investments 64 million of last year's 1.3 billion investments.
Most of the investments, or 51%, were made in the sector of financial operations i.e. the acquisition of shares and recapitalisation of banks in foreign ownership.
Oil and natural gas extraction made up 9.5 percent of all investments, retail sale in nonspecialised shops made up six percent of investments, while the retail sale of petrol and lubricants, hotel management, the oil industry and telecommunications each made up less than five percent of last year's investments.
The banking sector was the most important investment sector in the period from 1993 to 2005, making up more than one-fourth or 28 percent of all foreign direct investments.
This sector was followed by telecommunications (16.3%), the pharmaceutical industry (12.6%), the oil industry (5.7%), and the extraction of crude oil and natural gas (3.9%).
Most investments in 2005 were made by companies from Austria (28.6%), followed by Hungarian investors (20.9%). The Hungarian OTP bank last year bought the Nova Banka.
In the period from 1993 to the end of 2005, most foreign investments in Croatia were made by companies from Austria (28.3%), which were followed by investors from Germany, the United States, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, etc.
Last year Croatian companies made EUR 142.7 million worth of investments abroad, twice less than in 2004. From 1993 to 2005 Croatian companies invested EUR 1.65 billion abroad.