Foreign investment in the Czech Republic down by 50 percent in 2006

The inflow of direct foreign investment into the Czech Republic in 2006 dropped by 50 percent compared to the previous year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 2006, the country attracted 115.9 billion crowns, or 5.96 billion US dollars. According to the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry, the sharp year-on-year decrease in foreign investment was caused by the fact that in 2005, Czech Telecom was privatised which accounted for 82.6 billion crowns worth of investment. In 2006, the Czech Republic ranks 14th among the 25 EU member states